KINGSTON — What could very well be the worst nightmare for many teenagers came true two-fold at Kingston Junior High School this past week as two Cavalier students tragically died within two days of each other.

Kitsap County Coroner Greg Sandstrom’s reports have ruled the causes of death for both Blake Whitworth, 14, and Zachary Kvistad, 14, as cerebral anoxia — which is a deprivation of oxygen to the brain — due to hanging.

Sandstrom had not determined the manner of death by the Herald’s press time.

“It’s something that happens but not to you,” KJH eighth-grader Tessa Yarbrough said after learning of the second student’s death May 16. “It shouldn’t happen in our area — I never thought it could happen here.”

The Kingston students’ deaths came in succession as eighth-grader Whitworth died of a tragic accident in his home in Hansville May 13. Seventh-grader Kvistad was found dead in his Gamblewood home May 15. It is unknown if the deaths are related; the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office’s investigation is ongoing.

Both events shocked the school and prompted the implementation of a KJH counselor-woven support net for grieving students.

However, one student’s sorrow apparently transformed into visions of violence and on May 15 that student allegedly made verbal and Internet threats to harm those whom the student believed had bullied Whitworth.

The student posted the threats on a site at MySpace.com — an open Internet community forum — which prompted concerned parents to contact the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office. The KCSO then informed the school of the potential danger late Monday.

An emergency KJH administrative meeting was held into the early hours of Tuesday, to address the situation, and the threat-making student was placed on emergency expulsion and has not returned to school, according to NKSD officials.

“Reports were coming in which said we had better take precautionary measures,” said KJH principal Ed Serra, explaining the emergency expulsion and a decision hold school under lock-down May 16. In a lock-down situation, classrooms are sealed off and students and teachers are secluded while police and emergency support services survey and respond to the situation.

“We made that decision because we knew kids who were going to need that support system,” Serra explained why the district decided to hold school after hearing the threats.

Knowing that, as a whole, students had not yet been informed of the second student’s death May 15, NKSD and KJH officials decided not to cancel school May 16 in the interest of providing students with the support needed in facing such a grim situation.

After dealing with the student who had the threats, KSCO officials suggested a lock-down and complete search of the building on the morning of May 16 as an added precautionary measure, Serra said.

Students were taken directly into their first-period classrooms and into lock-down mode while KSCO and Washington State Patrol units searched the building. No weapons were found and the building was determined safe by the KCSO following almost three-hours of lock-down. After lock-down was lifted, parents were allowed to pick up their children early through normal check out procedures.

The school resumed a normal schedule Wednesday, many students will struggle to resume life the way that is used to be.

“I think a lot of kids will begin to watch what they say to other people,” KJH ninth-grader Mike Colasurdo said Tuesday, noting that he believes that bullying played a part in the students’ deaths. “If I don’t like a kid, I may not talk to them, but I’m not going to be mean because it’s not worth it in the end with something like this.”

Members of the KJH community have rallied together, supporting each other in the aftermath of the tragedies. Memorial services were hosted at two different locations Wednesday night as parents, students and teachers came together in attempt to make sense of the situation.

At the school, the counselor driven support system will remain in place for as long as it is needed as the school works its way back to normal.

Funeral ceremonies for Whitworth were held May 19 at the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints in Poulsbo, no word has yet been received on a ceremony for Kvistad.

Parents concerned about their children or have questions about their reactions can call Kingston Junior High School counselors at (360) 394-4917, Kitsap Mental Health Services at (360) 429-4994 or the 24 Hour Crisis Hotline at (306) 479-3033 or toll free at (800)-843-4793.