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Four New Jersey teenagers have been charged in connection with the attack on a 14-year-old girl who later took her own life after video of the incident was posted on social media.
One youth is charged with aggravated assault, two youths are charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and one youth is charged with harassment, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer told CBS News via email.
Adriana Kuch, 14, was found dead in her Bayville home on Feb. 3, two days after disturbing video of the Central Regional High School attack was posted online. The video showed girls throwing a drink at the teenager, then kicking and dragging her through the school hallways. They pushed Adriana into red lockers lining the school hallways and one of the girls in the pink shirt repeatedly punched Kuch.
Another girl outside the video frame laughed as she recorded the scene. Two adults entered to stop the attack, with an adult separating the teens. Adriana lay bruised and bruised on the hallway floor as the adult tried to help her to her feet.
One of the girls said, “This is what you get.”
“She loved life. She was the happiest child. Everyone loved her,” her father, Michael Kuch, told CBS New York on Thursdayadding that he is angry and wants everyone to see the video and what the teens did to his daughter.
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Kuch said the police should have been called immediately because the students, who he said his daughter was having trouble with, smashed her face with a 20-ounce bottle.
“If they called the police and did an investigation, these girls wouldn’t have posted videos from school,” Kuch said.
He also said that his daughter, who had bruises all over her body, should have been taken to the hospital.
“We always address all bullying issues, and on the day of the incident, four students were suspended,” said Dr. Triantafillos Parlapanides, superintendent of schools, told CBS New York.
School officials told CBS New York that they notified the family and found Adriana’s death horrible.
Each teen and their guardian received a copy of their complaint and were released pending future court appearances, the prosecutor told CBS News.
Students at the school staged a walkout on Wednesday in support of Adriana’s family.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or in a suicidal crisis, you can contact 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You can also talk to 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline here.
For more information about mental health care resources and support, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline can be contacted Monday through Friday, 10:00 am to 10:00 pm ET at 1-800-950- NAMI (6264) or email [email protected]
