The parents of a ten-year-old boy who died by suicide after ‘intense bullying’ are suing the school district.
Samuel Teusch – known as Sammy – was found unresponsive by his 13-year-old brother on May 5 2024, his family said.
Sammy’s parents, Samuel and Nicole Teusch, claim that he was being emotionally and physically bullied at Greenfield-Central Intermediate School in Indiana and that he was being ‘exasperated’ by the lack of action the school was taking.
Back in June, the Greenfield Police Department confirmed ‘there will be no criminal charges filed with the Hancock County Prosecutor’.
“At the very beginning, everybody started saying this was bullying, this was a result of bullying, and I say this with a heavy heart, unfortunately, we do not know the cause of this,” police chief Brian Hartman said at the time.
“There was no note or no text messages. Sammy didn’t say why he felt he had to do this.”
Further investigations did find however that Sammy had been targeted both inside and outside of the school, while his parents said that they had made at least 20 reports of bullying regarding their son before his death.
Samuel and Nicole have since filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Greenfield-Central Community School Corporation and Greenfield-Central Community School Corporation Board of Trustees, as seen by People magazine.
The suit, which was filed on December 17, claims staff ‘did nothing to address’ Sammy’s bullying even after being ‘repeatedly informed’ about the situation.
“Sammy’s repeated complaints to his teacher fell upon deaf ears,” the complaint states.
“Sammy’s frustration grew to the point that he would flip his desk over in an attempt to draw his teacher’s attention to the bullying to which he was being subjected.
“When that cry for help did not work, Sammy would attempt to hide in a closet or under his desk. His teacher’s only response was to discipline Sammy for what she perceived to be disruptive conduct.”
The suit added: “He was a smart, funny and loving boy, who loved to fish, play with robots, play soccer, be outdoors, and lead his family around to gather up trash whenever they went to the beach or on a nature hike.
“Sammy was quick to make friends, knew no stranger, meant no harm to anyone, never sat still, and had the biggest heart along with the best smile.”
Sammy’s parents are pushing for a jury trial against the defendants.
UNILAD has reached out to Greenfield-Central Community School Board for comment.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
You can also call 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 at the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline.
