Indiana boy, 10, kills himself after suffering horrific bullying — parents say they complained to school 20 times
A 10-year-old Indiana boy killed himself after being bullied relentlessly at school, according to his family — who claim to have raised the alarm at least 20 times in the last year.
Sammy Teusch, a fourth-grader at Greenfield Intermediate School, was bullied right up until the night he died by suicide on May 5, according to his family.
“I held him in my arms,” his dad, Sam Teusch, told WTHR.
“I did the thing no father should ever have to do, and any time I close my eyes, it’s all I can see.”
Sammy’s parents, Sam and Nichole, said they complained to the school roughly 20 times about the bullying that started last year when he was in elementary school.
“They were making fun of him for his glasses in the beginning, then on to make fun of his teeth. It went on for a long time,” his dad said.
“He was beat up on the school bus, and the kids broke his glasses and everything,” he said.
“I called the school, and I’m like, ‘What are you doing about this? It keeps getting worse, and worse, and worse,'” the dad claimed.
The school district’s superintendent, Dr. Harold Olin, denied any bullying reports had ever been submitted by either the parents or the boy.
However, he acknowledged that the school’s administrators and counselor had regular conversations with the family throughout the year, without elaborating because of confidentiality rules.
The schoolboy’s family insisted their fears had been made clear.
“They knew this was going on. They knew this was going on,” the dad said.
Sammy’s grandmother, Cynthia Teusch, was furious at the district for claiming it has a zero-tolerance policy on bullying.
”That they can’t just say they have zero tolerance because that doesn’t mean there is zero tolerance about bullies, their zero tolerance means that they don’t have responsibility for it,” she told WPTA.
“People trust their kids to the school, but now that trust is breaking down.”
The boy’s mom, Nichole, believes her son took his life because the constant bullying — especially an unspecified incident in a bathroom last week — left him too afraid to go to school.
“He was my little boy. He was my baby. He was the youngest one,” she told WTHR.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
