[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
An Indiana family is mourning the loss of their 10-year-old son after his death following what they say was relentless bullying.
On May 5, Greenfield Intermediate School fourth grader Sammy Tuesch died by suicide, leaving his parents with an indescribable hole in their lives. This came after reports of horrific bullying. Nicole and Sam Teusch knew their son was facing some rough challenges at school, but despite their best efforts to help him, it ended in tragedy. The boy’s father spoke to WTHR last week, describing the moment they lost Sammy:
“I held him in my arms. I did the thing no father should ever have to do, and any time I close my eyes, it’s all I can see.”
His parents said that he was dealing with bullying over his appearance, as well as being physically assaulted by other students. They also said they reported these incidents to the superintendent and the school system at least 20 times with no luck:
“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. He was beat up on the school bus, and the kids broke his glasses and everything. I called the school, and I’m like, ‘What are you doing about this? It keeps getting worse, and worse, and worse.’”
Superintendent Dr. Harold Olin is under fire for his alleged negligence — as he claims neither the parents nor Sammy complained about bullying AT ALL. He did admit he’d heard about the family having conversations with school admins and the counselor — but couldn’t elaborate on that due to privacy reasons. But yeah, he’s seriously saying this poor family never reported a single thing…
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Sam maintained this isn’t true, telling the outlet:
“They knew this was going on. They knew this was going on.”
Ugh. So, so awful.
The boy’s grandmother, Cynthia Teusch, completely blasted the school district in an interview with WPTA. She said the school’s “zero tolerance” policy on bullying is total BS:
“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 … People trust their kids to the school, but now that trust is breaking down.”
Meanwhile, grief-stricken Nicole is certain her son’s suicide was due to the constant bullying. She even referenced an incident that happened in the bathroom the week before Sammy died. Although she didn’t say what happened, she would say it left him afraid to go to school. She believes this could’ve been the final straw for him. She told WTHR:
“He was my little boy. He was my baby. He was the youngest one.”
Heartbreaking. You can see the full interview with Sammy’s parents (below):
No child, especially one so very young, should be going through this. Parents rely on schools to protect them during those hours. If he really was ignored like this, that’s despicable.
We can’t imagine the pain this poor family is experiencing, and our hearts go out to them. The family has also set up a GoFundMe to help pay for funeral and memorial costs. If you’d like to donate, you can click HERE. May Sammy rest in peace.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, help is available. Consider contacting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, by calling, texting, or chatting, or go to 988lifeline.org.
[Image via WTHR/YouTube/Nicole Teusch/Facebook]
