A ten-year-old boy took his own life after suffering horrific bullying at school, and his family said they had warned officials 20 times about the ongoing abuse.
Sammy Teusch of Greenfield, Indiana, committed suicide on May 5 and, according to his family, was being harassed until the night of his death.
His parents, Sam and Nichole, say he was physically and emotionally bullied at school, and Sammy was recently hit on a school bus.
The bullying began last year when he was in elementary school and continued through Greenfield Middle School.
According to the family, Sammy told teachers and other staff about the bullying 20 times.
Sammy Teusch, of Greenfield, Indiana, committed suicide on May 5 and according to his family he was being harassed until the night of his death.
The bullying began last year when he was in elementary school and continued through Greenfield Middle School.
The bullying is said to have started at school and then followed him home, continuing on the social media platform Snapchat.
His parents, Nichole and Sam, said their son had been bullied about his glasses and then his teeth.
His father Sam told him WTHR: ‘At first they made fun of him for his glasses and then they made fun of his teeth. This lasted a long time.
‘I held him in my arms. I did what no parent should ever do, and every time I close my eyes, that’s all I can see.
Then the abuse turned physical, Sam added: “They beat him up on the school bus and the kids broke his glasses and everything.”
‘I called the school and said, ‘What are you doing about this? It keeps getting worse, and worse, and worse. And it’s not getting better. In fact, it’s getting worse.
speaking to 21aliveher grandmother Cynthia said, “They can’t just say they have zero tolerance because that doesn’t mean there’s zero tolerance for bullies.”
‘Their zero tolerance means they have no responsibility in this regard. “People trust their children in school, but now that trust is being broken.”
The outlet reached out to Dr. Harold Olin for an interview and he said he was unavailable, but stated that the family had never filed any reports of bullying.
Olin added that school administrators had conversations with the family throughout the year, but did not share the content of these conversations.
According to the family, they contacted their son’s school 20 times about the bullying.
Her grandmother Cynthia says the trust people place in schools has collapsed
The outlet reached out to Dr. Harold Olin (left) for an interview and was told he was unavailable. Bronson Curtis, right,
His parents, Sam and Nichole, say he was physically and emotionally bullied at school, and Sammy was recently hit on a school bus.
Sam added: ‘[The school] I knew this was happening,’ with the bullying going from school and the bus to social media platforms like Snapchat.
His mother Nichole said: ‘He was my little boy. He was my baby. He was the youngest.
Greenfield-Central Community School said in a statement: ‘The death of Samuel Teusch is tragic and has left our school corporation and the broader community in tremendous pain. Our hearts go out to the family right now.
‘Sammy was a student at Greenfield-Central for the last year and a half. He completed his third grade at Weston Elementary School in May 2023 and was a fourth grade student at Greenfield Middle School during the current 2023-24 school year.
‘We learned of his death on Sunday afternoon and sent our crisis response team to Greenfield Middle School and Greenfield Central High School (where he has two brothers) to start the week.
‘Our staff at Greenfield-Central has worked extensively with the Teusch family over the past 18 months. Contact between school staff and parents was frequent.
‘The parents reported the manner of death as suicide and we are investigating their claims related to bullying.
“While the investigation continues, we are focusing our resources primarily on meeting the immediate needs of the students we serve in Greenfield-Central schools.”
