A ten-year-old boy took his own life after suffering horrific bullying at school, with his family saying he had warned officials 20 times about the ongoing abuse.
Sammy Teusch, from Greenfield, Indiana, died by suicide on May 5 and according to his family, was being bullied up until the night he passed away.
His parents Sam and Nichole say he was both physically and emotionally bullied at school, with Sammy being recently beaten up on a school bus.
The bullying started last year when he was in elementary school, and followed him to Greenfield Intermediate School.
According to the family, Sammy told teachers and other staff about the bullying 20 times.
Sammy Teusch, from Greenfield, Indiana , died by suicide on May 5 and according to his family was being bullied up until the night he passed away
The bullying had started last year when he was in elementary school, and had followed him to Greenfield Intermediate School
His father Sam told WTHR: ‘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.’
‘I held him in my arms. I did the thing no father should ever have to do, and anytime I close my eyes, it’s all I can see.
The abuse then got physical, Sam added: ‘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. And it’s not getting any better. In fact, it’s getting worse.’
Speaking to 21alive, his grandmother Cynthia said: ‘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.’
Dr. Harold Olin was approached by the outlet for an interview and said he was unavailable, but claimed no bullying report had ever been submitted by the family.
Olin added that administrators at the school had conversations with the family throughout the year but wouldn’t share the content of these conversations.
His parents Nichole and Sam said their son had been bullied for his glasses, then his teeth
The bullying is said to have started at school and then followed him home, with it continuing on social media platform snapchat
According to the family, they contacted their son’s school 20 times about the bullying
His grandmother Cynthia say that the trust people put in the schools in breaking down
Dr. Harold Olin, left, was approached by the outlet for an interview and said he was unavailable. Bronson Curtis, right,
His parents Sam and Nichole say he was both physically and emotionally bullied at school, with Sammy being recently beaten up on a school bus.
Sam added: ‘[The school] knew this was going on’, with the bullying going from the school and the bus to social media platforms like Snapchat.
His mom Nichole said: ‘He was my little boy. He was my baby. He was the youngest one.’
Greenfield-Central Community School said in a statement: ‘The death of Samuel Teusch is tragic, and it has left our school corporation and larger community in tremendous grief. Our hearts pour out to the family at this time.
‘Sammy was a student in Greenfield-Central for the last year and a half. He finished his 3rd grade year at Weston Elementary School in May of 2023, and he was a 4th grade student at Greenfield Intermediate School during the current 2023-24 school year.
‘We were made aware of his death on Sunday afternoon, and we dispatched our crisis response team to both Greenfield Intermediate School and Greenfield Central Junior High School (where he has two siblings) to start the week.
‘Our staff in Greenfield-Central has worked with the Teusch family quite a bit over the last 18 months. Contact between school personnel and the parents was frequent.
‘The parents did report the manner of death as a suicide, and we are investigating their claims related to bullying.
‘While the investigation continues, we are primarily focusing our resources on meeting the immediate needs of the students we serve in Greenfield-Central Schools.’
