Adriana Kuch, 14, was found dead in her New Jersey home on Feb. 3, days after a fight at Central Regional High School in Berkeley Township. Video of the attack was posted online.
Four students have been charged in a New Jersey school hallway attack on a classmate who killed herself days later, prosecutors said.
One was charged with aggravated assault, another with harassment and two others with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said in a statement Friday.
Their names have not been released. NBC News does not usually name minors charged with a crime, even those charged as adults.
“Each juvenile and their guardian was served with a copy of their complaint and are released pending future court appearances,” Billhimer said.
The prosecutor’s announcement is the latest development in a case that has garnered national attention after video of the Feb. 1 attack at Central Regional High School in Berkeley Township was posted online.
Adriana Kuch, 14, was found dead in her Bayville home on Feb. 3. The four students involved in the assault have been suspended, Central Regional School District Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides said.
Adriana’s father, Michael Kuch, said in Facebook posts and to NBC New York that several students attacked his daughter while walking with her boyfriend in the hallway.
He wrote on Facebook that a video of the fight was posted online and Adriana, a freshman, had been tagged in it. He said he believes it was posted to “make fun of her online.”
Kuch expressed outrage over the school’s handling of the incident, telling NBC New York that police were never called even though Adriana blacked out and had bruises on her body.
Parlapanides told NBC News on Friday that police were notified and that “teachers and safety officers intervened” in the fight. He declined to provide further details about the involved students or the fight.
“It is a tragedy and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family,” Parlapanides said in an emailed statement.
The Berkeley Township Police Department did not immediately return a request for comment.
Kuch told NBC New York there had been an issue involving his daughter and one of the girls “for a couple of years.”
“She had been threatening my daughter online,” he said.
He told the news station he thinks bullying drove his daughter to commit suicide.
Students at the school held a rally for Adriana in protest of the school’s lack of response.
“Adriana took her own life because nobody at the school was able to help or care or step in,” sophomore Roman Valez told NBC New York. “I would actually like to teach the people who bully what they’re actually doing and how it affects.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
Source: NBC News
