BAYVILLE, New Jersy -- A teenager has taken her own life just days after an alarming video showing the 14-year-old being punched and kicked in a high school hallway circulated online.
Adriana Kuch, who was relentlessly bullied at Central Regional High School in New Jersey's Berkeley Township, was found dead at her home two days after the shocking video surfaced on February 1, police said.
(Video of attack: https://trashmedia.locals.com/post/3502869/adriana-kuch-attack-video)
The 20-second clip shows several students attacking the teen and hitting her with a water bottle as she walked with her boyfriend.
Bystanders are also seen laughing at Kuch after she was punched, kicked and had her hair pulled, while she lay in the fetal position on the floor of the school hallway.
One of the attackers could be heard yelling, 'That's what you get you stupid ass bitch.'
According to her father, Michael, 14-year-old Kuch was 'smashed in the face three times with a water bottle' and 'blacked out.' He then had to take his blood covered daughter to the police station to file a report because the school refused to do so.
Three girls have been slapped with third-degree assault charges and a fourth has been charged with disorderly conduct, according to News 12 New Jersey. They were also all suspended from school.
But Adriana's family is now seeking justice from the school for what they say was a lack of a response to the viral beating.
Kuch was just a freshman at Central Regional High School in Bayville, where her family moved seven years ago after repeatedly having to locate because her father was an Army Airborne soldier serving the country.
An obituary posted online says the 14-year-old 'adored all animals, she helped children with special needs, she loved jogging with her brothers and was a true nature lover.
'Adriana also enjoyed her walks in the woods, skateboarding, riding dune buggies and dirt bikes,' it continues.
Her sister-in-law, Jennifer Ferro, also posted online that Adriana was a 'one-of-a-kind kid.'
'Our family and her parents would describe her as a beautiful girl who was happy, funny, stubborn, strong, loved animals, could make friends easily, would draw all time time. She loved going on runs with her older brother and our dogs when she came to visit us during the summer, and she always wanted to try out new hobbies... but would get tired of them fast. She talked about how she wanted to be a tattoo artist when she turns 18, and although I didn't take it seriously in the past, I really wish I could've seen what that future was like to know he still had a future,' Ferro continued.
'Sissy was our family's spitfire, and although she had her moments (the good, bad and ugly) we loved her more than life itself and are heartbroken knowing she's gone.'
A wake was set for Friday at the Mastapeter Memorial Home in Bayville where a private funeral will take place. Adriana was predeceased by her mother, Brandy, and is survived by her father, Michael, and step-mother, Sarah, as well as eight siblings.
The family is now all demanding justice from the school district — which they have said did not do enough to protect the teenage girl. Michael said he was horrified to see the way his daughter had been treated and did not withhold his disgust when speaking to the outlet.
'Getting hit with a water bottle didn't hurt Adriana, what hurt her was the embarrassment and humiliation, they just kept coming at her,' he said. 'My daughter actually blacks out and they don't call an ambulance, they take her to the nurse's office,' Kuch said. He added that Adriana had 'never been in a fight before, she's 98 pounds, 5'2 "and she loves everybody.'
The schools Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides told the outlet that police were not called after the attack. 'I don't believe a police report was done. We normally just suspend. If a parent wants to press charges, they can with the police,' he said. 'We're not going to double-whammy a kid where they are suspended and then police charges as well.'
He also defended the administration's actions to the New York Post, saying, 'If a situation warrants it, we'll call [police], but in this case the students were suspended immediately. 'We address every incident of bullying, but some of it is on the Internet and we aren't privy to that,' he continued. 'We're not the Internet police, but we don't put our head in the sand.'
Outraged by the school's lack-luster response Michael seethed to media outlets - slamming the institution that his daughter attended before she died.
'A kid is assaulted with a weapon and their policy is not to call the police or file a report,' he said to the broadcaster. He then wrote about the vicious attack on his Facebook calling the attack 'planned'. 'These four girls planned and executed an attack. If you watch the videos I have, they are laughing while talking about what they are going to do at the start of the video,' he wrote.
The grieving father said that he 'called everyone,' after he received the video - which showed his teenage daughter being beaten up - and 'no action was taken.' He said he also received a second video of the incident from someone who reached out to him online.
Michael said he wasn't told that his daughter had been 'smashed in the face with a bottle three times' adding that he had also not been told his 'daughter blacked out.'
'All they did was take her to the school nurse, the school did not even file a police report. They told me that was not their policy,' he wrote. 'I had to take my daughter covered in blood to the local police station.'
Michael then took a swipe at the school saying more could have been done to discover and take down the videos. 'If the school contacted the police and filed a report and conducted an investigation, these videos could have been discovered immediately,' he wrote. 'I want the entire world to know what these animals did to my daughter. I will not sleep until their family has to watch them stand in front of a judge and plead guilty.'
Michael demanded that the Ocean County school district be held accountable for the harassment and bullying his daughter suffered 'over a long period of time.'
On Wednesday, more than 200 students protested outside Central Regional High, walking out of class and demanding action over bullying which they believe is systemic across the school district.
'Adriana took her own life because nobody at the school was able to help or care or step in,' sophomore Roman Valez said. 'I would actually like to teach the people who bully what they're actually doing and how it affects.'
The district made a statement about the 14-year-old's death and cited crisis counsellors for those who needed them, but students claim they were not made aware of this in person.
'Nobody was supposed to know Adriana killed herself,' student Lance Jones told the outlet.
The school community claim that Kuch was not the only victim of bullying and said last April another student had been attacked in the school cafeteria. They suffered an injury which left them unable to fight back, according to Patch. Others at the protest shared similar tales of worrying and disturbing bullying behavior claiming that the district did nothing about it.
A letter to parents from Superintendent Parlapanides stated: 'We fully understand that students, staff and the community are hurting for the loss of such a young lady with a bright future.'
'To ensure the health, safety and well-being for all students, there will not be any rallies in the future without prior administration approval otherwise action will be taken in accordance with policy. 'It is time to start the healing process and we want to send our thoughts and prayers to the family.'
Then when students planned another walk out on Thursday, parents say, the students were threatened with disciplinary action. 'They scared the kids into staying in school today,' father John Galife was quoted saying, 'It's a little bit of an abuse of power.'
He said students had a plan to leave class at 8am Thursday and rally outside, but he was told by text from one of his sons that they weren't being allowed to leave and were threatened.
The family of Adriana Kuch has announced a visitation today; Friday, February 10th, from 5 PM to 7 PM at the Mastapeter Memorial Home in Bayville, New Jersey, allowing those who knew and loved her to pay their respects. The committal service is limited to the family only. If desired, donations can be made in Adriana’s memory to the Jersey Shore Animal Center located at Brick Boulevard in Brick, New Jersey.
