What we know about the death of Adriana Couch as four students are accused

Students at Central Regional High School in Berkeley Township, new jersey Grieving the loss of Adriana Couch, a high school student who died by suicide shortly after a video of her being assaulted by fellow students social media.

The circumstances of Adriana’s death have sparked outrage among students and community members at the school and a broader conversation about how best to protect children from the harms of peer harassment in the age of social media.

It led to criminal charges and the resignation of the school superintendent for students filmed attacking Adriana after she blamed the death on alleged drug use and other family issues.

what happened

On February 1, a video surfaced on social media purporting to show several students attacking Adriana as she walked down a hallway at her high school with her boyfriend. According to reporting from NJ.com, the attack lasted 30 seconds before school staff intervened, leaving the 14-year-old bloodied and bruised. Other students can be heard cheering in the background.

Two days later, family members found Adriana dead of suicide in their Bayview home.

Her father, Michael Cooch, blamed bullying for his daughter’s death and said he took her to the police after the attack and filed a police report that night. He believes that if the school had started an investigation after the incident, the video of the incident may not have surfaced on social media.

The superintendent, Triantafillos Parlapanides, said NJ.com The decision not to report the assault to the district police was in line with its policy.

But that didn’t happen, and a week after Adriana’s death, students at Central Regional High School walked out of their classes to protest the beatings Adriana had faced at the hands of the school and school district.

“Adriana took her own life because no one at school was able to help or care or step in,” Roman Vallez, a sophomore, said. to say WNBC. “I want to actually teach people what they’re actually doing and how it affects them.”

The story continues

Who faces charges?

On Friday, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billheimer announced that his office has filed criminal charges against four female high school students for their roles in the alleged assault. One of the students was charged with aggravated assault, two were charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and the final student was charged with harassment.

The students have already been suspended from the school after the alleged assault. Their names have not been released because they are minors.

According to Mr Couch, a girl now facing criminal charges had been bullying Adriana online for years before the alleged assault. He also told reporters that after the video was posted on social media, one of the alleged attackers sent a message mocking his daughter.

A widespread problem

Mr. Parlapanides, the superintendent, resigned the weekend after that to say The Daily letter That Adriana was offered counseling “for drugs” but her father refused to take the school up on her offer. The now former superintendent held the position for 14 years.

Mr. Parlapanides’ comments were met with widespread condemnation, but the school district’s administrative problems may not stop there. Luca Canzoneri, a 15-year-old student of the school, said this Daily letter The school administration was “joking” its students into protesting in the wake of Adriana’s death.

Her death is indicative of a larger problem – the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among teenagers in the United States.

A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found Female and LGBTQ+-identifying teens are reporting record high levels of mental health challenges, with 42 percent of all high school students feeling sad or hopeless at some point by 2021. This number represents a 50 percent increase over the past decade.

Experts in the field have linked the emerging mental health crisis among teenagers to concerns about the climate and political environment, social media, Covid and rising levels of social isolation. Thirty percent of teenage girls said they had thought about suicide.

“There’s no question that young people are telling us they’re in crisis,” Kathleen Ethier, director of the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health, said. said Comment on research reported by PBS. “Information really calls us to action.”