US girl, 14, takes own life after video shows other girls beating her up

A 14-year-old high school student took her own life after a sickening video was posted online of a group of girls attacking her.

Adriana Kuch was attacked by a group of girls and a video was posted online. Picture: Jennifer Ferro/Facebook

A 14-year-old US high school student took her own life after video was posted online of a group of girls attacking her – a suicide her father believes was fuelled by longtime bullying.

Police said Adriana Kuch, who attended Central Regional High School in Berkeley Township, New Jersey, was found dead at home two days after the sickening February 1 assault, New York Post reports.

Alarming video showed several students attacking the teen, hitting her with a water bottle, as she walked with her boyfriend in a school hallway, Patch reports.

In the 20-second clip viewed by the local news outlet, a person is heard yelling, “That’s what you get, you stupid a** b**ch!”

The assailants are seen punching, kicking and pulling Adriana’s hair, while others laugh and record the vicious assault, according to ABC 7.

“They think it’s fun to attack people and take videos and post them,” Adriana’s devastated dad, Michael Kuch, told the station.

“Getting hit with a water bottle didn’t hurt Adriana, what hurt her was the embarrassment and humiliation, they just kept coming at her. My daughter actually blacks out and they don’t call an ambulance, they take her to the nurse’s office.”

Mr Kuch added Adriana had “never been in a fight before, she’s 98 pounds [45kg], 5-2 [157cm] and she loves everybody”.

Adriana Kuch was attacked by a group of girls with video of the incident posted online. Picture: Jennifer Ferro/Facebook

Three girls have since been charged with third-degree felony assault and a fourth was charged with disorderly conduct, News 12 New Jersey reports.

Schools superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides told the news outlet police were not called after the attack, citing school policy.

“I don’t believe a police report was done,” he said.

“We normally just suspend. If a parent wants to press charges, they can with the police. We’re not going to double whammy a kid where they are suspended and then police charges as well.”

Mr Kuch was outraged at the school’s response, telling NBC New York: “A kid is assaulted with a weapon and their policy is not to call the police or file a report.”

On Facebook, Mr Kuch posted images of the assault.

“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,” he wrote, adding he “had to take my daughter covered in blood to the local police station”.

“If the school contacted the police and filed a report and conducted an investigation, these videos could have been discovered immediately. 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.”

Mr Kuch also demanded accountability from the school district of Ocean County for harassment and bullying that he says Adriana suffered for a long time.

The 14-year-old was found dead at home two days after the sickening assault. Picture: Jennifer Ferro/Facebook

On Wednesday, more than 200 students at Central Regional High walked out of class in protest of the incident, demanding action over what they described as a pattern of bullying that the district ignores, ABC 7 reported.

“Adriana took her own life because nobody at the school was able to help or care or step in,” sophomore Roman Valez told the station. “I would actually like to teach the people who bully what they’re actually doing and how it affects.”

The district mentioned Adriana’s death in a note on its website and said crisis counsellors were available, but students claim they were not made personally aware of that.

“Nobody was supposed to know Adriana killed herself,” student Lance Jones told the outlet, adding that word spread about the tragedy.

Students and parents claim Adriana was not the only victim of bullying. Last April, a student was attacked in the school cafeteria, suffering an injury that left her unable to fight back, her mother previously told Patch.

Others shared similar accounts, claiming they, or people they knew, had been bullied and the district had done nothing about it.

The district posted a letter on its website saying, in part: “We fully understand that students, staff and the community are hurting for the loss of such a young lady with a bright future.”

Her father Michael Kuch is demanding accountability from the school. Picture: WABC

It said a moment of silence was held outside before the students’ rally.

“To ensure the health, safety and wellbeing 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 said, adding, “It is time to start the healing process and we want to send our thoughts and prayers to the family.”

An online obituary for Adriana says the native of Toledo, Ohio, “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 said.

A wake was set for Friday. Her funeral will be private.

Dr Parlapanides defended the school’s response to the bullying.

“If a situation warrants it we’ll call [police], but in this case the students were suspended immediately,” he told The Post, adding the students involved face criminal charges.

“We address every incident of bullying, but some of it is on the internet and we aren’t privy to that. We’re not the internet police but we don’t put our head in the sand.”

This article originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission