Adriana Kuch can be seen in her obituary photograph. She took her own life on Feb. 3, 2023 – two days after being brutally beaten by a group of bullies at school in New Jersey.
Prosecutors on Thursday said they filed an additional criminal charge against a teenager accused in the brutal beating of New Jersey high school freshman Adriana Kuch, who died by suicide days after a video of the attack emerged.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a press release that an additional charge of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault has been filed against one of four juveniles involved in the attack at Central Regional High School in Berkeley Township on Feb. 1. Three others also face criminal charges in the attack. Billhimer did not say in the news release whether additional charges would be filed against the others.
Billhimer said the juvenile, whom he did not name, was served a copy of the complaint and was released pending future court appearances.
The news comes after the first school board meeting since Adriana’s death. Current and former students, parents, and community members spoke out about a history of bullying at New Jersey schools.
“I was bullied out of this school by not only students but teachers,” former student Sidney Mole said. “I had a teacher sit there and tell an entire group of kids I was sitting with at a table at class that I was going down a deep spiral into a pit of despair, and nobody should be friends with me because if they were friends with me, I would just drag them down with me.”
School officials laid out an action plan to combat bullying.
The news also comes after Adriana’s father said he is filing legal claims against school officials over violent bullying he says led his daughter to end her life.
William Krais, the attorney for the father of Adriana, said his office is planning to file a tort claims notice with the Central Regional Board of Education, a precursor to a lawsuit in New Jersey, and claims against Central Regional High School.
“We are exploring all possible legal claims arising from the tragic passing of Adriana Kuch,” Krais said in a statement. “We will investigate not only the vicious bullying by Adriana’s classmates at the school but also the administration’s lack of intervention and supervision leading up to this attack and its failure to engage law enforcement immediately after the attack.”
The tragic news about Adriana hit the students and parents hard. It led to a walkout in which students demanded administrators do more to end repeated acts of cruelty on campus.
The school superintendent, Triantafillos Parlapanides, resigned after he defended the school and blamed Adriana’s family. He has since apologized.
Gov. Phil Murphy (D) suggested there could be a state-level investigation into bullying, although he didn’t elaborate.
One mom, Rachel O’Dea, filed a lawsuit against Central Regional School District in October 2022.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
