A teenager knocked a teacher unconscious over a Nintendo Switch, deputies said. (Screenshot: Flagler County Sheriff’s Office)
The Florida woman whose brutal attack by a high school student was captured on video says she did not confiscate the minor’s handheld video game console before the assault.
A paraprofessional at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast was attacked earlier this month by 17-year-old Brendan Depa, a student.
According to a report from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) reviewed by Law&Crime, Brendan Depa, 17, allegedly attacked the woman because he was “upset that [she] took his Nintendo Switch game away from him.”
“Depa made statements that he will beat her up every time she takes away his game,” the report says.
A fundraiser on GoFundMe has identified the woman as Joan Naydich, and she says she did not take the boy’s video game.
“For all you keyboard warriors, I just want to set the record straight,” Naydich said Tuesday in an update to the GoFundMe page one of her friends created. “I never took the Nintendo Switch from him. From anyone that’s read or heard differently, I’ve been told this was unfortunately misinformation.”
The FCSO says that the report, which does not identify Naydich as the victim of the attack, contains information provided to them by Depa and did not separately confirm that Naydich had taken the gaming console.
“The statement made by the suspect was his version of the attack,” Chief Kimberly Burroughs said in a statement emailed to Law&Crime.
Burroughs said that at the time of the arrest, the victim could not be interviewed because of her injuries.
“The State Attorney’s Office then conducted follow-up interviews, and so as to not traumatize the victim again, we did not conduct a formal interview with her,” Burroughs said.
The State’s Attorney’s Office did not immediately reply to Law&Crime’s request for comment.
The FCSO incident report says that, according to surveillance video, Depa pushed the woman from behind, launching her “in the air 5-6 feet and causing her to fall to the ground.”
Depa is around 6 foot 6 and weighs 270 pounds, the report says. According to the surveillance footage, the woman he allegedly attacked is significantly smaller.
As the woman lay unconscious on the floor, Depa “is observed then kicking her […] and repeatedly punched [her] in the body and back of the head approximately 15 times. At no time was [she] able to block any of the strikes as she was unconscious.”
Depa was ultimately subdued by “several MHS employees,” the report says.
The report notes that Depa “kept asking what is going to happen to him and if he can go back to the group home.”
When the deputy said he couldn’t respond, Depa “got upset and started kicking my desk and computer system, which caused my computer monitor to fall.” Depa was then subdued and transported by additional sheriff’s deputies.
Depa also allegedly threatened the victim almost immediately after the attack.
“As we walked past [the victim] who was being treated by EMS, Depa started to spit towards [her] and made comments that when he comes back, he is going to kill her,” the report says.
On Facebook, the FCSO responded to comments that Depa appeared to be a special needs student after body camera footage showed him asking if he was going to jail and telling officers he had “more important places to be.”
“Regarding debates about the student’s ESE status: Flagler Schools is legally unable to comment on a student’s status due to FERPA [Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act],” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook. “As such, FCSO is unable to address questions regarding this subject.”
As of Wednesday, the crowdfunding effort has raised more than $83,000 for Naydich. Naydich is currently “home and recovering,” according to the GoFundMe page.
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