Indiana 10-Year-Old Dies by Suicide After Being Bullied, Parents Say

Hundreds of mourners turned out on Wednesday to grieve the death of a 10-year-old boy in Indiana who died by suicide after suffering what his parents said were months of relentless bullying at school. Fourth grader Sammy Teusch was found dead on May 5, according to WTHR-TV. “I held him in my arms. I did the thing no father should ever have to do,” Sam Teusch told the station, “and anytime I close my eyes, it’s all I can see.” Sammy’s family said that the bullying, which continued until the night before his death, had begun with his peers mocking him over his glasses and teeth. The teasing progressively became physical with time. “He was beat up on the school bus, and the kids broke his glasses and everything, and I called the school, and I’m like, ‘What are you doing about this?’” Teusch recalled, adding that he had contacted the school upwards of 20 times. The superintendent of Greenfield-Central Schools, Dr. Harold Olin, told WTHR that no bullying report had ever been submitted by Sammy’s family, though school administrators had had “regular conversations” with his parents throughout the year. Olin declined to share further details. Of cold comfort to the family has been the community support they’ve received in the wake of Sammy’s death. “I’m beyond words,” Teusch told the Greenfield Daily Reporter at Sammy’s funeral.

If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

Read it at WTHR-TV

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