Adriana Kuch lawsuit: Bullied girl’s family who killed self file civil suit against Central Regional Board of Education for failing to protect their daughter amid a culture of violence that they knew existed at the school.
The family of a New Jersey teen who died by suicide after video of her being assaulted at her high school was posted online last year is suing the board of education and school officials, for failing to protect their school student daughter.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of the Adriana Kuch‘s family against the Central Regional Board of Education and others alleges that officials were aware of ‘a culture of violence at Central Regional High School‘ and failed to protect her, family lawyers said on Monday.
Adriana, 14, took her own life after she was attacked by at least one other student in her high school in 2023, and after video of the attack was posted online.
Family seeks to hold school accountable for failing to preempt ongoing bullying
The assault and the video ‘led to her public humiliation and ultimate suicide,’ family lawyer, Bill Krais said in a statement.
The Kuch family attorney said they are suing to make sure what happened to them doesn’t happen to another family.
‘A moment doesn’t go by that he doesn’t think about his daughter. He wakes up in the middle of the night screaming her name,’ Krais said.
Adriana’s death sparked walkouts at Central Regional High School, which is in Berkeley Township on the Jersey Shore. The district superintendent, Triantafillos Parlapanides resigned.
Video of the vicious school attack showed Adriana being struck with no warning in the face by someone holding a water bottle near hallway lockers, before another girl joining in. The lawsuit claims two students attacked her and two others recorded it.
Ayona Lanzetti identified on social media as one of the four girls charged over NJ girl’s bullying at Central Regional High School
Social media identifies four students involved in bullying
Four students were criminally charged. One student was charged with aggravated assault, while a second at the time faced court as an adult, a third student was charged with harassment and two with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault according to NBC News following the attack.
While police declined to publicly identify the four students involved in the attack, social media had previously identified the ‘bullies’ as Ayona Lanzetti, Keyona Brinson, Amira Mosley and Jasmine Puga.
According to New Jersey law, minors charged with more serious offenses, such as assault, can be tried in adult criminal court.
The decision on whether or not to charge as an adult lies with the prosecutor.
The lawsuit on behalf of Adriana’s family was filed this week in Ocean County, New Jersey, where the school district is located. It names the Central Regional Board of Education, Parlapanides, the high school principal, an assistant principal and others.
Amira Mosley and Keyona Brinson identified on social media as two of the four girls charged over NJ girl’s bullying at Central Regional High School.
Culture of ongoing violence and school’s failure to address it
The suit alleges that they and others should have known that students had been assaulted at the school and ‘were being recorded and posted to various social media sites by other students.’
“They knew that fights were recorded, and they knew fights, the recordings, were posted to social media, turning physical attacks into cyberattacks, yet they did very little to stop it,” Krais said.
The suit was filed days before the one-year anniversary of Adriana’s death. She was attacked on Feb. 1, 2023, and was found dead in her Bayville home two days later.
‘Adriana was the light of our lives, and one year after her horrific and needless death, we are still waiting for justice,’ her father, Michael Kuch, said in a statement.
The civil complaint seeks unspecified damages for allegations that include negligence, defamation and the infliction of emotional distress. It also seeks unspecified punitive damages.
Online court records did not list attorneys for any of the defendants in the case.
The Central Regional School District has said that it has taken action to address bullying after Adriana’s death. It remained unclear what action was necessarily taken.
Asked to comment on the lawsuit, the school district said that it had yet to be served a copy of the complaint and that the school board would be limited on what it could say because the matter involves litigation.
