The family of a New Jersey woman who committed herself after a video of her being abused at her high school was posted online is suing the Board of Education and school administrators, their attorneys announced Monday.
The case filed on behalf of Adriana Kuch’s family against the Central Regional Board of Education and others claim that administrators were aware of “a culture of violence at Central Regional High School” but failed to protect her, according to the attorneys.
Adriana committed suicide after being attacked by at least one other student at her high school last year and having a video of the attack shared online.
The assault and the video “led to her public humiliation and ultimate suicide,” according to the family lawyers’ statement.
Adriana’s death provoked walkouts at Central Regional High School, located in Berkeley Township on the Jersey Shore. The district superintendent, Triantafillos Parlapanides, has resigned.
NBC New York got a video showing Adriana getting struck in the face without notice by someone wielding a water bottle near hallway lockers before the attack resumed. According to the lawsuit, two classmates attacked her, while two others recorded the incident.
Four students faced criminal charges.
The complaint was filed this week in Ocean County, where the school system is based. It refers to the Central Regional Board of Education, Parlapanides, the high school principal, an assistant principal, and others.
The suit claims that they and others should have known that kids had been assaulted at the school and “were being recorded and posted to various social media sites by other students.”
The lawsuit was filed just a few days before Adriana’s death anniversary. She was attacked on February 1, 2023, and was discovered dead in her Bayville home two days later.
“Adriana was the light of our lives, and one year after her tragic and unnecessary death, we are still waiting for justice,” her father, Michael Kuch, said in a statement.
The civil complaint seeks unspecified damages for alleged carelessness, slander, and mental distress. It also seeks unspecified punitive damages.
There were no attorneys listed for any of the defendants in the online court records. A voicemail left with the Board of Education’s business administration late Monday was not promptly returned.
Following Adriana’s death, the school system stated that it had taken action to address bullying.
The district declined to comment to NBC New York, stating in a statement that it had not yet received a copy of the complaint and that the school board would be constrained in what it could say because the subject was in litigation.