Parents of cheerleader, 12, who killed herself file wrongful death suit against school district

The parents of a 12-year-old girl who killed herself last summer has sued their daughter’s New Jersey school district for failing to intervene when she was being viciously attacked by bullies online.

Mallory Grossman, who attended Copeland Middle School, took her own life after being tormented by bullies on Snapchat, according to her family.

Her parents, Dianne and Seth Grossman, filed a wrongful death suit against the Rockaway Township Board of Education and its staff.

 

Dianne and Seth Grossman (both, far right), the parents of Mallory Grossman, 12, who killed herself last year, have filed a wrongful death suit against the Rockaway Township Board of Education and its staff

Mallory (pictured), of Rockaway Township, took her own life after being tormented by bullies on Snapchat, according to her family

Mallory (pictured), of Rockaway Township, took her own life after being tormented by bullies on Snapchat, according to her family

Dianne (pictured) said she complained to the school for months about the bullying, up and until the day her daughter committed suicide on June 14, 2017

Mallory is pictured with her mother, Dianne

Dianne (left and right, with Mallory) said she complained to the school for months about the bullying, up and until the day her daughter committed suicide on June 14, 2017 

Dianne said she complained to the school for months about the bullying, up and until the day her daughter committed suicide on June 14, 2017. 

The lawsuit cites at least 14 bullying incidents the family believes drove their daughter to kill herself. 

According to the lawsuit, one tormentor asked Mallory: ‘Why don’t you kill yourself?’  

The suit claims another bully asked Mallory: ‘When are you going to kill yourself?’

Dianne told ABC that the bullies have still not been punished.  

‘We know that the poor behavior and poor decisions these kids make has not changed,’ she said. 

‘They do not believe ultimately that they are responsible for it.’

With the lawsuit, the Grossmans are hoping to change the way all schools handle bullies in class and on social media. 

‘I really want schools to understand the gravity of what has happened, Mallory is not a 2-minute news story, she is our daughter and she’s forever gone,’ Dianne told ABC.

‘Our family is forever changed because they chose not to put systems in place, they chose not to protect her, so I want other school systems to learn from this and to start making immediate changes within their buildings,’ she added. 

Last August, the family’s attorney, Bruce NageI sent a statement to NJ. com.

His firm alleged that the school was ‘negligent’ for doing nothing to stop the messages despite Diane’s repeated pleas for help to the administrators at Copeland Middle School.

Dianne said the bullies at Copeland Middle School (pictured) have still not been punished. 'They do not believe ultimately that they are responsible for it.' With the lawsuit, she hopes to change the way all schools handle bullies in class and on social media

Dianne said the bullies at Copeland Middle School (pictured) have still not been punished. ‘They do not believe ultimately that they are responsible for it.’ With the lawsuit, she hopes to change the way all schools handle bullies in class and on social media

Last August, the family's attorney, Bruce NageI (pictured) released a statement alleging that the school was 'negligent' for doing nothing to stop the messages despite Diane's repeated pleas for help to the administrators at Copeland Middle School

Last August, the family’s attorney, Bruce NageI (pictured) released a statement alleging that the school was ‘negligent’ for doing nothing to stop the messages despite Diane’s repeated pleas for help to the administrators at Copeland Middle School

‘This tragedy could have been prevented and this lawsuit should be a wake-up call to every school in every hamlet in our great country that cyberbullying is going on every day and that the schools must immediately take steps to stop this and protect every student in the school,’ the statement read. 

The suit did not name any particular teachers, but it said staff at Copeland had failed to provide a safe and secure environment for students.

Rockaway’s Board of Education previously called the Grossmans’ allegations ‘categorically false’. 

According Dianne, the bullying went on for months via ‘texts, Snapchats and Instagram’.

‘For months she was told she’s a loser, that she had no friends,’ Dianne said during a press conference last year. 

Mallory was a cheerleader and a gymnast. After her death, her teammates donned powder-blue outfits to send a message that bullying must be stopped

Mallory was a cheerleader and a gymnast. After her death, her teammates donned powder-blue outfits to send a message that bullying must be stopped

Mallory is survived by her parents (pictured) and her three siblings - two sisters and a brother

Mallory is survived by her parents (pictured) and her three siblings – two sisters and a brother

Dianne also said she tried to reason with a mother of one of the girls who was bullying Mallory, but that mother didn’t take the extent of the abuse seriously. 

The school’s district superintendent Greg McGann said last year that the district planned ‘to review all of our district procedures and plan for district wide community building at our schools’. 

Mallory is survived by her parents and her three siblings – two sisters and a brother.  

The 12-year-old practiced gymnastics and cheerleading at Star Athletics Cheer & Tumbling in Bootnon. 

In June 2017, her teammates donned powder-blue outfits to send a message that bullying must be stopped.

For confidential support call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255. 



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