Superintendent resigns due to New Jersey County controversy over hallway attack and student death

What you need to know

  • The death of a New Jersey high school student in a suicide last week has now led to charges against four students allegedly involved in a hallway attack filmed in a video that was posted to social media.
  • The victim, 14-year-old Adriana Cooch, killed herself at her Bayville, New Jersey home two days later, family and investigators say; they say the Central Regional High School didn’t handle the situation well
  • The school district says it followed policy by not filing a police report of the assault, but instead took the girl to a nurse; her father says it’s not good enough and demands justice

The superintendent of a New Jersey school district where a 14-year-old freshman committed suicide 48 hours after a video of the bullying surfaced online has resigned the day after the teenager’s memorial service.

Adriana Kuch was found dead a week after Friday after a deliberate bullying incident in which four classmates allegedly teamed up to either attack a high school student or record the incident, which was subsequently posted on social media.

All four girls involved in the Kucha attack, who committed suicide two days after the Feb. 1 incident at Central Regional High School in Berkeley Township, had already been suspended indefinitely before being charged with assault on Friday. in the hallway of the school.

Sources told News 4 that Superintendent Dr. Triantafyllos Parlapanides stepped down on Saturday after a series of interviews at the end of the week that caught the attention of the school board. Parlapanides reportedly emailed a response to a British newspaper in which he spoke about Kuh’s alleged behavior and possible drug use, a move that prompted the board to take action.

During an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss the fate of the superintendent, Parlapanides, who was once a student, teacher and high school principal, submitted his resignation. While the board member confirmed his resignation that same day, Seaside Heights Police Chief Tommy Boyd came to the superintendent’s defense, saying Parlapanides always puts kids first.

Before resigning, Parlapanides said the district’s response to Adriana Cooch’s death was in line with policy, saying it was standard practice for a school to notify police.

“We have always notified the police, but we do not always press charges. It depends on the seriousness of the allegations,” Parlapanides said.

Parlapanides placed the blame for much of the behavior seen in the video on a somewhat unexpected target: schooling during a pandemic.

“They saw things at home, domestic violence, things they weren’t supposed to know about, but unfortunately with COVID, they were,” Parlapanides said.

Michael Cooch, the father of 14-year-old Adriana, says his daughter was attacked by other students and killed herself two days later. NBC New York correspondent Brian Thompson reports.

Prosecutors filed charges against the students on Friday afternoon, the same day that friends and family paid tribute to Kuch at a memorial service.

One student was charged with aggravated assault, two with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, and a fourth person was charged with harassment, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

All the accused are minors, so their identities have not been established. Prosecutors added that each of the four, along with their guardians, was served with a copy of the criminal case against them and were released pending future court appointments.

Earlier in the day, the Ocean County Attorney released a statement saying the office had discussed the matter with the county superintendent and discussed ways to improve the county’s response to incidents. The office also suggested that the district work on programming and student services.

The bullying case made national headlines for its tragic details, including a video of the horrific attack and controversy surrounding the school’s reaction. The teen’s father, Michael Cooch, has previously said Ocean County prosecutors have told him they plan to file criminal charges against at least three of the girls seen in the video attacking his daughter.

Two days earlier, a video of the attack in the hallway appeared on social media. News 4 received this footage (below). WARNING: Please note that some viewers may find its content disturbing.

News 4 received the Central Regional High School fight video. WARNING: Some may find this disturbing when viewed.

The video itself is less than a minute long. It shows Cooch walking down a hallway with her boyfriend as the children recording the moment approach them and walk in the opposite direction. Suddenly, someone moves quickly next to the phone holder, and pink liquid squirts from a cup all over the Pile. She is then attacked by at least two people, as shown in the video, slammed into the school’s lockers, and surrounded by what are now the three attackers.

She crumples on the floor. Three classmates with swaying backpacks fall a little near the lockers, almost stepping on Cooch, who is crawling on the floor, trying to get herself together. Then they start shoving her, dragging her almost on the ground on her knees, pressing her against the red school lockers, the white soles of her shoes being the only part of her visible under the attackers at various points. Then one girl grabs her by the hair.

The brutal attack continues for a few more seconds before two adults break into the video frame and drag the attackers off Kuch. She is seen writhing on the ground with her hands holding both sides of her head as the man stands over her. He then helps the bruised and bloody girl to her feet. Frames are rolled up.

While authorities have not publicly linked the attack video post to Cooch’s death, her father Michael has linked it. He says he believes the bullying drove his daughter to suicide and gutted the school for not calling the police after the attack, despite the fact that he said Adriana passed out. According to him, taking her to the school nurse was not enough.

Asked if it’s possible the county is revisiting whether they’re pressing charges or if suspensions are appropriate, Parlapanides said, “We’re looking at it, we’re looking at it all.”

The girl’s father says that if the district believes that their actions satisfy the policy, then the policy is woefully inadequate. Wrote a statement to the police.

Michael Kuch unleashed his own messages on social media, claiming he took Adriana Kuch to the police immediately after the incident. If the school had launched an investigation at that point, he said, he believes the videos could have been discovered and removed sooner, potentially saving his daughter from the humiliation he says cost her her life.

Now he wants the footage to be seen widely.

“I want the whole world to know what these animals did to my daughter,” said Michael Kuch.

Now there are new videos of other cases of high school bullying. In a 2022 video, a girl with a bandaged arm due to a shoulder injury can be seen being attacked during a wrestling match. The student’s mother told NBC New York that she had to send her daughter to a school outside the district after her attackers were suspended for just 10 days.

During another attack the same year, the victim again had to be transferred. Jonathan Ettman, a lawyer for the family who sued the school, said the video of the incident “immediately [went] on social media to intimidate and harass the victim, in this case my client.”

Ettman proposed a ban on mobile phones.

“Perhaps the solution is that we should ban these kids from using cell phones in school while they should be studying,” Ettman said in an interview with NBC New York.

The school and district continue to face growing repercussions from the attack, in particular how the aftermath was handled (including video of the incident posted online, punishment for those involved, and Kucha’s suicide).

Friday was another day of student protests at the school, as students expressed their outrage at the administration over the Kucha case by leaving the classrooms en masse. Student protests began Wednesday as hundreds of students walked out of class after the district sent out a letter acknowledging growing frustration.

“Following the tragic passing of our student last Friday, we fully understand that students, staff and the community are suffering for the loss of such a young girl with a bright future,” the letter begins.

It goes on to mention a moment of silence and the school’s plan to allow the students to come together in a peaceful and orderly manner. Read the letter below:

“However, unfortunately, student activity began to interfere with the learning process as the day went on,” the letter says. The dismissal was early and slightly chaotic that day, and the district said it would not allow further rallies without prior administrative clearance, citing its concern for the “health, safety, and well-being of all students.”

But students walked out of the classroom again on Friday, expressing dissatisfaction with the school’s response to the tragedy.

“They only sent the letter two days after her death, they tried to hide it. They didn’t want anyone to talk about it,” senior Destiny Gilliland said.

The district first sent out a letter to parents on Monday, the first day of school after Adriana took her own life. He more or less informed the school community of Cooch’s passing, expressed his sincere condolences to her family and friends, and advised people to seek crisis counseling and other resources.


If you or someone you know needs help, call the Suicide and Crisis Prevention Helpline by calling 988, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline at 1-800-273-8255, or contact the emergency services assistance by texting “Home” to 741741 at any time. .

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