RIP Sammy: Indiana boy, 10, kills himself after relentless bullying at school, family says they complained 20 times

“I held him in my arms,” the boy’s father, Sam Teusch, told WTHR. “I did the thing no father should ever have to do, and any time I close my eyes, it’s all I can see.”

Sam and Nicole, Sammy’s parents, claimed that they let the fourth-grader’s school, Greenfield Intermediate School, know about the bullying around 20 times. “They were making fun of him for his glasses in the beginning, then on to make fun of his teeth. It went on for a long time,” Sam said.

‘It keeps getting worse, and worse, and worse’

“He was beat up on the school bus, and the kids broke his glasses and everything,” he said. “I called the school, and I’m like, ‘What are you doing about this? It keeps getting worse, and worse, and worse.”

The school district’s superintendent, Dr. Harold Olin, claimed that no bullying report was ever submitted by Sammy or his parents. He did acknowledge that throughout the year, Sammy’s family and the school’s administrators and counsellor had regular conversations. However, he refused to elaborate due to confidentiality rules.

Sammy’s family insisted that the school knew about the incidents of bullying. “They knew this was going on. They knew this was going on,” the dad said.

Sammy’s grandmother, Cynthia Teusch, blasted the district for saying it has a zero-tolerance policy on bullying. ”That they can’t just say they have zero tolerance because that doesn’t mean there is zero tolerance about bullies, their zero tolerance means that they don’t have responsibility for it,” she told WPTA. “People trust their kids to the school, but now that trust is breaking down.”

Nicole believes a particular incident of bullying that took place in a bathroom last week left the boy terrified. He refused to go to school. “He was my little boy. He was my baby. He was the youngest one,” she said.

‘Sammy was the best kid with a wonderful personality’

A GoFundMe has been set up by Tyler Mills, who referred to Sammy as “my baby brother.” Sammy was the best kid with a wonderful personality. He was smart, funny, charming and deeply empathetic. He brightened the lives of anyone he encountered and was the life of the “party”,” the page reads.

“I know my baby brother didn’t deserve this. A kid with so much love and so much light gone too soon. None of this makes sense and I don’t think it ever will but what I do know is that he deserves a proper send off. Me and my family are asking for help to do just that,” the page adds, urging people to donate.

Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).