Updated at 3:50 p.m.
GREENFIELD — A mound of flowers encircles the small tree in Sammy Teusch’s front yard, along with a fireman’s hat and a Spiderman balloon.
A collection of wind chimes hangs from its branches, gifts left by virtual strangers who came to offer what support they could to Sammy’s parents — Sam and Nichole Teusch — who say their youngest child committed suicide in their Greenfield home on Sunday, May 5.
Sammy was a fourth grader at Greenfield Intermediate School.
He was just 10 years old.
As the greater Greenfield community has been reeling from news of Sammy’s death this week, the family has spoken out to local media, blaming the Greenfield-Central schools for not doing enough to stop the bullying he allegedly endured for months.
The boy’s father, Sam Teusch, told WTHR-13 in Indianapolis that the family had contacted Greenfield Intermediate School 20 different times to report bullying, but on Tuesday school officials said no reports were ever filed.
“In every instance it was never made anyone else’s fault by Sammy,” Nichole said.
Sam Teusch said another child once struck Sammy with an iPad on the bus, knocking the glasses off his face and giving him a black eye.
“I guess what angers me is that, if it wasn’t bullying and they had the video of this child who smacked him with an iPad, and broke his glasses right off his face, I guess that’s one-sided fighting? To me that’s bullying,” said his wife.
The Teuschs say they asked Greenfield-Central school officials for a copy of the video, “but they said no because there’s other (children) in the video,” said Sammy’s mom.
The Teuschs admit Sammy had been acting out at school, which they believe was likely prompted by bullying.
“After a while, he started acting out really oddly at school. He flipped his desk one day … he was hiding under his desk one day, he hid in a closet or coat cupboard. He threw his glasses. This is all different discussions I’ve had on the phone with the school,” said Sam.
He said he also had multiple talks with Sammy, who would tearfully tell his dad he was being bullied at school.
“Sammy told me a lot over time and then just one day he just stopped telling me,” the father recalled.
“I’m an idiot … We asked him how everything was going at school, and he said, ‘Good. Good.’ After awhile he stopped telling me,” he said.
Greenfield-Central superintendent Harold Olin did say that staff members have “worked with the Teusch family quite a bit over the last 18 months,” but declined sharing details.
“Contact between school personnel and the parents was frequent,” Olin said on Tuesday. “We are investigating their claims related to bullying. Beyond our own investigations, we are cooperating with the Greenfield Police Department in this matter,” he said.
While Olin said he couldn’t share details in the case or previous conversations with Sammy’s parents, Deputy Chief Charles McMichael of the Greenfield Police Department said the investigation into the boy’s death is ongoing.
“This death is tragic for our entire community. Our hearts break for this child’s family and friends,” he told the Daily Reporter.
“The Greenfield Police Department is committed to investigating this case to its full conclusion. Casting blame on others without evidence is dangerous and only leads to further problems,” McMichael said.
“What I would like for you to share is this: Parents, now is the time to talk to your kids. There shouldn’t be anything in their lives you don’t know about — school, homework, sports, friends — every aspect of their lives. The more conversations you have about everyday life, the more comfortable they will be talking about the hard stuff,” he said.
Meanwhile, the community struggles to make sense of the tragedy.
A Go Fund Me page set up to support Sammy’s family and funeral expenses grew quickly throughout the week, raising more than $2,000 beyond its $30,000 goal as of 3 p.m. Thursday, May 9.
Although Sammy’s parents could not be reached, a message on their Go Fund Me page posted Wednesday thanked the community “for the amazing support we’ve been shown. Last night we had a few hundred people show up and give us hugs and support. I couldn’t tell you how many complete strangers walked up to grieve with us and show support,” it read.
“The kids showed up in droves. It was much-needed craziness. There were tears (lots) but for the first time in a few days I seen smiles. I heard laughter. Then more tears, but that’s OK. Friends at this point become family,” it said.
A public “anti-bullying protest walk” has been posted on Facebook for 11 a.m. Saturday, May 18, starting at Greenfield-Central High School and ending at the Hancock County Courthouse.
In the event description, event host Tori Rose wrote: “We need a policy that upholds Greenfield Central’s zero tolerance for bullying. We need administrators that care about our kids. We can and need to do better.”
SCHOOL RESPONSE
Greenfield-Central officials stand by their claims that bullying at school was not the cause of Sammy’s death.
“We have no reason to believe this (tragedy) was due to bullying at school. They are truly rumors and not based in fact,” said Robin LeClaire, the school district’s director of student services, on Tuesday.
LeClaire said the superintendents and counselors from all Hancock County school districts have called Greenfield-Central school officials offering their condolences and support, and that counselors and mental health professionals from all four districts were supporting students this week at Greenfield Intermediate School and Greenfield Central Junior High School, the schools Sammy’s siblings attend.
“We have continued to provide additional mental health professionals in these two schools this week, and we have reminded all G-C families that we have mental health professionals in all eight of our schools to support our students throughout this crisis,” said Olin.
“We have been fortunate to have an outpouring of support from our Hancock County school peers and the faith community, who also made themselves available to our students and families,” he said.
LeClaire said school officials have been in touch with many parents of students who were friends with Sammy, and that the district will continue to support the boy’s family, students and staff.
“We can’t control the narrative that’s out on social media, but we feel like we’ve responded well (in working with the family). Many of the (rumors of bullying) out here are not the experience we have had with him,” she said.
“Greenfield in general takes bullying reports very seriously, and we act on every single report every single time, and if action is required we do that,” said LeClaire. “We also provide training for staff and students at the beginning of every single year.”
LeClaire said what happened to the young man and his family is “a horrible tragedy, and we are extremely saddened by the situation. We know everybody is seeking answers as people often do when a child dies … but right now we don’t have a lot of answers, and I don’t know if or when we will.”
Olin said Sammy’s death “is tragic, and it has left our school corporation and larger community in tremendous grief. Our hearts pour out to the family at this time.”
According to the superintendent, Sammy had been a student in Greenfield-Central schools for the last year and a half, finishing his third grade year at Weston Elementary last spring and attending fourth grade at Greenfield Intermediate School this school year.
When asked if the family had filed any bullying reports regarding Sammy during his time in Greenfield-Central schools, Olin said he could not answer due to privacy laws and the ongoing investigation.
“I can say that we investigate and respond to all bullying reports and that Greenfield-Central takes bullying seriously and every matter is reviewed,” he added.
Olin went on to say the Greenfield-Central schools provide an official bullying incident reporting form, as well as an anonymous reporting app called StopIt on all student devices and school websites.
“Students and/or parents can report bullying behavior verbally. If the claim/accusation meets the criteria spelled out on the form (and Indiana Code), the bullying incident report form is completed,” he said in an email Thursday.
Olin said all incident reports related to bullying are reported to the Indiana Department of Education as mandated by state law.
While the investigation into what led up to Sammy’s death continues, “We are primarily focusing our resources on meeting the immediate needs of the students we serve in Greenfield-Central schools,” he said.
INVESTIGATION CONTINUES
McMichael, who handles community affairs for the Greenfield Police Department, encouraged the public to give the police department time to complete its investigation before laying blame.
“We’re hearing a lot of the same rumors everybody else is hearing. What’s true and what’s not true, we just don’t know yet,” he said.
“If this were an adult, some of the questions would be so much easier, but primarily because the case involves juveniles, there’s just not a lot we can say. Right now, it’s still a very active investigation,” said McMichael. “We’re still talking to several juveniles and there are still several more we want to talk to. I just don’t have anything to share beyond that.”
He added that anyone with information regarding the case can contact Det. Brandon Pope with the Greenfield Police Department at [email protected].
Sammy’s obituary, posted at stillingerfamilyfuneralhome.com, shared that Sammy was “loved by all, thoroughly embraced hugs, and had big plans for the future.”
It said Sammy was a fun-loving young boy who loved to hike and fish, jump into ponds, and play with robots and video games.
He was also a big fan of spicy foods, especially spicy Ramen noodles.
A visitation is planned for 2-8 p.m. Tuesday at Brandywine Community Church, at 1551 E. New Road in Greenfield. The funeral will take place at the church at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 15, followed by a gathering back at the church after a graveside service.
Guests are invited to dress casually, “as Sammy would have known you.” Memorial contributions may be made to STOMP Out Bullying at StompOutBullying.org.
