Mother Of Bronx Teen Who Killed Herself Sues City For $10M

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Published on November 12, 2014, 8:04 am
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The mother of a Bronx high school student who killed herself after getting caught cheating on a test is suing the city for $10 million.

Omotayo Adeoye was a brilliant but troubled junior at the elite High School for Math, Science and Engineering who drowned herself May 29 after teachers reprimanded her for using her cell phone during an exam.

The troubled 17-year-old student penned a suicide note on her German-language quiz that said: “I just want to go away forever on the bottom of the river.”

The suit filed by Mounsurat Adeoye says a High School for Math, Science and Engineering instructor “publicly shamed and humiliated” Omotayo for cheating on a test.

Moments later, Omotayo scrawled her suicide note on the back of her exam and walked into the Hudson River.

A city investigation cleared the instructor of any wrongdoing and she is not named in the suit.

Court papers filed by Omotayo’s mom also say teachers had immediate possession of the note but that staff “…failed to prevent (the teenager) from leaving the school.”

Adeoye also accuses school staffers of waiting hours to call 911, not examining video cameras to see her departure, not starting an immediate search and not notifying her treating social worker.

She also faulted the school for not verifying that she was in fact cheating and for taking away her cell phone.

She also said that Omotayo’s teacher was aware of the girl’s mental health issues, including a previous suicide attempt.

“The school really let the family down,” said Jonathan Michaels, the mother’s lawyer. “They promised to watch out for her and help her cope with the academic pressures but they didn’t.”

Michaels said the victim was the oldest of four children and dreamed of becoming a doctor.

A spokeswoman for the DOE referred questions to the Law Department. A spokesman for that city agency said they will review the suit.

 

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