A Year After Sammy’s Death, His Father Demands Accountability: “It’s Disgusting What They Let Happen”
Nearly a year after 10-year-old Sammy Teusch tragically took his own life following relentless bullying, his grieving father is still searching for answers—and justice. Samuel Teusch, heartbroken and outraged, says the silence from the school district is “disgusting” and “devastating.”
“They failed my son,” he said. “And no one’s been held accountable.”
On May 4, 2024—just one week before Sammy’s death—the family attended his brother’s soccer game. As they walked away from the field, Sammy quietly pointed at a boy and whispered to his parents, “That’s him.” Samuel still remembers the moment vividly.
The boy Sammy identified was one of several classmates who had tormented him, the same boy who had recently shoved him into a trash can while others stood by laughing.
What began as cruel teasing about Sammy’s glasses and teeth escalated into physical assaults at Greenfield Elementary School. Sammy had been wearing temporary glasses while waiting for a new $525 pair his parents hoped would stop the ridicule. But no new pair of glasses could shield him from the cruelty.
“We Tried Everything”
The Teusch family had sounded the alarm—again and again. They pleaded with the school for help, reporting each disturbing incident. But according to Samuel, those cries went unheard. Sammy’s desperate pleas to his teachers were brushed aside.
“I remember after he got hit on the school bus and then he got in trouble for it,” his father recalled. “He told me, ‘Daddy, it’s okay. They don’t care. They’re not listening to me.’”
His father’s voice breaks recounting those words.
“He felt completely helpless,” Samuel told People. “The school kept saying they had a zero-tolerance policy for bullying… but nothing ever changed.”
Instead of support, the school labeled Sammy as the problem. “They’d say, ‘Sammy’s a discipline issue.’ But he was hiding—under desks, in closets, in the bathroom. What did they think he was hiding from?” his father asked, pain and frustration rising in his voice.
The Last Morning
The morning after that soccer game—just days before his 11th birthday—Sammy crawled into bed with his mother for one final moment of comfort. No one could have imagined it would be his last morning.
“I Want Pancakes, Daddy”: A Father’s Final Conversation with His Son Before Tragedy Struck
On an ordinary Sunday morning, 10-year-old Sammy Teusch asked for something simple—pancakes.
“I want pancakes, Daddy,” he said with a smile. His father, eager to make him happy, headed to the store with Sammy’s older brother, Xander, 13. But by the time they returned, the sweetness of that request had turned into unimaginable sorrow.
When they called Sammy down for breakfast, Xander went upstairs—only to find his little brother had taken his own life in his bedroom.
Now, the Teusch family is left shattered. Three siblings lost their bright, loving brother. Two parents are left grieving a child who, they insist, had no history of depression—only relentless bullying that drove him to a tragic end.
“He wasn’t depressed… he was a happy little boy,” Sammy’s father, Samuel Teusch, told the Daily Mail. “He was so full of life, so loving and caring. He was scared in a moment, and he thought this was his only way out. I still can’t believe he’s gone.”
A Life Stolen by Cruelty
For two years, Sammy endured verbal and physical abuse at school—insults about his appearance, physical assaults, and even taunts urging him to kill himself. The torment escalated, unchecked, until it consumed him.
“He had over a hundred friends,” Samuel said. “But it only took six to eight cruel kids to push him into the grave. And I won’t let this happen to another family.”
According to the CDC, one in five students between the ages of 12 and 18 are bullied each year in the U.S. While suicide in children under 10 is rare, suicide is now one of the leading causes of death for young people aged 10 to 24—surpassing most major medical conditions.
Samuel has since dedicated himself to raising awareness about child suicide and the critical importance of early intervention.
“I want to be the last parent crying on television,” he told ABC News. “We all cherished Sammy. In a lot of ways, he was our leader.”
Still No Justice
As the Teusch family mourns, their pain is compounded by the lack of accountability from those they believe failed to protect Sammy.
Despite repeated pleas for help, school officials at Greenfield-Central Community School Corporation—now named in a wrongful death lawsuit—have remained largely silent. No students have faced meaningful consequences. No apologies have been made.
The Teusch family’s grief is now laced with quiet fury and an unrelenting drive for change.
“They ignored him. They ignored us,” Samuel said. “But I won’t be ignored. Not anymore.”
“I Killed One and Got Away With It”: A Father’s Outrage Over Zero Accountability
The official complaint filed by the Teusch family lays bare the devastating final months of Sammy’s life—and it names names. Principal Branson Curtis and Superintendent Dr. Harold Olin, both of whom still hold their positions, are directly cited for their inaction.
For Samuel Teusch, that’s not just unacceptable—it’s infuriating.
“It’s disgusting, it’s shocking, and it’s devastating,” he said. “My son died on a Sunday. By Monday morning, the kids who bullied him were back in class, as if nothing had happened. No statement. No consequences. No compassion.”
His voice breaks, but his message is crystal clear: “What kind of message does that send to children? That you can torment a kid until he’s gone—and walk away like nothing happened? That’s what these bullies think now. ‘I killed one and I got away with it.’”
The silence from school officials, Samuel says, only empowers cruelty and deepens the trauma for every family forced to wonder if their child could be next.
“This can happen to any child on Earth. If it happened to Sammy—a loved, happy, bright little boy—it can happen to anyone.”
Seeing the World Through Sammy’s Eyes
Two days after Sammy’s death, the new glasses he’d been eagerly waiting for finally arrived. Funky, bold, and different—he believed they’d help stop the bullying.
They didn’t get the chance.
Now, those glasses sit quietly in the Teusch family’s home—a symbol of what was lost, and what still burns fiercely in their hearts.
“Whenever I miss him, I pick up those glasses and look through them,” Samuel said softly. “And for a moment, I see the world through Sammy’s eyes.”
A world that failed him—but a family determined to fight for change.
“We all miss him terribly. But in his name… we’re going to change the world.”
A Call for Accountability, Not Revenge
The Teusch family isn’t seeking revenge—they’re demanding accountability, awareness, and lasting change. Their deepest hope is that no other child feels as helpless and unheard as Sammy did, and that no other family has to endure the same unimaginable heartbreak.
Their fight is not just for Sammy.
It’s for every child who’s been bullied. Every parent who’s been ignored. Every school that turned away when it should have stepped in.
Please, share Sammy’s story. Break the silence. Amplify the call for change.
In Sammy’s name, let’s build a world where compassion is louder than cruelty—and no child ever feels that their only way out is to disappear.
#JusticeForSammy #StopBullyingNow #SeeTheWorldThroughSammysEyes
