The father of the 14-year-old New Jersey high school girl who took her own life after an online video showed a group of girls beating her up said that she committed suicide after receiving taunting and humiliating texts about the brutal assault. Adriana Kuch was found dead at her home on February 3, two days later after she was assaulted by four girls in her school.
Kuch was assaulted in a hallway at Central Regional High School in Berkeley Township and the entire episode was caught on video which was later made online. Kuch's dad Michael Kuch told the Daily Mail that his daughter felt humiliated after receiving the taunting texts and committed suicide.
Humiliated and Compelled to Commit Suicide
Kuch's devastated father Michael Kuch told the Daily Mail that hours before the teen died, one of the girls who recorded the assault texted her to make fun of her for "dripping blood" and having "a— whooped."
According to him, one of the attackers started the vicious attack out of jealousy over Adriana's friendship with another girl. Kuch said that his daughter was instigated to commit suicide because she felt humiliated by the video that quickly went viral on TikTok and Snapchat.
"She was so embarrassed that they jumped her. She would say, 'I don't want to be made fun of,'" the devastated dad told the outlet.
"It was like she was attacked twice. It used to be you'd go to school, get bullied and then you left. But now you come home and you keep getting bullied — they still keep picking at you home," he added.
Kuch took her life just two days after the disturbing video posted online showed her being attacked by a group of girls in her school. The disturbing video captures several students assaulting Kuch with water bottles as she walked with her boyfriend along a school hallway, according to Patch.
"That's what you get, you stupid a— b—!" one of the students is heard yelling in the 20-second clip that the local news outlet viewed.
According to ABC 7, the attackers can be seen punching, kicking, and yanking Adriana's hair as others watch and laugh.
"I can't begin to tell you how angry I am at the school, at the police department... if those videos hadn't been posted, these girls would have ended up with a one-day suspension or in no trouble at all," the distraught dad said.
"The [school] has done nothing. They should not be in charge of our children's safety," added Kuch, who served 22 years in the US Army.
Suicide or Murder?
According to News 12 New Jersey, three have been charged with third-degree assault and a fourth has been charged with disorderly behavior. Additionally, they were all expelled from school.
Kuch insisted that the theory about the savage assault was "garbage" and earlier rejected that the attack was racially motivated by race. "Adriana was beautiful and she loved everyone, she did not care about race, the world would be a better place if everyone was as colorblind as she was," Kuch wrote on Facebook Thursday, responding to speculation that race played a role in the beatdown.
Kuch shared a screenshot of what looks to be a protest march from an Instagram Story. "They are protesting about that white girl," an Instagram user wrote over the image.
"Nah, cuz wtf why does black people do that to the white girl," the user continued, claiming "black people know that white [people] hate them still."
Adrina was white but it wasn't clear what race the attackers were in the disturbing video. "People are sending me garbage like this, I am not here to make it about race," he furiously replied to that post.
Kuch has been insisting that bullying was the only factor in his daughter's death and there is no racism angle to it.
A petition on Change.org with the headline "Stop the Violence at Central Regional High School" has received more than 6,500 signatures from the local community.
The petition was started by Racheal O'Dea after her daughter was "jumped and physically abused by MULTIPLE females" at the school in January 2022.
"She had reported threats and their previous stalking to the school weeks before it happened and NOTHING was done! The attack was recorded and sent across social media," O'Dea wrote.
Kuch was a student at Central Regional High School in Bayville, where her family moved seven years ago after being forced to relocate numerous times due to her father's military service as an Army Airborne paratrooper.
According to an obituary posted online, Kuch "adored all animals, she helped children with special needs, she loved jogging with her brothers and was a true nature lover.
"Adriana also enjoyed her walks in the woods, skateboarding, riding dune buggies and dirt bikes," it reads.
Triantafillos Parlapanides, superintendent of schools, told News 12 New Jersey that school rules prevented police from being notified after the incident.
"I don't believe a police report was done. We normally just suspend. If a parent wants to press charges, they can with the police," he said, adding, "We're not going to double-whammy a kid where they are suspended and then police charges as well."
"A kid is assaulted with a weapon at school, and their policy is not to call the police or file a report?" the teen's father was appalled by the school's response, telling NBC New York.
In addition to her father, Michael, and stepmother, Sarah, Adriana also leaves behind eight siblings. Her mother, Brandy, predeceased her.
