Lawsuit claims Redmond girl killed self over bullying

A Redmond woman has filed a $12 million federal lawsuit against the Redmond School District, a teacher and principal, claiming their inaction led her 12-year-old daughter to kill herself over a boy’s bullying about her weight.

The Oregonian reports the woman, Maranda Riboli, claims in her lawsuit that the district and educators are responsible for the death of her daughter, Brooklyn Marie Brehm, whose older sister found her dead at the family’s home on April 18, 2017.

The lawsuit claims a classmate at Elton Gregory Middle School “regularly and frequently fat-shamed” the girl, telling her “that she should kill herself because she was a waste of space and no boy would ever like her.”

The newspaper reported the girl’s mother had emailed and met with her teacher two months earlier about the bullying by a sixth-grade boy. Attorney Rachel O’Neal said the school district failed to follow its own protocol, as the teacher failed to notify the principal and no investigation was undertaken.

The school district declined to comment on the lawsuit but gave the newspaper a statement by email, saying they “are dedicated to the safe education of students” and that the district has a policy that bans “hazing, harassment, intimidation or bullying, menacing and acts of cyberbullying.”