The bullies at a South Carolina middle school who forced a 12-year-old girl to hang herself later visited her in the ICU and took photos of the victim to mock her on social media, according to a new lawsuit. It is said that
Keliah Turner, now 14, was physically and verbally abused by five of her classmates for more than a year at Finneys J. Fisher Middle School in Greenville, leaving her grieving family with the school district and nine faculty members. In a lawsuit filed against him, he wrote: accused of negligence.
Believing that suicide was her only way out, Kelaiah hanged herself in 2023 and died for eight minutes before paramedics revived her, leaving her in a coma for weeks with severe brain damage.
While Keliah was in a coma, one of the bullies entered the ICU, took photos of the intubated girl, and posted the photos on social media to spread rumors about her injuries, according to the complaint. It is said that
Keliah's mother, Ty Turner, said she now wants justice and is targeting the school district for allegedly failing her daughter and allowing her to be bullied for a year and a half.
“They taught us, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.'” the mother told WFY44. “Unfortunately, words can hurt.”
The bullying began in 2021 when Kelaiah started attending school with natural hair, and students called her a “cockroach” and said she “looked like a man,” according to the complaint.
Keliah's teacher, Olivia Bennett, joined in the taunting and allegedly acknowledged the victim when the bullies asked Keliah, “Where's the cockroach?”
In addition to regularly insulting and shoving Keliah, one of the bullies learned that her parents had told school officials about their distress and were planning to move Keliah to another class. verbally assaulted her.
Things escalated in 2022 when Keliah got into an argument with one of the bullies, and school officials suspended her, but did not make her the bully, according to the suit.
On May 23, 2022, Keliah's parents announced that students had targeted their daughter by playing an offensive YouTube video called “The Black Man Song,” but her teacher, John Teer, said: He allegedly allowed the video to be played loudly without condemning its racist nature.
Later that year, the bullies continued to pour water on Keliah's clothes and then threw them in the trash, the lawsuit says.
Through all of this, the child's victim's parents say the school district was unable to take any meaningful steps to stop the torture, and Kelaiah chose to hang herself with a belt in her bedroom on March 17, 2023. claims to have done so.
“She was cold to the touch and blood was coming out of her nose,” her mother later recalled of her daughter's limp body. “She was totally focused on what she was trying to do, but she disappeared for eight whole minutes.”
Kelaiah ultimately suffered severe brain damage and lost control of her body.
The lawsuit, filed in November, asks the school district and teachers to pay for Keliah's medical expenses, psychiatric expenses, special education, lost wages for her parents while caring for her, assisted living expenses, disability care, and for her care. They are seeking damages to cover psychological injuries. and loss of emotional state and enjoyment of life.
Greenville County Schools denied the allegations and insisted its staff take appropriate steps when dealing with bullying incidents.
“We disagree with these allegations and conducted a thorough investigation and review of each allegation at the time it was made,” the district said in a statement.
“While we disagree with the allegations, our hearts go out to Keliah Tecora Turner, her mother, and her family,” the official added.
As of Tuesday morning, a GoFundMe to help Kelaiah had raised more than $15,000.
