GREENFIELD— The Hancock County coroner has ruled the death of a Greenfield 10-year-old as a suicide.
On May 7, the Greenfield Police Department confirmed they were investigating the death of Sammy Teusch, a fourth grade student at Greenfield Intermediate School. In a release sent out Friday, the Hancock County coroner ruled it a death by asphyxiation, suicide. The Greenfield Police Department says their investigation is now complete and no criminal charges will be filed.
In the release from Chief of Police Brian Hartman, he says through the investigation it's believed there was bullying going on in Teusch's life both in school and outside of school. The in school incidents were recorded and addressed.
In the statement Hartman says, " We as a community need to understand we have a problem, no matter the reason for this tragic and untimely death. We have children who feel their lives are so bad that it is not worth living. We need to come together and give these children a life worth living. Children now a days have so many stressors in their lives that they forget to be a kid. We as a society place so much pressure on them through social media, sports, school work, having to get a job, as well as helping around the house that we forget they are just kids and have their own stress and so little life experience to deal with it all."
You can read the full release below:
Greenfield School Superintendent Dr. Harold Olin shared the following statement:
Today the Greenfield Police Department (GPD) completed their investigation into the tragic death of Sammie Teusch. While the investigation was active, we have refrained from public comments to provide an objective environment for the police detectives and to allow the community to grieve. We have reviewed GPD’s statement, whose findings are consistent with the information gleaned from Greenfield-Central’s internal investigation.
Aside from directory information, student records are protected by the Family Educational Rights to Privacy Act (FERPA). Therefore, we cannot address many of the specific items related to this matter.
Greenfield-Central takes all bullying concerns very seriously. We have provided and will continue to provide a safe environment for students in our schools.
If you or someone you know needs support, you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and speak with a trained crisis specialist 24/7.
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