A California school district has reached a $27 million settlement with a family whose son was killed by bullies four years ago.
According to the Los Angeles Times, 13-year-old Diego Stolz’ legal guardians – his aunt and uncle, Juana and Felipe Salcedo — had spent a year complaining to the school about the bullying he’d faced, but all to no avail.
Then came Monday, Sept. 16th, 2019, the day the bullying culminated in Stolz being physically attacked outside a classroom during lunch break.
The attack may be seen below (*Graphic content):
This happen at landmark middle school again.
When is this going to STOP! When is Moreno Valley district going to take our children’s seriously.For my understanding the child that got punch and fail on the floor is now on life support.
Those bullies needs to be in jail, I would say even through the parents with them as well. now in days kids have no respect or moralsPosted by Keeping Up With The I.E. on Monday, September 16, 2019
“In the video, an assailant gets into Diego’s face as the eighth-grader keeps his hands to his sides. His attacker momentarily retreats only to return and punch Diego in the face,” according to the Times.
“Diego is then sucker punched in the back of the neck as he reels from the first blow, the video shows. The second hit sends him face first into a nearby concrete pillar. The first bully then takes one more shot at Diego, who is on the ground, before both assailants run away,” the Times notes.
Stolz was subsequently taken to a hospital, where he remained in critical condition for a week+ until he was eventually pulled off life support and died on Sept. 24th.
The bullies were reportedly charged with voluntary manslaughter and assault afterward, but because of juvenile laws, it’s unclear what happened to them.
“A spokesperson for the Riverside County district attorney’s office said she could offer no information on the assailants,” the Times notes.
Stolz’s family for their part claimed to the Daily Mail that the boys were essentially let off the hook.
“In 2021, the Riverside County Superior Court judge ruled that the teenage boys would not stay behind bars, but instead were ordered to undergo anger management therapy as a condition of probation,” according to the Daily Mail.
“After 47 days in juvenile custody, the teens were released into the custody of their parents. At the sentencing, Juana Salcedo delivered an impact statement through a translator that said she believed school administrators had let Stolz down after she had raised him not to fight back with bullies,” the Daily Mail notes.
“It’s difficult to put into words many emotions and the pain in my heart,” she reportedly said. “I will continue to fight for my son. I wouldn’t have allowed my son to beat up somebody else.”
As for the school, Diego’s family sued them, arguing they’d failed to intervene despite repeated complaints about the bullying he was facing.
“Diego and family members had complained about bullying for at least a year, including when Diego‘s shoes were stolen when he was in seventh grade. According to the lawsuit, his aunt was provided with an anti-bullying pamphlet by school officials,” the Times notes.
“He had been punched in the chest and threatened with more violence the week before his death even though he met with middle school vice principal Kamilah O’Connor on Sept. 13, 2019, according to the lawsuit,” according to the Times.
O’Connor responded to his complaints by promising to suspend the bullies for three days, beginning on Monday. But when Monday arrived, the bullies were still there. And indeed, this was the Monday when they bullied him for the last time ever.
The Moreno Valley Unified School District will pay $27 million to the family of Diego Stolz, who died in 2019 after he was attacked by two bullies on school campus, despite multiple complaints to school administrators. https://t.co/RizilwjPdp pic.twitter.com/sjoGNTpshd
— KTLA (@KTLA) September 13, 2023
As part of the whopping $27 million settlement, the school district must reportedly implement additional bullying training and protocols.
According to the Salcedo family’s attorney, Dave Ring, the settlement is “the largest” of its kind in the U.S.
“Yet, the family would give all the money back to have their baby, the youngest kid back,” he reportedly said.
Local station KTLA notes that “[t]he settlement comes after a 2020 California law was enacted that asserted that legal guardians were allowed to bring forth a civil suit in the wrongful or negligent death of a minor.”
Prior to 2020, Stolz’s aunt and uncle were out of luck, including in 2019, when they first filed their suit.
The law by Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes was authored specifically because of Stolz, according to the Times. She said the legislation is necessary to provide “a pathway to justice for Diego’s family.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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