A South Carolina family’s world was shattered when 12-year-old Kelaia Turner attempted suicide following months of ongoing bullying from students at Dr. Phinnize J. Fisher Middle School. Now, her family is seeking justice.
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The Turner family filed a lawsuit against the Greenville County School District, citing the school’s negligence in responding to bullying and harassment claims regarding Kelaia, who is now 14 years old. “They used to teach us, ‘Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me,’” Ty Turner, Kelaia’s mom, told WYFF News 4. “Unfortunately, words do hurt.”
According to the 24-page suit, the bullying began in 2021 when Kelaia started wearing her natural hair to school. Students reportedly started calling her “roach,” “mustache face,” and even said she looked “like a man.”
The Turner family alleges the bullying went on for over a year, and any time formal complaints were brought to the school, they fell on deaf ears. “There was no less than seven to nine times that I, myself personally, reached out to the school,” Turner said in the WYFF4 interview. “I have the emails, and half the time they didn’t respond back, and if they did, it wasn’t with anything of any sustenance. There was never any resolution.”
In March 2023, 12-year-old Kelaia expressed thoughts of suicide to her friend. Five days later, her mother found her hanging by her neck in her bedroom, according to the New York Post.
“She was cool to the touch, blood was coming out of her nose, and she had already urinated on herself. She had fully committed to what it was that she was attempting to do, and she was gone for eight whole minutes,” Turner said. Paramedics luckily found a faint pulse and rushed her to the hospital.
Kelaia spent 31 days in ICU and a total 101 days in the hospital. During this time, one of Kelaia’s alleged bullies paid a visit, took and then posted photos of Kelaia laying unconscious in the ICU, according to the Turner lawsuit.
While Kelaia was released from the hospital, she suffered from severe brain damage and now has no control over her own body. “She’s total care: nonverbal, on a trach, [and] on a feeding tube. She requires around-the-clock care that, for the most part, is administered by her father and I,” Turner said. Additionally, the family has recently hired a nurse to help care for their daughter.
In response to the lawsuit, Greenville County Schools released a statement obtained by Daily Mail. “We disagree with these allegations and have conducted a thorough investigation and review of each allegation at the time they were made,” it read. “While we do not agree with the allegations, our hearts go out to Kelaia Tecora Turner, her mother, and their family.”
Kelaia’s family remains hopeful that she will make a full recovery. The family also made a GoFundMe page in order to assist with medical bills, special education, and other care for Kelaia.
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