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Inset: Khimberly Zavaleta (GoFundMe). Background: Reseda Charter High School in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, Calif. (Google Maps).
A 12-year-old girl's death amid allegations of prolonged bullying has led to a wrongful death lawsuit in Southern California.
In late February, Khimberly Zavaleta died after a violent bullying incident at Reseda Charter High School on Kittridge Street in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, according to her family.
On Monday, the bereaved family filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District, alleging the school failed to take reports of bullying seriously, leading to Khimberly's homicide.
The girl's family members recently spoke about their loss in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
"The school has a lot to answer for, because, well, they did nothing," her mother, Elma Chuquipa Sanchez, told the newspaper. "Every single day, I would head to the school and I was there making a fuss [about ongoing bullying]. But it was all for nothing. Now, my baby is gone."
The school district does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation, a Los Angeles Unified spokesperson told Law&Crime.
In March, the girl's family filed a wrongful death claim, a precursor to the recent lawsuit, the Los Angeles Times reported. The claim alleges the family's children had been "bullied and harassed on campus" several times before. Chuquipa Sanchez said her two girls "had repeatedly reported bullying episodes to an LAUSD administrator. But LAUSD did nothing."
The family's attorney, Robert Glassman, of Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP, said the same group of students had been bullying other students and even previously attacked another girl in the weeks leading up to the metal water bottle attack that ultimately took Khimberly's life.
That earlier incident, Glassman said, was documented — recorded on video and posted on social media with the caption: "Happy Tuesday." Video of the incident involving Khimberly and her sister also made the rounds on social media, the attorney told the Times.
"They waited until my daughter died to finally take action," the girl's mother told the newspaper. "It wasn't fair that they [the bullies] continued going to school and my daughters suffered. One had to change schools and we buried the other."
Immediately after the attack at the school, Khimberly was taken to a hospital and eventually sent home, according to a report by City News Service, a Southern California-based wire service.
On Feb. 19, while playing video games, she suffered what her family referred to in a GoFundMe campaign as "a catastrophic medical emergency." An uncle later clarified the girl suffered a stroke after days of lingering headaches, according to The New York Times.
"Major blood vessels in her brain ruptured, and she was rushed to UCLA Children's Hospital, placed in an induced coma, and underwent complex emergency brain surgery," the fundraiser explains.
On Feb. 20, around 3:30 a.m., Khimberly's "heart gave out," with her family at her side, according to the online fundraiser.
Law enforcement, for its part, is largely keeping mum about the girl's death. But the LAPD has said the case is being investigated by the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division, Valley Bureau Section.
"Due to the sensitive nature of the investigation and the involved parties being juveniles, at this time, we are not releasing any further information related to the case," the LAPD said in a statement.
Earlier this month, a 12-year-old was arrested on suspicion of murder in relation to Khimberly's death. However, no formal charges have been filed in the case, which remains under investigation.
The child's family has offered some details.
Chuquipa Sanchez described how the family understood the bullying situation at Reseda Charter High School in comments to Los Angeles-based ABC West Coast flagship KABC in early March.
"At dismissal time, she was in the school hallway when a tall boy came up to her," she said. "He was pushing her, and my daughter told him, 'What's your problem with me? Let's go to the principal's office and talk about it,' but he ignored her."
That's when the younger girl went up to try to get her sister.
"My daughter goes and pulls her away, so they don't hit her sister, and that's when [Khimberly] gets hit in the head," Chuquipa said.
At least part of the fight was captured on video, according to KABC. The footage reportedly does not show the bottle being thrown.
"They were hitting her sister — my eldest daughter," Chuquipa Sanchez went on. "In the video, you can see them pulling [Khimberly]. At one point, they hit her hard on the head, which led her to where she is now — in a morgue."
The grieving mother added that her daughter was shuttled between various hospitals and the family agreed she would undergo a six-hour surgery to remove blood that had accumulated around Khimberly's brain.
The little girl's family moved to Los Angeles from Peru roughly five years ago, hoping for a better life. Khimberly, for her part, dreamed of becoming a doctor one day, her family said.