Family sues Hamilton Southeastern School District over suicide

FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) - Twice in one week , lawyers have Hamilton Southeastern Schools in their sights.

In both cases, families claim the district ignored reports of bullying.

In a lawsuit just filed, a family claims bullying led their son to commit suicide. The lawsuit - filed against not only Hamilton Southeastern Schools, but several school administrators - claims the district and the administrators failed to respond to complaints after a student claimed he was bullied. That student committed suicide last year.

The parents of 14-year-old Jamarcus Bell said he was full of life and loved sports. But Hamilton Southeastern Schools disciplined him for disruptive and inappropriate behavior throughout the seventh and eighth grades.

An attorney representing Bell's family said many of the incidents of "misconduct" happened in direct response to bullying and harassment. Tragically, when Bell entered his freshmen year at Hamilton Southeastern High School he took his own life . Natalie Moore found her son dead.

Last week, Moore filed a lawsuit against the district claiming bullies pushed her son over the edge and the school did nothing to stop it.

According to the suit, Moore and Bell's stepfather informed school administrators he had been bullied. The suit claims a Hamilton Southeastern School administrator failed to properly investigate the incidents. Rather than listening to Bell's version of the facts or investigating the incidents, the lawsuit claims, the school's assistant principal improperly placed the entire blame on Bell.

In an interview with 24-Hour News 8 after Bell's death, Moore said there were warning signs at school.

"He wrote a suicide note at school - this was about two years ago - and left it for the teachers to find, and he went into a closet, and they found him and he went to the hospital," Moore said.

According to the lawsuit, school officials found Bell in a janitor's closet at Fishers Junior High School with a noose hanging from the ceiling.

In regards to the lawsuit, Hamilton Southeastern Schools said in a statement that the district will not share details of the situation but will wait to present its position in court.