GREENFIELD, Ind. – “They don’t listen to me, daddy.” Those were the frustrated words of 10-year-old Sammy Teusch, who took his own life in May after being bullied for months at his school in Greenfield. His brother found him hanging from his bunk bed on the morning of May 5. One of his tormentors had previously suggested he hang himself. An investigation into his death found he died by asphyxiation by strangulation. The death was ruled a suicide. Greenfield police said no criminal charges were warranted. His parents, Sam and Nicci Teusch, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Greenfield-Central Community School Corporation and the Board of Trustees. The family accused the defendants of “callous indifference” in dealing with Sammy’s numerous complaints about his treatment at the hands of other students. Local father pushing for change after 10-year-old died by suicide  Sammy’s family moved to Greenfield from Florida in November 2022. He had previously attended schools in Florida and Wisconsin with no problems. “At each of these schools, Sammy was a well-behaved student with no emotional or disciplinary issues whatsoever,” the lawsuit said. But soon after starting school at Greenfield’s Weston Elementary, other students called him “Dahmer,” a reference to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Complaints to his teacher went nowhere, with his instructor telling him he “did somewhat resemble Jeffrey Dahmer,” according to the lawsuit. Bullying continued at school, but Sammy’s complaints fell on deaf ears. He resorted to flipping over his desk to draw his teacher’s attention. That only led to disciplinary action, as the teacher believed he was being disruptive. Sammy told his parents about the bullying. His mother met with the principal “numerous times,” according to the lawsuit. While the principal sometimes shielded Sammy from the abuse by inviting him to lunch in her office, it was unclear if any action was taken against the bullies. Sammy advanced to the fourth grade and moved to Greenfield Intermediate School (GIS) for the 2023-2024 school year. His bullies also ended up there, and the abuse only became worse. The bullies chased him around school during breakfast period, leading Sammy to hide in the bathroom. Sometimes he refused to come out. A male student assaulted Sammy and attempted to strangle him—it was severe enough that Sammy told his dad he “saw stars.” The assault left marks on his neck. The same bully punched him on the school bus one day, causing his face to swell. A different student took Sammy’s iPad and hit him in the head with it as hard as he could, giving him a black eye. The attack also injured his neck and shoulder. The same student pinned him against a bathroom wall during lunch, with the bully’s friends also participating. The bully, in a separate incident, stuffed Sammy into a school garbage can. Greenfield PD completes investigation into 10-year-old’s suicide, no criminal charges to be filed A female student was particularly antagonistic, according to the lawsuit. She and her friends followed him around school so they could make fun of him. They also told him to hang himself. Sadly, Sammy eventually obliged. While the lawsuit specifically mentioned the above instances of bullying, it noted there were numerous other incidents. After Sammy got glasses, he was proud because he could see better. But the first day after wearing them to school, he wanted to smash them. Other students were making fun of him because of his glasses. They also routinely made fun of his teeth and called him names like “beaver teeth.” Sammy reported the bullying to his teachers. He told his parents about it. In response, his parents called school personnel and met with them in person. They begged for the “protection and safety” of their son, making approximately 20 reports about Sammy’s treatment at school. The lawsuit accused the district of failing to take “appropriate corrective action” and “ignored its legal and moral obligations” by allowing him to be subjected to a harmful environment at school. The lawsuit called the district’s “cavalier” response a “tragic combination of victim shaming and victim blaming.” It was, according to the lawsuit, a “Sammy problem” in the estimation of district officials. He was an “instigator” who brought the abuse upon himself and needed to be disciplined. He was being targeted because of his “mental problems,” administrators told his family, although he had no history of such issues. The abuse—and the lack of any response—wore Sammy down. By the spring of this year, it became more than he could bear. One of his bullies—the one who’d stuffed him in a garbage can—learned a mutual friend was visiting Sammy’s sister. The bully called the friend’s cellphone on May 4 and told Sammy, “Oh, you wait until Monday. I’m getting you. I’m getting you.” The bully never got the chance. The next day, Sammy’s older brother found him hanging from his bed. His father called 911 and tried to revive his son. When emergency personnel arrived, they also worked to resuscitate him and spent another 30 minutes trying to keep him alive. Less than an hour later, he was pronounced dead at the hospital. Even in death, Sammy wasn't safe from his tormentors. His primary female bully took pictures of him in his open casket and was seen laughing while looking at her phone. It happened on May 14, when hundreds of people attended his funeral. The lawsuit accused the district of wrongful death and negligent care and supervision. While it seeks a jury trial, the family wants to raise awareness and prevent something like this from happening to another child. “What we’re doing, with this legal action, is coming from a place of love and protection for all of our kids, because they should all be able to go to school and learn in a safe environment,” said his father, Sam Teusch. “No parent should have to sit at work and worry if their child is being bullied – or as in Sammy’s case, abused and assaulted – while they are in school all day. And no parent should ever have to find their child like Nicci and I did.”