Mom Sues Missouri School District after Son Commits Suicide

A northwest Missouri woman alleges in a lawsuit that her son’s school district didn’t do enough to stop students who bullied him because of his Jewish faith, causing him to commit suicide.

Susan Welchel is suing the Cameron School District after her son, Lane, killed himself in December 2017. He was a freshman at Cameron High School.

Welchel says her son was targeted by bullies in middle school and high school, who joked about him being Jewish and about the Holocaust. She is suing the school district, school board, the middle school principal and the superintendent.

The St. Joseph News-Press reports school district officials declined to talk about specific allegations in Welchel’s lawsuit. But in a written statement, officials said the district is committed to an inclusive culture and takes all allegations of discrimination seriously.