'Bullied' LA Girl's Death From Head Trauma Ruled An Accident

LOS ANGELES, CA — A teenager who died days after being beaten by classmates in a bathroom at Manual Arts High School died from "blunt head trauma," the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Wednesday.

The medical examiner additionally ruled 16-year-old Shaylee Mejia's death as accidental. The teenager's mother, however, contends her daughter was bullied to death while school officials turned a blind eye to the ongoing abuse.

Mejia died March 15 — six days after she fainted while attending a birthday party. Her mother, Maria Juarez arrived at the hospital to find her daughter unconscious, and she never regained consciousness. It was upon her daughter's death that Juarez discovered video footage of an altercation at Manual Arts High School in which her child's head was slammed against a bathroom wall.

Mejia never told her mother about the altercation because she didn't want to cause stress for her mother, a full-time house cleaner and single parent of two, according Juarez.

"[She was] very obedient, a very good daughter, a very good sister," Juarez old Eyewitness News. "I just ask for justice."

According to Juarez, her daughter had been beaten by bullies in a fight at Manual Arts High School in December, leaving her with multiple bruises. Her daughter had transferred to the school eight months prior and was targeted by bullies, she said. She claims that when she tried to bring the fight to the attention of school officials, they brushed off her concerns.

Shaylee was involved in a second fight on March 5, four days before the March 9 birthday party where she fainted.

Civil rights attorney Luis Carrillo told the Los Angeles Times the girl's death could have been prevented if school officials had taken some action to prevent the fights.

"They don't protect the kids," he told The Times. "I believe that the failure to protect (Juarez's) child is the main reason why she's dead right now. ... If they had taken action in December, the child would still be alive."

Carrillo said the cellphone video of the bathroom fight clearly shows Shaylee's head hitting the wall, calling the impact "grotesque."

A Los Angeles Unified School District representative told The Times that police are investigating the matter, and pointed to messages sent to parents by Principal Alejandro Macias. The first offered condolences to those impacted by the teen's death and offered counseling support. Another message sent the next day discusses an incident in which "school staff intervened to break up a physical altercation between students" and says security would be increased on campus. That message did not indicate if the altercation was the one involving Shaylee, The Times reported.

The district also claimed the fatal incident took place off campus, according to Eyewitness News

"While this tragic incident took place outside of school hours and off campus, our heartfelt thoughts remain with those affected by this loss," the district said in a written statement released to the outlet.

According to The Times, cell phone video of two fights involving Shaylee, both apparently in bathrooms, do not show any school staff intervening, but shows students breaking up the altercations. The videos are also unclear about where and when the fights occurred, according to The Times.

Juarez said she's left feeling shocked and helpless.

“As a mother, I had full confidence in leaving her at the school and knowing everything would be OK,” Juarez, 34, said in Spanish to the Times. “I’m in shock. I have another child who is 3 years old now. How will I send him to school? I will just be thinking that I am sending my child to his death again.”

City News Service contributed to this report.