Politics & Government
Relatives of Santana Place Lawsuit Against LAUSD
The Los Angeles Unified School District is facing a lawsuit from the mother and sister of Cindi Santana.
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Los Angeles Unified was sued today by the mother and sister of a 17-year-old girl stabbed to death Sept. 30 at her high school in South Gate, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend.
Margarita Meza and Janet Santana, mother and sister, respectively, of Cindi Santana, brought the suit in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging wrongful death, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress and asking for unspecified damages.
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LAUSD spokesman Tom Waldman could not be immediately reached for comment on the suit, which also names South East High School Principal Maria Sotomayor as a defendant.
The slain teen's former boyfriend, Abraham Lopez of South Gate, is charged with one count each of murder and false imprisonment by violence, two counts of bringing or possessing weapons on school grounds and three counts each of assault with a deadly weapon and assault upon a peace officer.
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The victim was stabbed multiple times during a lunchtime argument in a courtyard. A varsity football player, 11th-grader Jorge Garcia, and a female dean, Christina Ordonez, were stabbed while trying to stop the attack, school police said.
According to the suit, Meza and her late daughter met with Sotomayor
shortly before the attack to discuss alleged threats Lopez made against her.
They also told the principal that Lopez was about to be released from jail for making the menacing statements and that the girl was worried about what might happen to her, according to the complaint.
Sotomayor and the LAUSD promised them Cindi would be safe, according to the plaintiffs.
``In reality, (they) did nothing to protect Santana while (she) was attending school...,'' the suit alleges. ``Sadly, (their) actions and omissions led to Cindi's death.''
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy said in October that Meza notified Sotomayor about Lopez's alleged threats and that campus security officials were on the lookout for him.
If convicted, Lopez could face life in prison with the possibility of parole, according to the District Attorney's Office.