NJ Student's Death, Lack Of Answers Prompt Hunger Strike

MOUNT HOLLY, NJ — Advocates in a South Jersey mother’s quest for answers about her daughter’s sudden death began a new tactic: a hunger strike. The effort comes two months after the death of 11-year-old Felicia LoAlbo-Melendez, which law enforcement ruled a suicide.

LoAlbo-Melendez, a sixth-grader, was found unresponsive Feb. 6 in a bathroom stall at Mount Holly's Holbein School, which she attended. She was pronounced dead two days later at the hospital.

Elaina LoAlbo, Felicia's mother, says other students bullied her daughter and her requests for help from school officials went unheeded. The Burlington County Prosecutor's Office, which investigated Felicia's death, also prohibited Elaina LoAlbo from viewing the school's surveillance recordings from the time of the incident.

The Uvalde Foundation For Kids has pushed for officials to provide LoAlbo with answers. The nonprofit's advocacy hit a new stage Wednesday, when members began a hunger strike against the prosecutor's office. (The foundation, which advocates for an end to school violence, formed in the wake of May 24's mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.)

The hunger strike will last until officials present the unedited video to LoAlbo.

New Jersey schools have faced heightened attention in recent months, with critics claiming that anti-bullying efforts have failed to prevent harm. The issue gained renewed attention after a 14-year-old student at Central Regional High School in Bayville died Feb. 3 by suicide.

• Read more: New Anti-Bullying Policies Raise Concerns At Central Regional

LoAlbo described Felicia as "a light that shined on anyone she came close to." Felicia recently lost her father, Alix, and suffered from bullying at her school, according to people advocating for her family.

Another student found Felicia unresponsive in a closed stall of her school's restroom, according to the prosecutor's office. School officials and first responders attempted lifesaving measures before an ambulance took her to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where she was pronounced dead Feb. 8.

The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy and concluded that Felicia died from suicide by hanging. The prosecutor's office says it reviewed the school's surveillance cameras and determined Felicia was alone in the restroom and there was no foul play.

A spokesperson for the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said the agency will arrange for LoAlbo to view the recording.

"Our deepest sympathy remains with Ms. LoAlbo and her family concerning this tragic incident," Joel Bewley, the agency's spokesperson, said in a statement. "It was previously communicated that we would accommodate her request to view the school surveillance recording at the appropriate time, but not while the criminal investigation was ongoing. The investigation has concluded, and arrangements will be made in the near future for Ms. LoAlbo to be shown the footage."

But advocates for LoAlba say prosecutors shouldn't consider the case closed until Felicia's mother views the unedited footage. An online petition calling for the agency to release the videos amassed more than 7,000 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.

"Has the school been transparent with authorities regarding who may have been out of their classrooms at the time of the incident?" the petition says. "Have they confirmed that any students marked absent may actually have been on school grounds? If they can prove that Felicia was alone Elaina would be left with no choice but to accept that this vivacious, self-advocating child suddenly decided to end her own life."

View the petition to release the school footage, plus a GoFundMe supporting the Felicia Amel "Happy Hope" Memorial Fund.