GUILTY KS - Dakota DeRemus, 16, dies after altercation, Gardner, 4 Feb 2008

[golfmom]

Since everyone's sharin' stories, I've got one for ya'll ... I was just in court a couple of weeks ago on a bullying issue for my friend's son.

He and a friend were jumped on campus by 17 (yes I said 17) students. Plenty of witnesses, including on campus security and a dean who saw a final kick directly to his head. He ended up being treated for broken ribs and a concussion.

The school was much more focused on "covering up" the situation than addressing it. They contacted the sheriff's dept. rather than the local police because the sheriff office doesn't send their reports to the local newspapers. They didn't contact my friend, and were spotty about returning her calls regarding the situation. Ultimately only a few of the boys were disciplined at the school by a few day suspension. The sheriff's dept. inaccurately reported witnesses so that the prosecutors thought that they wouldn't have a case.

Needless to say, being the good websleuther I am, we contacted the local media and ensured it was covered. All of a sudden the school wanted to talk to her and was more upset about local media coverage than the event itself.

Eventually, three were charged with misdemeanors and two plead guilty. The final one (who kicked him in the head) wanted a jury trial. So, off we went to court where he was finally convinced to enter a guilty plea to substantially reduced charges and got another slap on the wrist.

What's interesting is, that my friend's son had to suffer through additional bullying and harassment by the kid's "friends" who wanted the charges dropped saying he took this all too far. Obviously, they're stupid, it wasn't him who took it anywhere, it was the prosecutor. Anyway, he graduated early and has moved on.

 

[KansasCutie]

Lawyer: Gardner Teen Didn't Bully Dead Classmate

http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/pages/...n=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1

 

[dbmthur]

You know this makes me wonder if they were recording the fight to put on youtube. I saw on one of the news programs that kids are staging fights and posting them on youtube. (I'm not saying the fight was staged)

Isn't there a law that if someone is in trouble and you know they could be dying and you don't get help or help, that you could be charged with something? Seems to me that the kids that witnessed this should be in some kind of trouble with the law. Kids think they are invincible and that nothing bad will happen.

Prayers go out to the families. Especially Dakota's.

 

[cheko1]

ok i just had to say i just woke up (523 am blahh) because im really sick...but the little that i was able to sleep....for some reason i had a nightmare about this case! I dont know why it affected me so much...but it seriously breaks my heart.

Isn't this the same town where Edwin Hall is from?

 

[KansasCutie]

Isn't this the same town where Edwin Hall is from?

No he's from Olathe....this happened in Gardner...which is like 10 minutes away.

 

[Filly]

Off the school grounds I had a fight or two with my chief female tormentor. Once, she had the nerve to come into my parents' yard and call my mother a b*. Then, she had the nerve to come back after the scuffle and complain because she had lost some hair and she'd just paid to have a perm done. (Waa waa...) I had been told her fighting methods. She always brought two friends to a fight, and they'd join in if she started losing. So, I'd knock down the friends, stun them, get her by the back of her hair/force her to bend over and slam her forehead into my knee or thump her high on the back of her head. (The goal being to take away her desire to fight me more than hurt her.) When the friends were getting up, I'd stun them again, whirl back to her, get her by the hair again, and hold her trying to take the fight outta her. If she struggled too much, I'd thump her again. Eventually they gave up. I had the advantages of being more agile, faster at thinking, and shorter than her. I was an easy target, I was the poorest kid in my class at the least, and got sick a lot. I also wasn't stupid, but not driven enough to do the straight 4.0 uberstudent scenario. (Honestly I know I shoulda put in more effort in school, even in the classes where I knew I was getting ripped off because the course decription failed to reveal that World Cultures was just "read the newspaper and write five synopsis' of world news".)

This was back in the late 80s, early 90s that I went through this, and the violence in schools hasn't gotten any better. When will the schools begin to see that allowing the bullying environment is hurting our whole society? This has to end!

KatK, I'm really sorry you went all through that. So, so sorry. See, with the schools I don't think they will ever see it, and unfortunately ya have to fight back. Sad, this kid was murdered having to stick up for himself. I understand not from my personal experience, but from my childs that other kids take the hard edge you got since you were teased from get go to being cocky. I saw that they said this poor kid was annoying. Yeah, you get annoying when you become maybe condescending with these knit wits or talk down to them and you are right at class reunions the bullies are the big time losers most always. My daughter never fought back and that killed me but it was not in her nature. So, everybody kept telling me anyway. Finally in Senior year she had it and got up in the middle of class and knocked some big chick right out of her desk with a heavy binder. The teacher told me the frightening part was my daughter than said "Pardon me for interupting Miss Whosebob, please continue". Cold as ice. I said yeah well you put up with that since second grade you'd snap too. As you mentioned alot of them teachers pick and choose and don't get involved. Not all of course, but if my daughter just sometimes didn't correct the teacher even maybe she'd have been O.K. Now, somebody recently took money out of her dorm room. She went off and actually got her money back. She don't let anyone mess with her anymore.I feel so bad for these kids. Honestly. World is full of mean people.

 

[MeoW333]

This article just makes me sick:
http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/pages/...n=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1

"The victim's family says he was tormented by several other boys and blame the bullying for his death. But Howard's lawyer, Debra Vermillion, tells The Kansas City Star that Howard never bullied DeRemus. She says the boys agreed to fight."

Of course the killer and his lawyer will deny bullying Dakota. The fact of the matter is, what kind of person would willingly fight someone who it was known had a heart condition?? Dustin could have just walked away from that fight and been like, no, it's not right. Instead he provoked it and killed a boy, then him and his cell phone videotaping cohorts left Dakota for dead. There is no excuse whatsoever for their behavior. They ought to charge the ones taping and watching as accessories to murder, as they did nothing to help Dakota. They didn't call 911; i doubt they even tried to revive him.

 

[golfmom]

I'd be every single participant and "witness" had cell phone on them and NOT ONE called 911. I agree with the parents, there should be more charges. He shouldn't have been just left there for a neighbor to find.

http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/489115.html

DeRemus was hit in the chest, ribs and back, authorities said, while at least four other teenagers stood nearby and one recorded the fight on his cell phone. Authorities have confiscated that phone.

Once DeRemus collapsed, authorities said the others ran off, leaving the teen alone.

“Some kids ran off,” Vermillion said. “Dustin did not.”

Authorities have confirmed that some witnesses told police Howard tried to help DeRemus by pumping his chest and throwing cold water on his face.

 

[GlitchWizard]

...My other revenge, was that at my last high school reunion, one of the boys who started my torment, has matured, he voluntarily walked up to me and said "Hello"! I was shocked- I about fell over!

Same thing - 3 years of middle school torture. My boy who started my torment came up to me while I was selling a nice snake to someone. He held the snake and was smelling like stale beer. I looked over my shoulder and saw Bryan Dekle Tile Contractor or something like that on his truck. I hadn't recognized him. Once I saw that, I took my snake from him and said "I used to be Barbara Newcomer and I hated you." He apologized all over the place, swore he was a changed man, etc. Even tried to hug me!

I'm tough as nails, but I swear I cried all the way home!

(It was quite carthartic!)

*HUGS* to all those other previously tortured souls out there!

 

[HAWG]

Kids are bad these days. It happened in my day also butt I lived in a small comunity that it would not have went on for 2 years. Something is not right there.

 

[MeoW333]

http://www.kmbc.com/news/15776758/detail.html

"OLATHE, Kan. -- A Gardner teenager accused in the death of his classmate will be tried as a juvenile, a judge ruled Wednesday.Dustin Howard, 16, was charged with involuntary manslaughter after a Feb. 4 fight that left 16-year-old Dakota DeRemus dead."

 

[philamena]

arggggggggg, This generation is so flippin violent.
The poor kid was bullied for 2 years and then beat to death by the bully.
The accused hopefully will be tried as an adult.

When Johnson County Magistrate Judge Michael Farley ordered Howard to remain in the detention center, DeRemus' father, Scott DeRemus, yelled at Howard's mother and stepfather: "Two years! Two years your son has been bullying my son."

 

[Busylady]

OLATHE, Kan. -- A teenager accused in the fatal beating of another teen entered a plea in the case Monday morning.

KMBC's Dan Weinbaum reported that Dustin Howard, 16, pleaded no contest to aggravated battery. Howard was accused of assaulting Dakota DeRemus, 16, who was found dead the morning after the two fought in early February.

http://www.kmbc.com/news/16614584/detail.html

 

[buffetoflies]

Sentenced to 18 months probation! Justice has been served! Not.

Sentenced in June of 2008 so he has been free for more than 3 years.

http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/20602169.html

 

[oh_gal]

I really can't stand the kids today. Really I can't. And the parents, grrrrrr. I have been running across more and more parents who have the attitude "not my child." Really makes me sick. I'm NOT blaming this bully's parents (yet) BUT one has to wonder how he was allowed to bully this poor boy for 2 YEARS!!!!

The parents, as well as this punk, should be blamed. If this kid was a bully, the parents knew it, and chose to look the other way, or encourage it (kids will be kids, kind of mentality.)

A parents job is to guide their children. And when their children are walking down the wrong road, it's the parents job (not the schools, not the police's) job to get them back on track.

This kid's behavior was NOT a surprise to these parents, I guarantee you.

 

[gxm]

Unbelievable! 18 months supervised probation for killing someone. I agree that he should have been tried as a juvenile, but he should have served time in a juvenile detention facility.

I followed this case when if first happened. Very sad. Thank you, buffetoflies, for the update.