Family Says Utah Girl, 10, Committed Suicide After She Was Bullied for Being Black and Autistic; School District Previously Called Out for Racial Discrimination

A Utah girl who was bullied for being Black and autistic took her own life, and now her family wants to know what happened.

Isabella “Izzy” Tichenor, 10, was a student at Foxboro Elementary School in North Salt Lake. The school is in the Davis School District, which has been previously called out and criticized by the U.S. Department of Justice for its failure to address and end the racial discrimination that allegedly led to the death of Izzy.

Salt Lake City police announced they would be looking into Izzy’s death – which tragically took place over the weekend – as a suicide. A lawyer for Izzy’s family, Tyler Ayres, says Izzy was bullied by a small group of students who called her racial slurs including the N-word. They also harassed her and accused her of being smelly and made fun of her for being autistic. Izzy’s family says they informed the school and all of its staff about the ongoing bullying, but nothing was ever done to help Izzy.

In a phone interview, Ayres says those in charge are to blame for the child’s death, KTLA reports. “We don’t take umbrage with the children. We take umbrage with the adults who chose not to do anything about it. The adults who were in charge there should have taken these kids aside,” said Ayres.

In a statement, Shauna Lund, a spokeswoman for Davis School District, said Foxboro Elementary School in North Salt Lake “worked extensively with the family,” claiming they responded immediately and appropriately to Izzy’s reports of bullying, KTLA reports. “We, like everyone, are devastated by the death of this child,” Lund continued. “Our hearts go out to the family. Foxboro Elementary has worked extensively with the family and will continue to provide help to them and others impacted by this tragedy.”

While the district claims it followed proper protocol, the school district has been called out for allegedly being a haven for racism and discrimination. Two weeks ago, a federal investigation found that Black and Asian students were victims of several racial harassment incidents. In addition, over the last five years, there have been numerous reports of uses of the N-word and other racial slurs.