Judge's Report: Suicide Victim Not Bullied At School

DEKALB COUNTY, GA -- A retired Fulton County judge cleared DeKalb County's Dunair Elementary School, its students, teachers and administrators for any responsibility in a student's suicide last month.

Eleven-year-old Jaheem Herrera hanged himself at his Atlanta-area home April 16.

Since the tragedy, his mother, Masika Bermudez, has said her son was the victim of bullying at Dunair Elementary, and that led to his suicide.

Retired Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Moore reviewed the case at the request of DeKalb County School leaders. She released her findings Wednesday during a news conference.

"My conclusion is that there is no evidence of bullying at Dunaire," Moore said.

Moore conducted her report by interviewing students and teachers at the school.

She says Jaheem was a bright and popular child and student of the month in March, but she says Jaheem had started several fights, had been suspended and had several unexcused absences from school near the end of his life.

She also said he was troubled by several traumas in his personal life.

"His mother said he was hit hard by his grandmother's death," said Moore. "He stated he wanted to be buried next to his grandmother. At the assembly, Jaheem reported that his uncle was shot by a gang and died right in front of him" she said.

Moore said she found no evidence that Jaheem's mother reported bullying to the school.

Over the past weeks, his mother had said she reported the bullying to the school and the school failed to take action.

Moore says the mother, Masika Bermudez, did express a desire to move back to her native Saint Croix at the end of the school year.

DeKalb County's School Superintendent, Dr. Crawford Lewis says he feels Dunaire Elementary School, its students and faculty have been unfairly tarnished for the past month.

"I do feel like there has been a rush to judgement on the administrators and on the teachers there," Lewis said.

The reaction to the judge's finding: jarring, a public meeting where the public was essentially uninvited and this was the result.

Community activist and radio host Derrick Boazman was dragged away and jailed by DeKalb police. Family members of Jaheem Herrera were told to watch the proceedings via closed circuit television. The emotion boiled over as interested parties became upset on several fronts.

"It's real sad, it's upsetting that it happened, for one, because I have kids myself," said Shonda Johnson, a parent who heard the finding.

"It is a cover-up of the facts," Boazman said after his release. "And instead of being in search of the truth, they'd rather cover their own backsides than deal with the reality that bullying occurred in the school."

Back outside of DeKalb County School headquarters, an eerie calm descended following the tense moments inside. The mother of Jaheem Herrera was whisked away, too shaken up to talk about the findings of the independent investigation.

"I would hope they're not calling him (Jaheem) a bully," said attorney Gerald Griggs. "That would be victimizing the victim, and he was a victim."