California: Family of Bullying Victim Diego Stolz Gets $27 Million Settlement After Sucker Punch Led To Boy's Death

A Riverside County school district in California has agreed to pay $27 million to the family of the late 13-year-old middle school student Diego Stolz after he died from bullying. Stolz was reportedly sucker punched by one of his bullies, leading to his death.

Stolz was just in eighth grade in 2019 when he died from the sucker punch. He was allegedly attacked by two classmates and was bullied by fellow students at Landmark Middle School. The incident was captured on video, with the sucker punch leading to a traumatic brain injury, which then led to the 13-year-old's death nine days later.

As the video showed, two teenage boys confronted Stolz in the lunchroom of the school. One of them then sucker punches the victim, leading him to bang his head on the concrete pillar. One of the bullies then continued to punch the California teen as he was lying on the ground, as seen by the video footage.

Diego Stolz's relatives noted that he was a regular victim of bullying. This then led to the lawsuit, which they won against the school district. The family claims that the boy's death was preventable if Landmark Middle School had an anti-bullying policy in place, according to People Magazine.

One day before the attack, the boy's family revealed that Diego sought the help of his Science teacher after being sucker punched in the head. Officials promised to review video footage of that initial attack, but that never happened as he was sucker punched again, and this time it was fatal.

On the day of the fatal attack, his family even accompanied the boy to meet with the assistant principal, who reportedly knew who the bullies were. The assistant principal promised them that the bullies would be suspended and have their classes switched so that "they would not have any classes with Diego." However, this was all too late, as the fatal attack happened that same day.

California School District Reaches Record $27 Million Settlement With Diego Stolz's Family

Four years after Juana and Felipe Salcedo, the guardians of Diego Stolz, sued the Moreno Valley Unified School District over the teen's death, they were given a $27 million settlement from the district and agreed to the settlement.

According to NBC News, the family's lawyers noted that this is now "the largest school bullying settlement in US history."

"This lawsuit has put schools on notice to find ways to effectively deal with bullying and to enact real anti-bullying policies," said family lawyer Neil Gehlawat. "Although his family's grief can never be taken away, we believe real change will come and there will be a renewed focus on anti-bullying programs across the nation."

What Happened to California Teen Diego Stolz's Bullies?

Because they are still minors, the bullies who tormented Diego Stolz were never known to the public. However, The Daily Mail reported that they did plead guilty to manslaughter but still managed to walk away with no prison sentences.

The boys entered guilty pleas to charges of involuntary manslaughter and assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury in 2020 in juvenile court. However, a Riverside County Superior Court judge ruled in 2021 that the teenage boys would not stay behind bars.

The two California bullies were instead ordered to undergo anger management therapy as a condition of probation. They spent 47 days in juvenile custody before being released to the custody of their parents.

Juana Salcedo, Diego's aunt and guardian, delivered an impact statement through a translator and stated that she believed school administrators had let Diego down.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Moreno valley teen killed by bullies, Diego Stolz family reaches landmark settlement in lawsuit - Fox 11 Los Angeles