Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - GIRL, 11, DEAD IN BATHROOM STALL, MOM WANTS ANSWERS

Episode Date: April 5, 2023

Felicia LoAlbo-Melendez, 11, was being bullied in school. On top of this, she had just lost her father to pancreatic cancer.  By all appearances, the little girl was handling it all as best she could. Felicia told her mother, teacher, and the school administrator about the bullying that she and other students were subjected to. In fact, she wrote emails suggesting solutions to the school, like a "Trauma Club" where bullied kids would have a safe place to what was going on.  No one replied.  Felicia then reminded the adults that there were laws in place to protect the children and that the school was "breaking the laws" by not taking action.  Felicia LoAlbo-Melendez was found by another student in a bathroom stall. Her death was ruled a suicide.  Joining Nancy Grace today: Elaina LoAlbo - Victim's mother: Change.org Petition Cheryl Brown - Mother of McKenna Brown, bully victim  David Studdard - Spalding County, Ga. Assistant District Attorney, Former Police Officer  Caryn Stark - Psychologist; Twitter: @carnpsych Tom Ruskin - Private Investigator, President of the CMP Protective and Investigative Group, Inc.; Former New York City Police Detective Investigator; Twitter: @tomruskin   Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D - Embrace Civility LLC; Author: “Engage Students to Embrace Civility, Be Positively Powerful: A Guide for Teens on Achieving Resilience and Empowerment, and "Be Positively Powerful: Resilient When Things Get Tough;" Facebook: Be Positively Powerful  Dr. Kendall Crowns- Chief Medical Examiner in Tarrant County (Fort Worth); Lecturer: University of Texas Austin and Texas Christian University Medical School  Nicole Partin - CrimeOnline.com Investigative Reporter; Twitter: @nicolepartin  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. How does a beautiful little girl, just 11 years old, end up dead in the bathroom at school. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. I'm thinking back on when my twins, David and Lucy were just 11 years old. And they're still babies at 11. Still very much babies. Who is 11 year old Felicia?

Take a listen to her on Facebook. Hello my fellow dragons. My name is Felicia Loa Bo Melendez. Take a listen to her on Facebook. place. I show sore qualities by listening to others, being nice, doing work I need to do, and respecting my teachers and others near me. If you need to talk to someone, I'm here to help. One thing I will try to do is have a hybrid party at the end of the year or give Vincent's coupons to people that get A's and B's or all A's. I hope you vote for me and have a great day. You know, when you hear Felicia's voice, you would never know that there was any problem at all. She sounds so outgoing and independent and just wonderful. What more do we know about this 11-year-old

little girl? Take a listen to Felicia's mother. Adventurous, affectionate, authentic, beautiful, bold, brave, brilliant, charismatic, compassionate, courageous, creative, determined, empathetic, energetic, fascinating, fearless, funny, genuine, gracious, happy, helpful, humble, imaginative, independent, intelligent, kind, loyal, magical, nurturing, outgoing, peaceful, powerful, radiant, resourceful, unique, uplifting, vibrant. These are just some of the words that can be used to describe my daughter Felicia Amell, my happy hope. I've said it before and I will say it again, her last email will not go unheard. You're hearing Felicia's mother describe her little girl, but I want you to hear Felicia in her own words. Listen. If you are listening to this, my name

is Felicia. You may know that, well, I was one of the last owners of this phone. Unless you were me. And while you're listening to this from the future. Then say hello to future mom, future dad, future brother Ryan, future Ja, future Jeanette, future everyone. Just say hi to them for me. And never, never, never be bad. Never give up on your friends. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever be a bully. Never be a bully. Those last words say it all.

And when I say those last words, we won't hear from Felicia again. Her bright light was put out. And I want to know why. With me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now. But joining me first is Felicia's mother, Elena Loalbo. Ms. Loalbo, thank you for being with us. Thank you, Nancy.

I just want to thank you so much for being with us. And I am hoping that your voice, along with McKenna Brown's mother, Cheryl Brown, will have some impact to hopefully make this impossible to happen again. I don't know how many voices have to be raised, but we can try. Elena, what happened to Felicia? Thank you, Nancy. Thank you for giving Felicia a voice. Felicia has always been an advocate for herself and for others not only because she herself had been bullied but because of the work that her father and i have done her father as a police officer dealing with people who were unruly her trying to give a voice to people to not have to deal with all of

the things that life comes at you having to help her and her friends that the school just failed to listen to. I appreciate you so much. That voice clip that she left in her phone from two years ago, it's chilling now to listen to. So excuse me if I get a little choked up. Every time I hear it, it's just a future note from her. All we want are answers. I just can't fathom my daughter, who is an advocate, taking her life in that cold, stalled bathroom.

It just doesn't make sense to me. None of it makes sense. And after nearly nine weeks, for the school to not respond to me just like they didn't respond to my daughter is baffling. Her emails went unanswered her cries for help me showing up at the school just like they went unanswered for all the other kids who have continued to be bullied within the walls of that school in every school across the nation felicia is not the only child this is an epidemic everywhere.

And it's not just the children. Quite frankly, Nancy, it's our educators being silenced. Our educators don't feel like they have a voice to be able to speak up about what's going on within the walls of their classroom. Let me ask you something, Elena. With me is Felicia's mother, Elena Loalbo. When did you learn about Felicia being found in the school bathroom? I received a phone call at about 1.15 that she was in cardiac arrest and that I had to go to virtual hospital. I was not informed of the means of her death until later that afternoon. So you thought at first that your 11-year-old girl had gone into cardiac arrest, basically a heart attack. They didn't tell you what actually happened? Correct. Dave Mack joining me, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter.

Dave, what was Felicia's COD, cause of death? Suicide by hanging. Do you believe that, Elena? As a parent, no, I do not at all. Guys, I want you to hear our cut, double O-A, from our friends at CrimeOnline.com. Felicia Loalbo Melendez's mother says her daughter has been bullied at school for years. The bullying became so bad that the little girl took it upon herself to write numerous emails to school officials and the school counselor for help. Mom Elena Loalbo says she has even had to personally call another student's parent to ask them to help stop the bullying.

Loalbo says her 11-year-old was called derogatory names, gum was put in the girl's hair, personal items were stolen, and the girl had been told to unalive herself. According to the mom, Felicia punched the student who said that. In an effort to move Felicia away from the bullies, she was set to be moved to a new class after winter recess. It never happened. In her emails to the school, the preteen even offered a preemptive suggestion of a trauma club, a safe place where students could discuss what was happening. The mom quoted her daughter's email as saying, It would need a room that is not too big and not too small.

We would need a couple of chairs, too. But I hope this does happen. I, for one, have heard from my friends and others about things that have happened to them, and I think this would be a fantastic thing. Felicia's last email also pointed out that there were laws to protect the students from being bullied, and school officials were breaking those laws by not taking action. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Back to Elena Loalbo. This is Felicia's mother.

Ms. Loalbo, why was Felicia bullied? I wish I had an answer for that. In the beginning, we told ourselves because she had skipped a grade and they didn't understand her because she was smarter but socially younger because she was still in advanced classes even though she skipped a grade and still academically advanced yet socially younger. I don't know. I wish I had the answer for that. It was different groups of people. It wasn't just the same girl or just the same boy. It was different groups. What were they saying to her? What were they calling her? All kinds of things. All kinds of derogatory things.

It wasn't just her looks or just her sexuality or just what she wore. Well, she's beautiful. Yes. She's a Well, she's beautiful. Yes. She's a beautiful, beautiful little girl. I don't see what it could be about her looks. She's, as you said, skipped a grade because she's so smart. She was reading chapter books in kindergarten. She was an amazing writer.

They won't even release her literacy classwork to me. She was an amazing writer and I would love to get her schoolwork. They won't even give me that. All I want is the videotapes. Show me that she was alone. Nothing. They won't give me anything. Okay, I don't understand that. With me is Tom Ruskin, private investigator, president of CMP Protective and Investigative Group, former NYPD investigator. You can find him at cmp-group.com. Tom, I was stunned when I learned that the school where Felicia lost her life in a bathroom, in a stall, completely unlike her, won't respond to the mother. Forget about not sending the videos or her schoolwork. Do you know I've saved every bit of the twins' schoolwork?

They're in the ninth grade now. Every bit of it. Each year is boxed away by year for each twin. Right. And they won't send that to the mother, much less the video she's referring to about who went into that bathroom with her. How do I know this is a suicide? Nancy, you really don't. And the first thing I'd like to say is how sorry I am for Ms. Lobo and her family and how tragic this is. Law enforcement nowadays is much more open. And

not only should the school be sitting down with her and her husband, a law enforcement officer, but should also be showing her what they have, even privately, even if they don't release it publicly, because it is a private matter right now, it is under police investigation, they should be showing in the air of open and transparency, they should be showing her family the video and whatever evidence they have at this point in time for their knowledge and for a portion of their closure. Sir, thank you for recognizing that fact. I feel the same way. Unfortunately, because my police detective husband has passed away, I am alone in this fight, and they still will not show me any of this publicly or privately.

Moreover, they did a spiritual cleansing at the school and didn't let alone told about it. I had to hear a third party from someone who worked there that they did a spiritual cleansing for my daughter after supposedly ending her life in that cold stall. APD, Atlanta Police Officer, and the Homicide Division. David stuttered, everything is screaming at me. This is wrong. Okay, I want to get off our emotions tied up in this thing. You and I both have children. We both have girls. And I want to focus on the evidence because that's something I can understand. We don't even know that this is a suicide. Why won't they hand over that video? Yeah, it's puzzling to me, Nancy, why the school is being so guarded about this.

In the spirit of openness and honesty and transparency, which is what everyone is striving for these days. And if there's nothing to fear, why not hand it over? Absolutely. That's absolutely right. I'm puzzled as to what their recalcitrance is relative to that. And I don't, I'm assuming, and I may be wrong about this, and Ms. Loalbo, I'm so very sorry for your loss in this matter. It's just a horrible story. But I'm assuming as as this has been ruled a suicide there's not a criminal investigation that's pending is that is that correct as of last wednesday the detective told me that it was closing right right well see the school without a criminal investigation when without the subpoena power or court orders issued by an investigating

agency, the school is under very little pressure to release anything. Well, there's more, David Studdard. There's more. Karen Stark, how many times have I said, if you don't know a horse, look at its track record? With me, Karen Stark, trauma and crime expert psychologist. You can find her at KarenStark.com, Karen with a C. There is a track record of these students bullying her, boys and girls.

So how do I know what really happened? How do you know what really happened? And this is just so outrageous. I am so sorry. I'm so sorry for your loss. But this is so prevalent that they're showing that I need you to know, Nancy, that three in five teenage girls feel persistent sadness, double the rate of boys, and they are seriously considering attempting suicide. And there is a link between bullying and suicide. So whether or not that

really happened, she killed herself. Nothing is being done in this school to take care of this brilliant girl, brilliant, who let them know that there was a problem. It's unacceptable. Isn't it true, Miss Elena Loalbo, this is Felicia's mother, that Felicia, this little girl, 11, actually emailed the administration and told them that she and her friends were being bullied and that the school was, quote, breaking the law by not taking action? That is very advanced for an 11-year-old ma'am she did um just days before her passing she emailed her counselor who was also the hib investigator for the school nothing was done

when she came home from school that day she had a therapist appointment, so I had her evaluated at that point. She was deemed to be okay by her therapist, who she had been seeing for some time before her father passed. Her dad passed away with pancreatic cancer, is that correct? Yes, ma'am, after a two-week, two-day battle of stage four pancreatic cancer. Ms. Loalbo, you are battling so much on so many fronts. With me is Nancy Willard. Ms. Willard is not only a lawyer, but the author of Engage Students to Embrace Civility, Be Positively Powerful, A Guide for Teens on Achieving Resilience and Empowerment.

And author of Be Positively Powerful, Resilient When Things Get Tough. And you can find Nancy Willard at BePositivelyPowerful.com. What do you say, Nancy Willard, to children and teens that are facing bullying? And what about the parents? What can we do as parents? Elena, I am so sorry for your loss. And Felicia was doing absolutely everything right. Note that the title of my book is Engage Students to Embrace Civility. Now, I've been working, I wrote the first book ever published on cyber

bullying. It was published back in 2007. And I realized at that time that what schools were doing to try to address bullying wasn't going to work. And that one of the things we really need to do is engage students like Felicia in the efforts to create a more positive school climate. And she was trying to do that. I mean, just bless her. That's what she was trying to do that I mean it just bless her that's what she was trying to do she was reaching out for help and now and and she was suggesting positive alternatives what we need to understand is that what schools are doing say they are doing to address bullying, is flat not working. It's not working anywhere.

And I was looking over the New Jersey HIB. Elena used that. HIB is harassment, intimidation, bullying. That's the statute. That's what they refer to. And it's not working. The website for New Jersey's Department of Education says we're a leader in statutory and policy approaches

to reduce bullying. That is bullshit. Okay. Okay. So what happened was in 2010, the U.S. Department of Education recommended that state statutes include a provision that requires that all school districts report the number of bullying incidents that have occurred. New Jersey did, New York did. I've got data from New York. Several years after they did, the state comptroller found that 71% of New York City schools had zero incidents of bullying so this reporting requirement um has resulted in principals or counselors or hib consultants whatever deciding that the reported incidents are not really bullying oh i see where you're going they are trying to so the schools are trying to hide the bullying to make their school system or just their

school look better guys leading up to this felicia had been enduring so much. Her dad had just passed away with pancreatic cancer after a very brief but valiant battle. And she was seemingly making no headway at the school, nor was her mom, who had actually confronted some of the parents that were bullying her daughter. But guys, take a listen to our friends at Crime Online and Our Cut 5. A couple of weeks after emailing the administration about her idea for a trauma club for children victimized by bullying, and a week after she wrote the same administration that she and her friends were being bullied and the administration was breaking the law by not taking action, a student walked into a restroom at F.W. Holie Middle School in New Jersey about 1 p.m.

and found Felicia unconsciously hanging in a closed stall. Help came fast and Felicia was rushed to the hospital where doctors battled to save the 11-year-old. Sadly, two days later she was gone. Felicia died less than two weeks after her father passed away. Her heartbroken mother, knowing how bad Felicia was bullied, wants to see the surveillance video that proves Felicia was alone when this happened. Bullying in schools resulting in suicides is now rampant. As a matter of fact, just before Felicia lost her life at school, 11-year-old Felicia, there is a case of Adriana Kutch in the same jurisdiction.

Listen to our friends at 7 ABC. This is the school hallway assault posted online, followed by online bullying that this grieving father said caused his 14-year-old daughter to die by suicide. The cell phone video was taken one week ago. Adriana died Friday. They think it's fun to attack people and make videos and post them. Getting hit in the face with a water bottle didn't hurt Adriana.

What hurt Adriana was the embarrassment and humiliation. They just kept coming at her. Michael Kush has not slept, trying to mourn his daughter and get justice for Adriana. The freshman was hit in the face with a full 20 ounce water bottle three times on the video, punched and kicked, her hair pulled at school while classmates laughed and recorded the attack. You know David Stoddard, prosecutor, former cop, also private lawyer, I don't get it it of all places that can be controlled what's

happening in school can be controlled I don't understand why this continues after the first warning the next incident the bullier should be expelled and I mean for good I agree 100% I mean that, that's the remedy. You identify, I mean, there's videos of this happening. You identify the people involved with it and you kick them out of school. Immediately. One warning and that's final. And guys, it's not just Felicia. You just heard about this beautiful little girl, Adriana Kutch. Now, she is no longer with us. Joining me right now is a mom who has endured so much.

She lost her beautiful girl, McKenna Brown, a star athlete. I want you to hear a little bit about McKenna's case. Take a listen to our cut 11, Fox 13. 16-year-old McKenna Brown, a fearless goalie on the ice with a bright smile. She lit everything up when she walked in her room. Hilarious, witty. Whose heart was always open to anyone in need. Anybody that she felt was feeling left out, she went over, said hello. She brought everybody in and connected everybody.

She was the glue that held a lot of groups together, including our family. Her parents, Hunter and Cheryl Brown, say she put others' needs before her own. She touched everyone's lives, and yet she was suffering. She was broken. She was hurt. She was alone. She felt like she didn't belong, but she chose to suffer in silence, I like to say, because she never said, I need help. And our cut 13. On August 7th, days before the first day of school, she took her own life.

It's been total hell. I know she's all around us still, but she's not here physically, and that hurts. More than 1,000 people showed up to pay their respects at her memorial service, including all of palm harbor fire rescue where her dad is a lieutenant cheryl hopes her daughter's story is a wake-up call for all parents if you're aware of something that's going on in your kid's life that's affecting another kid you got to say something you can't just not say something that's not okay and that could have prevented this we have Felicia being bullied at

school to the point the 11 year old girl asks, begs administrators to create a trauma room that's a safe place for people being bullied. Just before that in the same jurisdiction Adriana cuts just 14 years old, takes her own life after being bullied and beaten openly in the school hallways. Joining me right now is McKenna Brown's mother, Cheryl Brown. Cheryl, when you hear Elena speaking, what is going through your mind about your own daughter? It makes me sick to my stomach, Nancy and Elena. I'm so sorry that I can so absolutely 100% understand what you're going through. It's deplorable. There's no accountability. The schools just want to kick the can and sweep it under the carpet. I don't know how many of these beautiful kids who can't see a way out

after being bullied or cyber bullied resort to ending the pain by taking their own life something has to change and as nancy said earlier what the schools are doing it's not working they're not and by doing nothing they're actually doing something which is perpetuating the problem they're not protecting our kids you know an interesting thing is that cyberbullying can affect these little victims as much as real bullying. I mean, explain that to me, Karen Stark, how online bullying can affect a child just as much as bullying in the school hallway. Nancy, it's really clear that everything is about being online and social media these days. And so in the past, if there was bullying, terrible bullying, it was a small group perhaps that knew. But now you're talking about reaching out across the country.

Anybody can see a video where you're being beaten up or hear the taunts. It's deplorable. It's not acceptable that the schools are not catching this, looking for it, and doing something about it. To Elena Loalbo, this is Felicia's mother who is speaking out against what happened to her young girl. What would you tell Felicia when she would come home and tell you about the bullying? Because we were advocates for ourselves, it was talk to your teachers, talk to your principal, talk to your counselor, make a history about it, you know, keep a paper trail. I showed up at the school, I talked to the counselor, I talked to the principal, I talked to parents, I talked to the counselor. I talked to the principal. I talked to parents. I talked to the bully's parents. Take Krav Maga.

If they get in your face, then you do something. We were offline. So, well, she was offline. So thankfully, we didn't have to experience the online bullying. I can't even imagine a few years from now what that would have entailed. Well, what did you tell her when she would come home and tell you, confiding you about instances of being bullied? What was your advice to her? They would pick on her because she was smarter than them. And it was encouraging her that it was okay to be smarter than them,

that they didn't understand what she was saying because they were not as smart as them, putting gum in her hair, that they were just jealous of her beautiful hair, that, you know, of course somebody isn't going to like you because you're prettier than them. You can't let them make you feel insecure because of the way that you look. All of the encouraging her to be herself, you know, to not be scared to stand out. When you would confront parents, I mean, you knew who her bullies were. When you confronted a parent, what would they say? Oh, no, not my child. Oh, child oh they were friends oh she took that the wrong way oh but your daughter did what about it cheryl brown what was your experience with

mckenna when mckenna would confide to you about her feelings oh and the parents you know it was on the head elena you know not my child you know it wasn't they had there's no accountability and the parents don't think that the kids did anything wrong so of course they're encouraging that behavior by doing that there's no repercussions there's no accountability it's encouraging the behavior because there's absolutely nothing being done at home or at school to prevent and you also told the school correct absolutely in fact they the first bullying incident that she had, which was a personal picture of hers that was distributed to the school, they initially removed that girl from the three classes that she shared classes with.

The parents fought back, and they put that girl back in her classes. So not only was she not expelled. I can tell you this. At the twin school, slurs were used reportedly. And on the very first time, those children were expelled. Expelled. They're not coming back. As they should be. I don't understand why the school is not acting.

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. To Nancy Willard joining us, the author of Engage Students to Embrace Civility, what about the schools not acting? There are a whole bunch of reasons that they don't act. And I've been trying to work with schools and trying to help them learn better ways to act for over a decade, and I have been unable to get through. I just created an online course, two online courses, but one for parents, because I think we have to better empower parents as well as young people. So on BePositivelyPowerful.com, there is a free e-book for parents.

And I have an online course. It's Empower Your Bullied Child and Insist That Your Child's school stop the harm. You know, I feel though, Nancy, that both Cheryl and Elena went to the school administration, but nothing happened. You know, on that vein, Dr. Kendall Crowns, Dr. Kendall Crowns is joining us today, Chief Medical Examiner, Tarrant County,

Lecturer University, Texas, Austin, and Texas Christian University Medical School. Dr. Kendall Crowns, it just keeps running through my mind. If Felicia had been found alive, she was still alive when she was found in the bathroom. I don't understand if that's true. If she was immediately taken to the hospital, if they called 9-1-1 immediately why they couldn't save her life first off i'd like to express my condolences to both of the mothers that are on the show today i'm sorry for your losses but to answer your question nancy

what happens is when you hang yourself it cuts off the circulation of the oxygen getting to your brain. You have to get to that individual within a matter of minutes to be able to save them. If they don't get to them quick enough, they may not have died, but their brainstem functions or the functions of your brain that still keep your heart going are still alive, but you're essentially brain dead. So it takes a matter of time for your body to shut down after that. And that's just the nature of hanging. It isn't a super quick way to die.

Guys, I'm listening to Dr. Kendall Crown speaking, and I'm imagining the scene unfolding when little 11-year-old Felicia was found. To the right of me, I have playing and I can hardly bear to look down at it. years old, Adriana Kutch, in the same Jersey area as where Felicia was bullied and tormented at school. The video is of Adriana being kicked and beaten in the hallway of the school. Somebody took a video. And if I'm seeing it right here, I find it very difficult to believe school administrators didn't see it. And Dr. Kendall Crowns, you've seen this before. When I look at Adriana's face, she has a bloodied lip.

Her nose is beaten. It's bloody and bruised. This is from not a gang warfare or an attack. There's pictures of her in the tub. She took a picture or parents took the picture of her leg is covered in bruises from the ankle all the way up the thigh where she was kicked at school. Dr. Kendall Crowns, this isn't, like I said, a gang attack. This is at school, Dr. Kendall Crowns. This looks like a beating someone would take as an aggravated assault. Well, that is what it is. I mean, you're just looking at someone that's been beaten at a school,

and then other people have joined in. You get the mob mentality or whatever you want to call it. Other kids feel that once another child's down and being kicked they can join in because it's all part of the fun and now they're videotaping it i mean you've had your your episode uh not too long ago with shantae williams beaten and had her neck broken on video that then people felt confident enough to publish on TikTok because they want to show their accomplishments and get their views because they think that's great. Whereas there is a victim involved in all this that's being beaten and killed. And it's disturbing to

me. I see this actually quite often. And bullying is a horrible thing. I wish the schools could do something about it. Well, they can. He's referring to the case of Shankwilla Robinson. Elena Loalbo, what is the school saying now? And are you considering legal action against the school for doing nothing? As of right now, the school still has not done anything. I still have no response from the school or the detectives. As for further

legal action, yes, that is absolutely something that I am looking into. Something has to come out of this. Somebody has to be held responsible for their inaction, not only for my child, but for all the children who are currently going through this. And they are going through it at this moment. As we're speaking, children, tweens, teens are being bullied relentlessly at school. I mean, you heard Nancy Willard state that schools are hiding this, sweeping this under the rug so they continue to look pristine. Tom Ruskin, I mean, are we really going to leave it up to school detectives to stop bullying in the halls? No, that's why police departments and safety patrol officers, sometimes with police departments, are normally involved in these type of cases and should be because if it rises to the level of a crime and in these cases more serious uh than that

you have to have police departments involved and you have to have counselors involved and you have to deal with the families and certain, to the mother's point before, parents are in denial. They don't understand that their children can be bullies. And the police have to then get involved and sit down with trained police officers to sit down with the parents and explain, this is what's happening.

Terroristic threats, they are intimidation. It is intimidation. And these are aggravated assaults on these bullying victims. Cheryl Brown, could you just tell us what one day is like for you after you have lost McKenna? There's not a single day that goes by that I don't cry and still look back and think, you know, if there's something else that I could have done. And it doesn't get, it doesn't get, it does not get easier, but I am not giving up. I will make a change and I will gather all the people that I need to and muster up the energy to make sure that change does happen and keep McKenna's name alive. Her legacy was helping people and she continues to help people. I hear people reach out all the time, even still just talking about us being transparent and talking about it, even what

you're doing and helping to do, that that is making a difference. And conversations are being had with parents and their kids that weren't happening before. I just wish that, you know, I wish there had been more transparency at McKenna School in particular. Those conversations could have been had. What was her school? East Lake High School, who come to find out there were five suicides in six years. And we knew nothing about them. Again, sweeping it under the rug. Elena Loalbo, tell us what one day is like for you without Felicia. Oh, God. I put every faith in the school and in our police department. And the last eight and a half weeks has just been in that hope that they were going to do the right thing.

I sent her into those walls every day in that hope. I encouraged her to advocate to them because I believe that they could do the right thing. And for eight weeks, that has been my only prayer to no avail. Hearing everything that Nancy said really hit because she's right. They lie about the HIB numbers and they're continuing to lie about everything and it's just every day is painful every day is painful our children's voices are not going to go unheard and their legacies will continue because like you said our transparency now are going to start these much-needed conversations. I have been silent for eight and a half weeks and been the hardest moments of my life.

I miss her so incredibly much. My happy hope. Felicia Amell, my happy hope. Felicia Amell, my happy hope. Guys, if you are in fear or to a point that you feel you or your child cannot go on, go to Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Text or dial 988. We are not waiting for justice to unfold. We are fighting for change. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.