Teh One Who Knocks
10-17-2018, 11:27 AM
by Joe Khalil - FOX 40
https://i.imgur.com/OIvvPCf.png
DAVIS -- A family in Davis is shocked and upset after their son came home and told them about a bizarre incident at a Davis high school.
He told them two weeks ago another Da Vinci Charter Academy High School student brought cookies to school baked with human ashes and was passing them around.
"This girl is going around telling everyone, basically at this point, that she had brought in these cookies to school with human ashes in them," said the Da Vinci Charter Academy High School student who spoke to FOX40 on Monday.
Police confirmed that the boy's story was not just a wild rumor and after investigating they believe the story is credible.
"Based on the overall circumstances we think it’s credible. Can we confirm it 100 percent? I don’t think we can say that. We feel it is a credible statement that that happened," said Davis Police Lt. Paul Doroshov.
Doroshov later confirmed Tuesday the sugar cookies allegedly contained the student's grandfather's ashes.
One student baked the sugar cookies using the ashes while the other passed them out, according to Lt. Dorshov.
Davis police say they know of nine students who ate the cookies, some who knew what was alleged to be in them and others who didn't.
The boy's family agreed to speak to FOX40 on the condition that their identities be hidden for fear of repercussion from the Davis Joint Unified School District.
"It blew my mind. I was really repulsed and I was upset that I wasn’t even notified," the boy's mother said.
What the boy's parents were most upset about, however, was the way they say the school handled the incident.
The student's mother says school administrators questioned her son, fearing he may have eaten one of the cookies. Her son says after being questioned he was asked to submit a statement about what happened and sign it.
"After that he told me not to tell anyone," the boy told FOX40.
That student's mother says she met with Da Vinci Charter Academy Principal Tyler Millsap and demanded a copy of the statement her son was asked to sign.
"The district seems to be a little bit more concerned about protecting themselves than protecting their students," his father said.
Both Principal Millsap and DJUSD declined FOX40's interview requests. DJUSD did send the following statement Monday:
"While we cannot comment on confidential student matters, I can tell you that the physical and social-emotional safety of our students is our first priority.
We take all allegations of wrongdoing seriously and we conduct thorough investigations and involve the police when appropriate. When wrongdoing is found to have occurred, disciplinary measures are applied and at the same time measures are taken to repair the harm within the community.
This case has been particularly challenging and we have responded appropriately and in the most respectful and dignified way possible."
Then, on Tuesday, Principal Tyler Millsap released a statement on the school's website to address the incident:
"The story circulating in the media is something on which I cannot comment, but let me be clear that there is no health risk at to our campus or to any one of our students ... I can say that those who were involved are remorseful and this is now a personal family matter and we want to respect the privacy of the families involved."
The school's resource officer has been collecting witness statements. No cookies or samples have been obtained by police, according to Doroshov.
Davis police said they do not know if the incident could be called a crime. There are some obscure crimes in the state code about the disposal of human remains but Davis police say this may not fit any of those.
https://i.imgur.com/OIvvPCf.png
DAVIS -- A family in Davis is shocked and upset after their son came home and told them about a bizarre incident at a Davis high school.
He told them two weeks ago another Da Vinci Charter Academy High School student brought cookies to school baked with human ashes and was passing them around.
"This girl is going around telling everyone, basically at this point, that she had brought in these cookies to school with human ashes in them," said the Da Vinci Charter Academy High School student who spoke to FOX40 on Monday.
Police confirmed that the boy's story was not just a wild rumor and after investigating they believe the story is credible.
"Based on the overall circumstances we think it’s credible. Can we confirm it 100 percent? I don’t think we can say that. We feel it is a credible statement that that happened," said Davis Police Lt. Paul Doroshov.
Doroshov later confirmed Tuesday the sugar cookies allegedly contained the student's grandfather's ashes.
One student baked the sugar cookies using the ashes while the other passed them out, according to Lt. Dorshov.
Davis police say they know of nine students who ate the cookies, some who knew what was alleged to be in them and others who didn't.
The boy's family agreed to speak to FOX40 on the condition that their identities be hidden for fear of repercussion from the Davis Joint Unified School District.
"It blew my mind. I was really repulsed and I was upset that I wasn’t even notified," the boy's mother said.
What the boy's parents were most upset about, however, was the way they say the school handled the incident.
The student's mother says school administrators questioned her son, fearing he may have eaten one of the cookies. Her son says after being questioned he was asked to submit a statement about what happened and sign it.
"After that he told me not to tell anyone," the boy told FOX40.
That student's mother says she met with Da Vinci Charter Academy Principal Tyler Millsap and demanded a copy of the statement her son was asked to sign.
"The district seems to be a little bit more concerned about protecting themselves than protecting their students," his father said.
Both Principal Millsap and DJUSD declined FOX40's interview requests. DJUSD did send the following statement Monday:
"While we cannot comment on confidential student matters, I can tell you that the physical and social-emotional safety of our students is our first priority.
We take all allegations of wrongdoing seriously and we conduct thorough investigations and involve the police when appropriate. When wrongdoing is found to have occurred, disciplinary measures are applied and at the same time measures are taken to repair the harm within the community.
This case has been particularly challenging and we have responded appropriately and in the most respectful and dignified way possible."
Then, on Tuesday, Principal Tyler Millsap released a statement on the school's website to address the incident:
"The story circulating in the media is something on which I cannot comment, but let me be clear that there is no health risk at to our campus or to any one of our students ... I can say that those who were involved are remorseful and this is now a personal family matter and we want to respect the privacy of the families involved."
The school's resource officer has been collecting witness statements. No cookies or samples have been obtained by police, according to Doroshov.
Davis police said they do not know if the incident could be called a crime. There are some obscure crimes in the state code about the disposal of human remains but Davis police say this may not fit any of those.