J. Daniel Scruggs

Expert: Daniel's mom was abused

By Jason J. Barry, Record-Journal staff
"Testimony written by a defense witness said Judith Scruggs suffered physical abuse at the hands of her former husband, which led her to avoid confrontations."

"The report also said Daniel had above average intelligence that was not reflected in his academic performance, but that he was dropped from special education programs in 2000." {*Note: The EDUCATION system took him out.}

In 2001, when Daniel was in sixth grade, the report said the school recognized that "anger management, peer relations, emotional outbursts are serious concerns."

Later that school year, the report said, Washington Middle School guidance counselor Donna Mule submitted a report to DCF that stated: "J. Daniel has become a very uncooperative young man who refuses to follow his mother's directions.he is out of control" and that areas of concern included "extremely poor hygiene.refusal to attend school" and that "Mrs. Scruggs' efforts to get him to school on time have been unsuccessful."

Marchand's report went on to point fault at the Meriden school system for not, responding to the problems Daniel was having in school. The report reads: "Entering seventh grade, J. Daniel was clearly a child in crisis, yet the School District continued to address the issue as an attendance problem, the fault of J. Daniel and the fault of Judith Scruggs."

Who Failed Daniel Scruggs?

On the morning of Jan. 2, 2002, Judith Scruggs called the state Department of Children and Families to ask about a residential counseling program for her 12-year-old son Daniel. She had been dealing with DCF for two months over Daniel's refusal to go to school.

It was the day after Christmas vacation. Most Meriden students returned to school that morning. Daniel Scruggs did not. Instead he hanged himself in his cluttered bedroom closet. {*Note: if he was going to kill himself as a result of his mothers abuse wouldnt he have done it earlier in the vacation? It sounds like this was the ultimate way for him to get out of going back to school were he was tormented every single day}

As a teacher's aide at Washington Middle School, Judith Scruggs said, she knows her son was bullied. In the 78 days of school up until his suicide, Daniel was either absent or tardy 74 days. Daniel and his mother said he was afraid of bullies. This was the root of Daniel's problems, according to Judith Scruggs
and her attorney. Both the police affidavit and the DCF report discuss bullying that the 12-year-old endured, but neither arrived at a conclusion about what happened at Washington or who may have tormented Daniel.

....

As a teacher's aide at Washington Middle School, Judith Scruggs said, she knows her son was bullied. In

the 78 days of school up until his suicide, Daniel was either absent or tardy 74 days. Daniel and his

mother said he was afraid of bullies. This was the root of Daniel's problems, according to Judith Scruggs

and her attorney. Both the police affidavit and the DCF report discuss bullying that the 12-year-old

endured, but neither arrived at a conclusion about what happened at Washington or who may have

tormented Daniel...

The DCF report recounts an interview with Daniel in which he talks about school. "Daniel told the

investigator that he did not like to go to school because other students were constantly harassing him,"

the report reads.

It goes on to talk about how family members said Daniel was scared of going to school and would get up

late on purpose. At one point, it is reported to DCF that Daniel had his life threatened by a classmate.

"The supervisor documented that ... Daniel had significant emotional and behavioral issues and was

being scapegoated by children at his school," the report reads.

Judith Scruggs said in an interview with police that Daniel was being picked on because he defecated in

his pants and had poor hygiene.

Brandl wrote that he confirmed with school staff that Daniel "was teased" because of "extremely poor

hygiene," "strong body odor," bad breath, and because he defecated in his pants while in school. He also

"would always act out and draw attention to himself" and intentionally wore clothing that did not match.

Judith Scruggs contends that Daniel defecated in his pants because he was fearful of bullies and realized

it was a way to leave school early.



The Record-Journal reported on Jan. 18 that, according to Daniel's classmate Wilfredo Bernardini, "Kids

would always make fun of him just because of his height."

Eighth-grader Leviticus Glover said he stuck up for Daniel when he was picked on sometimes.

On Feb. 10, the newspaper reported that according to Daniel's friend Peter Krystofalski, Daniel was a

target "from the moment he went to his locker to the moment he went home .... Because I hung around

him, it made me a target."

"Bullying is not a crime. What are you going to charge a bully with?" asked Caponigro. Only if the action

fits within existing charges like assault or breach of peace could the police arrest a student. Caponigro

said the department never received a report of threats against Daniel.

According to the DCF report, an unidentified person said, "Another student had threatened to kill him."

Pupil Personnel Director Audrey Burke said the school system was never made aware of death threats.

However, Brandl found that on Dec. 4, after a Placement and Planning (PPT) meeting, "Judith Scruggs

agreed to allow a psycho-educational evaluation and a psychiatric evaluation" of her son; but, he pointed

out, "These evaluations were never done" because the boy was absent from school. {*Note: Do a search on special education and you will see how responsive schools are to parents and how they break laws left and right. The reason the school didnt test the child is because they just brushed it off}



"She really was an advocate for children. Especially with children with disabilities. She was very

outspoken," Santiago said of Scruggs. "Her arrest is kind of hard to fathom. She was one of our co-chairs.

She took initiative, she was giving ideas. She was involved in LION - Leadership In Our Neighborhoods.