Mother questions daughter's death in state school

From the Associated Press/News West 9 in San Antonio, Texas (May 28):

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - The mother of a teenager who died in the care of Texas' troubled state school system for the mentally disabled is questioning the suicide ruling and says she's getting few answers.

An autopsy report says 15-year-old Sarai Melendez hanged herself May 10 with shoelaces at San Angelo State School, the San Antonio Express-News reported today.

Evelyn Melendez, the girl's mother, said she wonders why her daughter had shoelaces when authorities said she was on 15-minute watch. The mother also said her daughter had bruises on her forehead, cheeks and legs.

The mother said the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, known as DADS, sent her numerous letters alleging abuse and neglect of her daughter. A federal investigation found widespread abuse and neglect in state schools.

Most of the allegations either weren't confirmed or were inconclusive, but one report of neglect was confirmed involving a female staff member who officials said had sent "several inappropriate messages" to Sarai Melendez's cell phone.

A DADS spokeswoman said she couldn't comment on any details of the Melendez case.

Videos of fight club at Texas school for people with intellectual disabilities have been released

Corpus Christi, Texas - Following last week's news (May 7) that six former employees of a Corpus Christi state institution for people with intellectual disabilties had been charged with staging fight club-style brawls between residents for the "entertainment" of night shift employees, ABC News now reports that cell phone videos of the fights have now been released. Here is an excerpt:

Terrified residents at a Corpus Christi, Texas, state school for the mentally disabled were forced to be part of a brutal "fight club" operated by night shift employees, who made videos of the sessions with their cell phones, the newly released videos show.

On the videos employees can be seen and heard laughing and prodding the residents to fight.One resident is seen on the video trying to run away from his attacker and a large group of employees and residents tracking him through the halls. When cornered, he wails and moans and tells the employees, "I will behave."

The videos were discovered by police in March when one of the school employees left his phone at a hospital and it was turned over to police. In an effort to find its owner, officers saw the disturbing videos.

A judge ordered the tapes released to an attorney suing the state on behalf of a former resident also forced into the "fight club."

"It happened for over a year and it happened for many nights out of the week," said the attorney, Bob Hilliard.

Hilliard's client, Armando Hernandez, says he was told he would "go to prison" if he did not fight.

Hernandez, who is mentally disabled, says he was fearful to even tell his mother of what was happening inside at night.

"They say 'snitches get stitches,'" Hernandez told ABC News.

A Nightline report including video is here (trigger warning).