The family of a promising student at the Harlem High School for Math, Science and Engineering is mourning her death after officials said she committed suicide after being caught cheating on a German exam last Thursday.
Police officials say 17 year old Omotayo Adeoye wrote a suicide note on the bottom of the German-language exam after her teacher Eva Malikova took her phone during the test. A classmate reported that Malikova yelled, “Oh, you shouldn’t be cheating! You guys shouldn’t be cheating! You guys are lying to yourselves!” while Adeoye apologized.
“I just want to go away forever on the bottom of the river,” Adeoye allegedly wrote before running out of the classroom and outside the school. Authorities believe she left the school and walked to the edge of the Hudson River at West 165th Street, where she placed her school ID and pieces of clothing on a rock, before jumping in the water. Adeoye’s father told officials that she did not know how to swim.
Officials presume the student drowned but she’s still being considered missing because her body has yet to be recovered. Fishermen reported they saw a body floating along the Hudson River shoreline but it disappeared beneath the surface. Authorities are continuing the search to recover the body from the river.
The family is awaiting confirmation to end this chapter of their life and properly honor Adeoye’s memory. The student’s family and friends said, “it is the responsibility of the school authority to protect this girl [Omotayo] no matter what happened.”
School Chancellor Carmen Farina provided a statement to ABC 7 stating,”We are conducting an investigation into this tragic accident, and we are taking immediate action.” The school has not commented on whether Malikova is allowed to continue teaching during the investigation. New York City Department of Education officials are investigating several complaints from students that the teacher Malikova was often heard screaming at students and not properly teaching classes.
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