The Florida teacher’s aide who was viciously assaulted by a 270-pound student refuted the assertions of her teenage attacker that she started the fight in the classroom by taking his Nintendo Switch.
The revelation was made on Monday by Joan Naydich, a paraprofessional at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast, who is still getting better after being slammed to the ground and trampled 15 times.
“I just want to set the record straight. I never took the Nintendo Switch from him. From anyone that’s read or heard differently, I’ve been told this was unfortunately misinformation,” Naydich said, according to a fundraiser launched for her recovery.
Brendan Depa, 17, told police that Naydich stole his handheld gaming console during class, which is why he started his rant.
Unsettling video captures the 6-foot-6 teenager’s vengeance on the two-parent mother in the school hallway.
Depa can be seen running towards Naydich and pushing her to the ground, instantly rendering her unconscious.
While shocked students and teachers attempt to stop the violence, the teenager continues to beat Naydich’s limp body.
The video reveals that it took four adults to free the large student from Naydich.
Despite being discharged from the hospital after being taken there in a hurry, Naydich said she is “overwhelmed with the idea of the long fight ahead.”
“I’m hopeful that the awareness of this incident being spread far and wide will prevent anyone else from ever dealing with the trauma, physical healing and disruption of everyday life that this has caused,” Naydich said on GoFundMe, where more than $66,000 has been raised for her.
Depa, who allegedly told police he was “going to kill her,” will be tried as an adult for aggravated battery on a school board employee, a charge that carries a maximum 30-year prison sentence.
The troubled teen has a violent past and was arrested three times for simple battery in 2019.
Depa is considered behaviorally disabled and requires specially designed instruction and related services as a so-called “exceptional student.”
