PALM COAST, Fla. – The teacher’s aide in Florida who was viciously attacked by a physically imposing 6-foot-6, 270-pound student denied her attacker’s claim that she confiscated his Nintendo Switch.
Joan Naydich has been identified as the victim. The paraprofessional at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast disclosed the new information on Monday as she continues to recover from being violently thrown to the ground and stomped on 15 times, the New York Post reported.
“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 aimed to assist in her recovery.
Brendan Depa, 17, was identified as the student who brutally battered the woman. He told law enforcement authorities that he launched his tirade on Naydich after she confiscated his handheld game console during class. Moreover, he reportedly told responding deputies that he was “going to kill her” when he gets released from custody.
Depa will be tried as an adult for aggravated battery on a school employee, a charge with an exposure of up to 30 years in prison, according to the news outlet.
Brendan Depa will be tried as an adult for the vicious battery of a teacher’s aide on school property.
Following the beatdown, Naydich was rushed to a local hospital, but has since been released. However, she 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 nearly $80,000 has been raised for her as of Wednesday morning.
According to a friend who initiated the fundraiser, “Joan is a mom of two! Her son is a senior and her daughter graduated from Matanzas HS in 2013. She’s been working two jobs to care for her family. Her heart is huge in all she does for others!”
Law Officer article, Feb. 24, 2023
PALM COAST, Fla. – A disturbing video shows a physically imposing Florida high school student violently throw a female staff member to the ground and then pummel her unconscious inside a school this week after she confiscated his Nintendo Switch video game on two occasions. (Note: A claim made by the student that she now denies.)
The enraged 17-year-old male — described as 6-foot-6-inches tall and weighing 270-pounds — can be seen sprinting toward the woman, who turns and notices her attacker a moment before she is unmercifully beaten, the New York Post reported.
The crime occurred inside Matanzas High School in Palm Coast. During the brutal battering the student repeatedly stomped on the unconscious teacher’s aide before punching her 15 times.
Other staff members and a man who appeared to a Marine who witnessed the ambush blitz came to the woman’s aid by pulling the imposing teen off the woman, who was then rushed to a local hospital. She is expected to survive and eventually recover from her unspecified injuries.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and arrested the attacker.
“The student stated that he was upset with the victim because she took his Nintendo Switch away during class,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Responding deputies found the teacher bloody and unconscious, according to an arrest report.
The rampaging student began spitting in the teacher’s direction, telling deputies that he was “going to kill her” when he returned to school, The Post reported.
“The actions of this student are absolutely horrendous and completely uncalled for,” said Volusia County Sheriff Rick Staly in a statement. “We hope the victim will recover, both mentally and physically, from this incident.”
The teen resides in a group home. He was turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice and has been charged with felony battery.
When the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office released video footage of the beating, the Volusia County School officials issued a statement, that said, “The safety and security of our students and staff is of utmost importance to us and we will continue to cooperate fully with the local authorities as part of this investigation.”
