DAVIS, Calif. - A California family is shocked and upset after their son came home and told them another student brought cookies to school baked with her grandmother’s ashes and was passing them around.
"This girl is going around telling everyone, basically at this point, that she had brought in these cookies to school with human ashes in them," the Da Vinci Charter Academy High School student told KTXL.
He claims the tainted cookies were made by another Da Vinci Charter Academy student two weeks ago and given to others.
The boy's family agreed to speak on the condition that their identities be hidden for fear of repercussion from the Davis Joint Unified School District.
"It blew my mind. I was really repulsed and I was upset that I wasn’t even notified," the boy's mother said.
What the boy's parents were most upset about, however, was the way they say the school handled the incident.
The student's mother says school administrators questioned her son, fearing he may have eaten one of the cookies. Her son says after being questioned he was asked to submit a statement about what happened and sign it.
"After that he told me not to tell anyone," the boy said.
That student's mother says she met with Da Vinci Charter Academy Principal Tyler Millsap and demanded a copy of the statement her son was asked to sign.
"The district seems to be a little bit more concerned about protecting themselves than protecting their students," his father said.
Since the incident, the family says nothing has been sent to parents about it.
Both Principal Millsap and DJUSD declined interview requests. DJUSD did send the following statement Monday:
"While we cannot comment on confidential student matters, I can tell you that the physical and social-emotional safety of our students is our first priority.
We take all allegations of wrongdoing seriously and we conduct thorough investigations and involve the police when appropriate. When wrongdoing is found to have occurred, disciplinary measures are applied and at the same time measures are taken to repair the harm within the community.
This case has been particularly challenging and we have responded appropriately and in the most respectful and dignified way possible."
Davis Police Lt. Doroshov confirms that there is an investigation into the incident.
