Teen Who Killed Bully Was Afraid for His Life, Police Say

Update

The father of the tormented teen who stabbed an alleged bully Wednesday tried to have his son transferred out of the Bronx middle school where the boy had been suffering ongoing abuse, but was denied by a school principal, a family friend said.
Fourteen-year-old Noel Estevez’s parents had gone to IS 117 to complain that their son was being mistreated just one day before he viciously stabbed fellow student and lead antagonizer Timothy Crump, also 14.
“His father went to school on Tuesday and spoke to the principal and told him everything that’s going on,” said family friend Marisol Perez, 43. “He told his father, ‘I don’t want to go to school because they are going to kill me.’
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Police sources say Noel (left) feared Timothy (right).
Photo: Facebook
“The family asked for a safety transfer, but since it was the end of the school year, they couldn’t give him a safety transfer.”
Wednesday was Noel’s second day back at school since March, when he stopped showing up because he was afraid to face down Timothy, who is said to have severely harassed the emotionally fragile student.
“He brought the knife to school because he was afraid for his life,” a police source said of Noel, who had regularly been bullied by Timothy and others. “The victim was definitely the aggressor.”
Noel was confronted by Timothy, who police said was “lying in wait” and began punching him when he exited school around 3 p.m. That’s when Noel pulled out the knife and repeatedly plunged it into the victim’s chest.
“The suspect had a beef with the victim,” another police source said. “He stole the victim’s cellphone a few days ago. That’s what the beef was about. The victim was no angel either.”
A student who knows both boys said the rift between the former friends preceded the cellphone theft and added that things went south after Timothy lent Noel some money that was never repaid.
“Noel was really scared about what Timothy was going to do to him,” said Yandry Escoto, 16. “[Crump would] say, ‘I’m gonna fight you’ or ‘I’m gonna jump you’ if he didn’t get his money.”
“He’s a lonely kind of a kid. He was kind of weird,” she continued. “It’s hard to imagine he did this because he didn’t seem the type.”
Neighbors of Noel said that in recent weeks, the boy had been ruthlessly targeted by a half-dozen boys who would come to his apartment to harass him, a building porter said.
“They would go inside the building and urinate in front of his door, they’d kick his door,” building employee Jorge Guerrero, 47, said Thursday morning.
“Noel was the best kid in the world, he was an excellent kid. It’s a shame. It’s a painful situation.”
The pattern of harassment started about six weeks ago, but had escalated over the past three weeks with at least a half-dozen urination attacks, Guerrero said.
Noel’s mom filed a police report after one of the gross stunts, complaining about the little thugs, according to Guerrero.
When shown a picture of Timothy, Guerrero couldn’t be sure he was one of the offending boys.
“We had to clean his door. I asked the mother what was going on and she said the boys are urinating on his door,” the building employee said. “We called the office. She later filed a police report.”
A neighbor also said Noel had been tormented by the victim.
“They come to his building screaming up at his window, ‘We’re going to catch you,’?” said neighbor Stephanie Arroyo.
“Every day, they come.”
She said his father found him with a belt around his neck two weeks ago. He was released from the hospital June 11 after recovering from the suicide attempt.
“He was going through a lot of depression,’’ she said. “Noel was bullied in school. He wouldn’t leave his house for three months.
Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña said the killing disturbed her.