A transgender Cornell University student died by suicide after a former romantic partner allegedly circulated false and damaging claims following their breakup, according to a newly filed lawsuit.
Winter Knutson, 19, was found in the water at Fall Creek Gorge, a nature preserve in Ithaca, New York, at about 10:30 a.m. on November 10, 2024. Authorities said at the time that Knutson had taken their own life, The Ithaca Voice reported.
Knutson was a Cornell sophomore who identified as nonbinary and used they/them pronouns. They were also the child of Allen Knutson, a mathematics professor at the university, the Cornell Daily Sun reported in 2024.
Their mother, Sofia Akber, filed a lawsuit on October 26 alleging that her child died by suicide after an escalating dispute that Cornell administrators failed to properly monitor between September 14 and November 10, 2024.
Knutson lived in Cornell’s Loving House residence, which the lawsuit described as “an environment that protects and supports Cornell University’s community of LGBTQIA+ students.”
During that period, Knutson became friends with a female student and her roommate. Both women are named as defendants in the case, along with Cornell University and 10 individuals identified as John and Jane Does.
Knutson and the friend later entered a romantic relationship. Akber alleges in the complaint that the friend said she returned the attraction in order “to manipulate and lead Winter on.”
The lawsuit claims that after Knutson pursued the relationship, the friend and her roommate—described as the friend’s “de facto enforcer”—carried out an alleged harassment campaign. It allegedly included accusing Knutson of sexually assaulting the friend.
Winter Knutson, 19, was found in the water at Fall Creek Gorge, a nature preserve in Ithaca, New York, at about 10:30 a.m. on November 10, 2024, after taking their own life
Knutson lived in Cornell’s Loving House residence (pictured), described in the lawsuit as “an environment that protects and supports Cornell University’s community of LGBTQIA+ students”
The complaint further alleges that the two roommates went “door-to-door” inside Loving House telling residents that Winter was “drugging people.”
According to the filing, Knutson experienced “six escalating episodes” involving the friend and roommate, all of which were allegedly “visible to Cornell.”
The lawsuit says the conflict reached its most serious point when the friend accused Knutson of sexual assault. The complaint describes the accusation as false and alleges that the friend later amended it after Knutson’s death.
Despite the alleged circumstances, Knutson came to believe the accusation and confessed to it, the complaint states.
“That a teenager could be driven, in a single afternoon, to confess in writing to a crime contradicted by their own contemporaneous account, by their accuser’s contemporaneous messages, and by the physical timeline, is itself the measure of the coercive power of the campaign — and of the community judgment — that [the friend and roommate] had constructed and that Cornell had allowed to metastasize unsupervised,” the filing states.
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After the alleged claims were circulated, Knutson wrote a suicide note focused on “the destruction of their reputation, life, and future,” then died by suicide that same day, according to the complaint.
The suit accuses Cornell of failing to uphold the principles behind the Loving House program, which is described as “an intentional residential space that is inclusive to all identities to foster an environment of close-knit support and safety.”
“Cornell made these promises in writing, on its public website, in its program-house recruitment materials, and through the formal program-house acknowledgment that every Loving House resident—including Winter—was required to sign. Cornell did not merely promise affirmation; it promised protection, support, and safety,” the filing states.
The complaint states that after the alleged claims were spread, Knutson wrote a suicide note focused on “the destruction of their reputation, life, and future” and died by suicide that same day
Akber also alleges that Cornell should have known residents at Loving House faced a heightened risk of self-harm compared with the broader student population, citing research conducted by the university itself.
‘Cornell knew exactly whom it was gathering. The published, peer-reviewed medical literature—including research published by Cornell’s own Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research—establishes that LGBTQ+ college-age students experience significantly elevated rates of serious psychiatric conditions, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and self-injury relative to their cisgender heterosexual peers,’ the complaint stated.
Knutson’s mother has also claimed that school officials had to have been aware of what was taking place because their friend repeatedly visited counselors, advisors, and at least one police officer while she allegedly navigated her own mental health crisis, per the lawsuit.
Knutson was a sophomore at the Ivy League and identified as a non-binary person who used they/them pronouns. They were also the daughter of Cornell mathematics Professor Allen Knutson (pictured), according to the Cornell Daily Sun in 2024
Akber filed the lawsuit under Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.
She is seeking unspecified compensatory damages, including negligence, violations of state Human Rights Law, and wrongful death.
When contacted by the Daily Mail for comment, Akber’s lawyer, Reza Yassi, said: ‘We look forward to proving Winter’s claims in court and holding Cornell and the individual defendants accountable.
‘We also hope this case brings meaningful, lasting change at Cornell, so that no one else has to go through what Winter did.’
A spokesperson with Cornell University told the Daily Mail: ‘The loss of Winter Knutson was a tragedy. We will not comment on the pending litigation.’
The Daily Mail is not naming the defendants because they haven’t filed a response to the litigation and could not be contacted for comment.