A recent medical examiner’s report has classified the death of a young girl as resulting from ‘natural causes’ despite allegations that she was struck on the head with a metal water bottle by a peer.
The incident involved 12-year-old Khimberly Zavaleta, who, according to her family, was hit by a fellow student while defending her sister at a high school in Los Angeles on February 17.
After the altercation, Zavaleta was treated in the emergency room and discharged the same day. Unfortunately, a week later, she experienced a brain hemorrhage and collapsed.
Following her collapse, Zavaleta was placed in an induced coma and underwent urgent surgery. However, she tragically passed away on February 25 due to heart failure.
In response, police initiated a homicide investigation into the circumstances of her death and, in April, arrested another 12-year-old girl—whose identity remains confidential due to her age—on murder charges.
However, a bombshell report from the medical examiner’s office released on Tuesday determined that Zavaleta’s death was ‘natural,’ and caused by a spontaneously ruptured cerebellar arteriovenous malformation (AVM).
‘AVMs are an assembly of fragile, tangled, high-pressure blood vessels that are prone to spontaneously rupturing, especially when located in the region of the brain, as discovered in Khimberly,’ Chief Medical Examiner Dr Odey Ukpo said.Â
Khimberly Zavaleta, 12, died after she was allegedly hit in the head with a metal water bottle while trying to protect her sister from a bully at school
The medical examiner determined that Zavaleta’s death was ‘natural,’ and caused by a spontaneously ruptured cerebellar arteriovenous malformation
‘Catastrophic bleeding due to a rupture develops quickly – within seconds to minutes – and is immediately life-threatening. Unfortunately, as in Khimberly’s case, spontaneous rupture is a common initial presentation of an AVM.’Â
It is unclear if being struck in the head triggered the rupture that ultimately led to her death, and how this ruling impacts the murder investigation.
The medical examiner’s office declined to comment when asked by the Daily Mail if it was possible that being struck in the head caused the rupture.
The Daily Mail also contacted the Los Angeles Police Department for comment.Â
Robert Glassman, the family’s attorney, told the Daily Mail that the medical examiner’s conclusion ‘ignores the undeniable reality of what happened.’
‘Before this incident, Khimberly was a healthy, vibrant 12-year-old girl with no symptoms, no medical crisis, and no indication that her AVM posed any danger to her life,’ he said.Â
‘Then she was struck in the head at school with an aluminum water bottle, complained of serious head pain, and within days suffered catastrophic brain bleeding that took her life.’
Glassman added, ‘If Khimberly had an underlying condition that made her more vulnerable to injury, that does not excuse the conduct that led to her death.’
Zavaleta’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), which Reseda Charter High School is part of, alleging that officials failed to take previous reports of bullying seriously.
Her family’s attorney, told the Daily Mail that the medical examiner’s conclusion ‘ignores the undeniable reality of what happened’
The girl’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the school district, claiming officials ignored previous reports of bullying
According to a copy of their claim obtained by the LA Times, her parents said this was not the first time their daughters had been ‘bullied and harassed on campus.’
Their mother said that she ‘had repeatedly reported bullying episodes to an LAUSD administrator. But LAUSD did nothing.’
The Daily Mail contacted the school district for comment. The district has previously declined to comment on the lawsuit to other outlets, but sent its condolences to the family.