The mother of Brendan Depa, the student who beat his teacher unconscious because his Nintendo Switch was confiscated, pleaded her son should have a lighter sentence Wednesday.
Leanne Depa made her first public appearance since February on Wednesday, according to the New York Post. She asked Joan Naydich, the teacher beaten in the incident, to request the teenager be given a lighter sentence.
Depa said she is devastated for her child and claimed her son’s prison time would be a “death sentence” in a NewsNation interview. (RELATED: Video Shows Terrifying Moment Man Allegedly Attacks DC Preschool Teachers Walking With Students).
“I am so sorry for what my son did and nobody should ever have to go through that,” she told host Ashleigh Banfield. “But at the same time, please consider that my son has had a hard life and he’s gone through so much trauma in his life. He has autism. Please show mercy to him.”
Depa was 17 at the time of the incident in February, per the New York Post. Surveillance footage appears to show him throwing his teacher at Matanzas High School to the ground and kicking her in the head and back over a dozen times. Naydich reportedly suffered hearing loss and five broken ribs. She also claims to have ongoing cognitive problems, per the outlet.
JUST IN: The high school teacher who was beaten unconscious by a 270 pound student after she told him to get off of his Nintendo, is reportedly refusing to help the defense lighten the sentence for the teen.
Good for her 🔥
The student, Brendan Depa, is facing up to a whopping… pic.twitter.com/VYq6iXm38X
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 25, 2023
The 6-foot-6 Florida teen pleaded guilty in Oct. 2023 and faces up to 30 years in prison, per the outlet. His sentencing is to be determined in January. Depa’s attorneys have reportedly argued he isn’t competent to stand trial due to his mental condition.
Naydich has so far declined to request a lighter sentence for Depa, per the Post.