Classmates Are Shocked, Sad, Scared

Her classmates had wanted to believe the rumors circulating around Tuffree Junior High School, the rumors that Wendy Rachelle Osborn had run off with a boy or had stormed out of her house after a fight.

But on Tuesday, before the first bell rang at the Placentia campus, some students stood in small groups quietly crying. A few held newspaper articles that described how and where their classmate’s body had been found.

“I just didn’t think she was going to die,” said Alina Khodorovsky, 14. “Everyone thought that she was going to be back in class. No one thought she was going to die.” Now, Alina said, she and her friends often sit around talking about Wendy Osborn.

“A lot of people were shocked that it could happen here,” she said. “I just can’t put it in my mind that something like this could actually happen here.”

Others also said they were scared.

“Why wasn’t it me?” asked Steve Hartfelder, 12. “It could have been. Why not one of my friends? It’s real scary. Tomorrow it could be anybody. It’s sad around here. Real, real sad.”

Wendy Osborn vanished Jan. 20 while walking to school. She was last seen in the area of Berkenstock and McCormick lanes in north Placentia. Wendy’s normal route to Tuffree Junior High School would have taken her on part of Bastanchury Road. But she never made it. Her body was found Sunday in the Carbon Canyon area of the Chino Hills.

On Tuesday, her English and homeroom teacher described Wendy as a girl “who had a way with her.” She was a good student with a real talent for writing, Elizabeth Greenhill said.

Jack Osborn has described his daughter as “bright, family-oriented and reserved in public.” Wendy was a good student with no crises, either at home or at school, he said.

One of her best friends said Wendy was intelligent and not always reserved.

“She is only shy when she is around new people,” explained Chanchal Khemlani, 13, still speaking of her friend in the present tense. “But when you get to know her, she’s outgoing. Wendy is a lot of fun.” Chanchal then blinked back tears and rushed into school while being comforted by two friends.

Stephanie Clausen, 13, echoed what was apparently on many classmates’ minds. “If it could happen here, it can happen anywhere,” she said. “My friends and I talk. And we are scared.”

Joy Rollo said she and a friend also had walked to school on Jan. 20. “It freaks me out. I was walking to school that same day.” Joy said she no longers walks to school but joins car pools as Wendy Osborn usually did.

As class time approached and students began walking in, Heather Dickinson, 13, said: “We are canceling Friday’s dance,” before she caught up with friends.

Principal Richard P. Vouga said teachers will help students sort out their feelings, but there will be no special memorial.

“Some teachers are going to talk to them about taking precautions,” Vouga said. “But we are going to try to carry on the day as usual.”

But Elizabeth Greenhill said she didn’t quite know how she was going to help students cope with the death of their classmate. “I’m having a real hard time dealing with it myself right now,” she said.