Boy Won’t Be Charged in Fatal Fight in Schoolyard

The district attorney’s office said Friday that it will not file charges against a Palmdale boy who threw a punch that killed a 13-year-old classmate, saying the boy was acting in self-defense.

Stephan Corson died after being struck by a 14-year-old boy in a schoolyard fight Nov. 19. After reviewing witness accounts, prosecutors concluded that Stephan had started the fight.

“While there are inconsistencies in the statements of a few of the witnesses, the weight of the evidence demonstrates that the conflict was initiated by the decedent,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement.

“It cannot be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that [the 14-year-old] . . . used any force beyond necessary to defend himself,” the statement said, adding that the boy’s actions “constituted excusable homicide.”

The father of the 14-year-old said the decision ended weeks of anxiety.

“I knew my son hadn’t done anything wrong, but we hadn’t heard anything, so of course I started to worry,” the father said. “We’re both pretty relieved now.”

Both families had complained that the district attorney’s office was taking too long to resolve the case. Sheriff’s investigators concluded their interviews four months ago, and submitted their report in February.

Members of Stephan’s family said Friday that they were devastated by the decision. His mother, Mary, was too distraught to talk, and his older brother, Jay, said he was furious.

From the beginning, Stephan’s family and others have raised concerns that racism was playing a role in how authorities were handling the case. Stephan was black and the other boy is white.

“You know that if a black boy killed a white boy in a fight, that black boy would be locked up right away,” said Jay Corson, 26. “My brother’s life was worth a hell of a lot. This is completely unfair.”

According to Los Angeles County sheriff’s reports, Stephan and the other boy starting arguing in class after a paper-throwing incident at Juniper Intermediate School on Nov. 19.

When class let out, Stephan threw down his backpack and charged at the other boy, according to 11 students who witnessed the fight.

One student, whose statements clashed with those of the other witnesses, told authorities the other boy threw the first punch, not Stephan.

The two rolled around on the ground slugging each other, and when a teacher tried to pull them apart, Stephan reached around her and hit the other boy in the face, according to the district attorney’s statement.

The boy punched back, knocking Stephan to the pavement, where he stopped breathing.

A coroner’s report determined that Stephan died of acute spinal cord injury caused by the punch.

Stephan’s family does not believe he started the fight and said the other boy must have provoked him. Witnesses told investigators, however, that Stephan threw scraps of paper on the floor of the classroom and picked a fight with the other boy when he refused to pick them up.

Mary Corson has said she wanted the other boy charged with manslaughter. She also has blamed teachers for not intervening earlier. Last month, she filed a $10-million wrongful death lawsuit against the Palmdale School District, contending that the fight was a result of poor supervision.

The other boy’s father, a teacher in the Palmdale school district, said he was immensely relieved that no charges would be filed.

“I told my son that the district attorney had decided that you didn’t do anything wrong,” the father said.

“And then he asked me: ‘Who’s the district attorney?”