The 12-year-old Hispanic woman who died days after being hit in the head with a metal water bottle during an incident with another student, died of natural causesthe Los Angeles County medical examiner ruled.
Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa, 12 years old, died on February 25, 2026 in a hospital days after her family reported that the teenager had suffered a brain injury after a blow to the head during a bullying incident at the Reseda Charter Excessive Faculty.
According to the family, Khimberly abilities a seemingly healthy studentwhen, on February 17, during a fight to defend his sister from harassers, he was hit by the metal bottle.
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Four days later, the young Hispanic She was rushed to a hospital, where she underwent brain surgery.. She was subsequently induced into a synthetic coma, but died on February 25.
He Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) arrested a student suspected of murder in April in connection with Zavaleta’s death.
Besides, Khimberly’s family filed suit against the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) after alleging that the student had been repeatedly harassed on campus and that the non-public did not take bullying complaints seriously.
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However, the report published this Tuesday by the medical examiner ruled that Khimberly’s death was not a homicidebut it was due to natural causes.
Forensic studies attributed the cause of Zavaleta’s death to a “spontaneous rupture” of blood vessels in the braincaused by a pre-existing medical condition.
According to the medical examiner, Khimberly suffered from cerebral arteriovenous malformation, which is a rare condition present at birth, in which the arteries in the brain are packed closely together, increasing the risk of ruptures.
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“Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are a set of fragile, tangled, high-pressure blood vessels, prone to spontaneous rupture, especially when they are located in the brain region, as in the case of Khimberly“stated Dr. Odey Ukpo, chief medical examiner.
“Catastrophic hemorrhage due to rupture occurs quickly —in a matter of seconds or minutes—and poses an immediate threat to life,” he added.
The press release says Khimberly was reportedly hit in the back of the head four days before she was hospitalized, but does not establish any connection between that incident and the subsequent brain hemorrhage.
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Lawyers for Khimberly’s family said the medical examiner’s determination ignored the undeniable reality of what happened to the Hispanic teenager.
“Before this incident, Khimberly was already a healthy 12-year-old girl.without symptoms, without medical crisis and without indications that his AVM represented any danger to his life,” said attorney Robert Glassman, partner at the Panish Shea Ravipudi law firm.
“Then at school, she was hit on the head with an aluminum water bottle, complained of a severe headache, and, Within days, he suffered a catastrophic brain hemorrhage that cost him his life.“he added.
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Despite the medical examiner’s opinion, Khimberly Zavaleta’s family will continue to move forward with the lawsuit against LAUSD.
“If Khimberly had an underlying condition that made her more vulnerable to injury, That does not justify the behavior that caused his death.“The lawyer reiterated.
LAUSD had no direct comment on the medical examiner’s update.but a spokesperson stated that the school district is deeply saddened by Khimberly’s death.
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“Our thoughts and condolences are with the familythe student’s friends and the entire school community,” the spokesperson said, adding that the district does not comment related to pending litigation.
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