Sheila Mueller is grieving the loss of her son.
Klos Mueller, 13, killed himself during the overnight hours of Feb. 4-5, his mother said.
“It’s the heaviest I’ve ever felt and the most empty at the same time, if you can imagine that,” said Sheila, 42, of Eureka. “My home is just so different. I miss the ‘Hey Mom, I love you. Hey Mom, can you go get me some Slim Jims from the store?’ I’m going to miss the open cabinet doors and the mess in the kitchen sink, the dirty boy laundry.”
Sheila said her son was continually bullied at LaSalle Springs Middle School in Wildwood, where he was in eighth grade. She believes that led to his death.
Sheila said Klos also was bullied at a private school he attended before he transferred to Rockwood schools.
She said her son was bullied about his father, Tony, who died by suicide in 2010.
“No mother should ever have to put their son in the casket,” she said. “I thought losing my husband was bad.”
Sheila said Klos attended Blevins Elementary in Eureka and did not have an issue with being bullied. She said that changed when he entered the sixth grade at LaSalle Springs.
“I sent my kids to school because it was supposed to be a safe place,” she said. “It’s supposed to be an extension of me.”
Sheila said she is scheduled to meet with Terry Harris, Rockwood’s director of student services, and LaSalle Principal Aaron Wilken on Friday.
Harris said he did not know Klos but believes the student had a good relationship with building counselors, social workers and teachers.
“I do know that there was care there for this student,” he said. “I know that because the teachers talked about it, I know that because of the grieving process that they’re experiencing right now.”
Bullying
Sheila said about two weeks ago, a LaSalle Springs student told Klos a knock-knock joke about not having his dad around.
She said it took about 30 minutes for Klos to tell her what happened after she promised him she would not call the school. She said she emailed the school after learning about the incident.
“My son came home absolutely crushed,” Sheila said.
She said Klos had been suspended from school after saying a bad word on the school bus. She said he said the word after getting into a fight with another student, whom she said Klos was trying to stop from punching someone else on the bus.
Sheila said other students often called her son derogatory names and nothing was done to stop it. “I think the teachers just turned a blind eye to it,” she said.
Harris said the district has created programs to combat bullying. He said several years ago, he created a peer-based anti-bullying program.
“A program that taught kids how to recognize, how to stop and how to describe bullying,” he said.
Harris said the program is at LaSalle Springs and is called Kindness Crew.
“It was just something that the teachers and students ran with,” he said. “They loved it to the extent that they changed the name of their program.”
Sheila said she is concerned about her 5-year-old son, Eli Byrne, who started attending classes at Rockwood’s Eureka Early Childhood Center this year.
“Now, does this kid have a target on his back because of his brother?” she said. “I will change something because I’m not going to let my son be gone from this earth for nothing.”
Harris said he is planning to have an anti-bullying training day soon, but he also said programs can only do so much to stop bullying.
“There is no program that we can implement that is going to eradicate young people interacting with each other,” he said.
A hurting district
Harris said the district is feeling the “hurt” of losing another student and community member.
“It’s a family member who is no longer with us,” he said.
Klos is at least the eighth person connected to the district who has died since the school year started Aug. 23.
Kiley Kennedy, who was a senior at Eureka High School, and Ethan Sandhu, who attended Eureka High before transferring to a different district, were murdered. Former Marquette students Jake Keifer and Rhegan Sajben died in a car crash, and three staff members have died: Bob Wilhite, a Crestview Middle School band teacher; Amy Gentry, a Woerther Elementary School physical education teacher; and Carl Hudson, a Marquette High School assistant principal.
Harris said additional counselors and therapy dogs were assigned to LaSalle Springs after Klos’ death, and he hopes staff, students, parents and community members can work together to help any student who is struggling.
“We have to work together collaboratively, collectively, to ensure that all the students are well,” he said.
Harris does not believe there is an extensive bullying problem at LaSalle Springs, but he encourages families to talk with school officials about any issues their child is experiencing at school.
“I do think that if any parent believes or feels (there is a bullying issue), they should contact the school, and we will meet with them immediately,” Harris said.
He said if parents are having trouble reaching someone at the school, they should reach out to him or Superintendent Tim Ricker. “We take these things very seriously,” Harris said.
Help is available
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, resources are available to help.
Behavioral Health Response has a crisis line at 1-800-811-4760.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available at 1-800-273-8255.
A crisis text line is available by texting HOME to 741741.
Resources also are available at