HOUSTON, Texas — An autopsy determined that a 13-year-old Texas girl who slipped into a coma after being attacked by two classmates while walking home from school died from a brain tumor doctors discovered in the aftermath of the fight, according to an autopsy report.
Kashala Francis died from complications of intracranial neoplasm, or a brain tumor, according to a Harris County Medical Examiner's report released on Monday.
Kashala, who was a student at Attucks Middle School in Houston, died on April 17 at Texas Children's Hospital, a week after two classmates jumped her as she walked home from school, her mother, Mamie Jackson, told ABC station KTRK-TV in Houston.
One of the girls kicked Kashala in the head, her mother said.
In video of the attack, at least one of the girls fighting with Kashala can be heard laughing, Jackson said.
"I can see these girls kicking her in the head while other children are laughing at her," Jackson told KTRK of the video that surfaced of her daughter being punched and kicked.
The Houston Police Department had been investigating the attack as a homicide.
13-year-old Texas girl jumped by classmates on way home from school died from brain tumor, according to autopsy report. https://t.co/PVXcobJ0hf pic.twitter.com/HyJun8fPlu
— ABC News (@ABC) April 30, 2019
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Victor Senties, a spokesman for the police department, told ABC News on Monday that the investigation will remain open.
"It's likely going to get referred over to the major assault unit because of the assault incident," Senties said.
He said no arrests have been made.
Jackson said her daughter was jumped about a block from her school.
She said that when Kashala came home from school on the day of the attack, she had bruises on her face but claimed she was fine. But two days later, Kashala briefly appeared to become delusional while spending the night at a relative's house and that she complained of severe headaches when she woke up, Jackson told KTRK.
"I drove over and I told her to get up. I said, 'Get up, Kashala.' She kept saying, 'Mama, my head hurts,' so she laid down," Jackson said.
She said moments later, her daughter lost consciousness and she called 911.
Paramedics took the girl to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston where she slipped into a coma.
Doctors treating Kashala discovered the tumor on the back of her head.
"We found out she has a large tumor in the back of her head, and she had fluid buildup in her brain," Jackson said.
Kashala's death followed a similar incident in Walterboro, South Carolina, where 10-year-old fifth grader Raniya Wright died on March 27 after a fight with a classmate. The South Carolina solicitor declined to file charges because a forensic pathologist determined Raniya had a rare birth defect, arteriovenous malformation, that caused her death.
This report was written by Bill Hutchinson for ABC News.
Cox Media Group
