Family of Missouri teen charged with slamming Kaylee Gain's head against the ground says she was 'defending herself'

Family members of Maurnice DeClue, a 15-year-old girl Hazelwood East High School student charged with assault after slamming fellow student Kaylee Gain's head against the pavement multiple times, says that DeClue was "defending herself" in the situation.  

Gain, 16, is still in the hospital with critical head injuries including a skull fracture and frontal lobe damage after DeClue smashed her head on the sidewalk multiple times.  

A petition that was put up by the family on Change.org, confirmed to be authentic by the Daily Mail, is titled, "Urge Chief Juvenile Officer Rick Gaines to consider Maurnice Declue's case with compassion." 

The outlet spoke to an aunt of the student who said that DeClue was not bullying Gain in the incident and urged people to donate to help with the legal bills for the 15-year-old. The family member also said that DeClue was being "harassed and bullied" in the scenario instead of Gain.  

"If people want to donate, they should give it on the CashApp, not the petition," the aunt told a reporter.  

Originally, a GoFundMe was set up for DeClue which was later removed by the company. A spokesman from the organization told the outlet, "GoFundMe's Terms of Service explicitly prohibit fundraising for the legal defense of an alleged violent crime." 

DeClue has been charged with felony assault and is expected to have a hearing later in April.  

The petition on Change.org states, "This petition is about a young girl named Maurnice DeClue, a 15-year-old honor roll student at Hazelwood East High School in St. Louis County, MO." 

"Prior to an incident on March 8th where she was seen defending herself from harassment and bullying, she had never been in trouble. Her work as a scholar was tainted by the bullying she had to endure at school," it adds. "However, this single event is being used to define her character and incite racial divisions and political strife with the MO AG calling on the courts to charge her as an adult." 

"We request that all aspects of her life be considered during indictment and sentencing - her academic achievements, extracurricular involvement, linguistic skills and most importantly her victimhood as a bullied student who was merely defending herself under intense and flight vs fight circumstances." The family asked it the petition to use "a combination of Restorative Justice and Rehabilitation methods instead of only using punitive measures to address the harm that occurred" in the incident.  

The petition adds that the family has "received multiple racist death threats" and people attempting to "release protected and personal information about the family and Maurnice."

Alleged bullying against Kaylee Gain, the girl who is now hospitalized, has also been reported.