John Jefferson
Left: Kathryn Stephanopoulos. Right: the brawl from Aug. 14. 2024 (Flagler County Sheriff’s Office).
A Florida mom faces a criminal case for allegedly joining into a fight caught on video between her daughter and a former school friend at a bus stop after the girls apparently had a falling out over the summer.
According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, which posted blurred video of the brawl, 34-year-old Kathryn Stephanopoulos was arrested in the felony child abuse case for allegedly placing her daughter’s ex-friend in a “chokehold” during the Aug. 14 altercation at a bus stop for Flagler Palm Coast High School students in the Daytona North area.
The probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime details that the fight involved Stephanopoulos and three girls, two of them sisters and one of them the defendant’s daughter. One of the girls “primarily involved in the disturbance” allegedly told investigators that she and Stephanopoulos’ daughter had once been friends but that the friendship was over after “a falling out over the summer.”
“While on the school bus,” the affidavit said, the two former friends “engaged in a verbal disturbance” and “mutually agreed to fight when the bus dropped them off.”
Video recorded from the bus by student onlookers showed the fight unfold.
Daytona North Woman Arrested for Joining Fight Involving Two Juveniles
On Thursday, August 15, deputies responded to Mahogany Boulevard and Honeytree Street in Daytona North in reference to a fight at the bus stop drop-off for Flagler Palm Coast High School.
Two juveniles engaged in a mutually agreed upon fight as soon as they exited the bus. The two got into an argument after having a falling out over the summer. One of the juvenile’s mothers was waiting at the bus stop after being told by her child about the fight. Once the fight began, the mother joined the fight instead of trying to break it up. At one point the mother had the juvenile in a headlock and reportedly restricted the child’s breathing.
While the mother was fighting the original juvenile, the mother’s child then started a second fight with another student at the bus stop who was trying to break up the fight. Once that fight was over, the juvenile began arguing with the mother, then swung a full metal cup, hitting the woman in the face.
On Monday, August 19, Kathryn Stephanopoulos, 34, of Bunnell was arrested and transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility for her role in the fight. As part of the investigation, deputies located a video of the fight that had been recorded by a bystander (⚠️ Warning: This video has explicit language). One juvenile was arrested for Aggravated Battery, while misdemeanor charges for the other juvenile were forwarded to the State Attorney’s Office.
“Instead of deescalating the situation, we have a mother who joined in the fray, setting a bad example for her child and those at the bus stop,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “She certainly won’t receive mother of the year with her actions. Parents need to set the example and not be part of the problem. Luckily, no one was seriously injured, but now a mother is facing serious charges for losing control of her temper.”
*The video has been blurred in its entirety due to the presence of multiple juveniles*
Posted by Flagler County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, August 21, 2024
Students on the bus could be heard saying “How this s— even happen?” and “that’s crazy!” — reacting with surprise as Stephanopoulos allegedly placed a girl in a “chokehold” and was hit in the face by a Stanley cup.
The girl said “her breathing was restricted during the altercation” and had “red marks on her neck that matche[d] her statements of the event,” documents said.
Rather than trying to deescalate the situation, Stephanopoulos only made it worse, deputies alleged.
“After viewing the full video, I observed that the other juvenile and her mother were engaging in a fist fight at the intersection while [redacted] could be seen standing by,” the affidavit said. “[Redacted] got involved when the mother of the other juvenile proceeded to take [redacted] to the ground with two arms wrapped around [redacted’s] head an neck area.”
“While the mother was holding [redacted] down, the other juvenile could be seen throwing closed fist punches,” documents said.
Days after the fight, authorities said they went to Stephanopoulos’ home in Bunnell, where she was read her Miranda rights and where she agreed to speak with investigators, allegedly telling them that she drove to the bus stop that day after receiving a text from her daughter that a fight might be about to happen.
She allegedly claimed she went to the bus stop to deter a fight with her presence, but when that didn’t happen, she got involved — to her regret.
“It should be noted that Kathryn expressed her regret and embarrassment about the entire incident,” the affidavit said, detailing the suspect’s account that she was unable to open her jaw for days after being hit in the face during the fight.
Sheriff Rick Staly, who has since revealed that one of the girls was arrested for aggravated battery and that there’s a possible misdemeanor case against a second girl being evaluated by the state attorney’s office, had some stern words for Stephanopoulos.
“Instead of deescalating the situation, we have a mother who joined in the fray, setting a bad example for her child and those at the bus stop,” Staly said. “She certainly won’t receive mother of the year with her actions. Parents need to set the example and not be part of the problem. Luckily, no one was seriously injured, but now a mother is facing serious charges for losing control of her temper.”
Court records say that an arraignment in the Stephanopoulos case was set for the morning of Sept. 23 and that the judge is Terence Perkins, the jurist who recently presided over a local school-related case that garnered national attention.
It’s unclear if the defendant has an attorney.
Read the affidavit here.
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