The loss of 11-year-old Jocelynn Rojo Carranza has shaken a Texas community, leaving grief, unanswered questions, and a mother’s call for justice.
According to her family, Jocelynn spent her final months enduring relentless bullying at Gainesville Intermediate School. Her mother, Marbella Carranza, says the abuse turned deeply personal, with classmates threatening to call immigration to take her parents away.
“They said they were going to take her parents, leaving her alone,” Marbella told KUVN. She would not discuss her family’s immigration status but made it clear her daughter felt unsafe both at school and in her own home.
Marbella says Jocelynn met with school counselors weekly, yet she was never informed of the severity of the bullying. “The school was negligent for not keeping me informed,” she said.
Gainesville ISD declined to discuss the case but stressed that it responds quickly to bullying reports and has policies to protect students. For Jocelynn’s family, the statement brings little comfort.
On February 3, Jocelynn was found unresponsive at home. Emergency responders rushed her to the hospital, and for five days, her family clung to hope. On February 8, she passed away.
Her funeral, held in the same church where she was baptized, was filled with sorrow. A small white casket with a crucifix lay at the altar while a mariachi band played softly from the balcony.
“She didn’t know how to understand the things that happen in the world,” said Deacon Gelasio Garcia to mourners. Jocelynn’s obituary remembered her as a loving daughter and friend who loved dancing, swinging, and movie nights with family.
Her story has become a call for kindness and a warning about the devastating impact of bullying—a tragedy her mother hopes no other family will endure.
