NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — It's been nearly three years since Abigail Zwerner, the former Richneck Elementary School teacher, was shot by her 6-year-old student in the classroom.
On Jan. 6, 2023, Zwerner was giving a lesson to her class in the afternoon when a student, known to have behavioral issues, pulled out a gun he stole from his mom and shot Zwerner. She raised a hand to shield herself, but the bullet ripped through that hand and pierced her chest. She fell to the ground bleeding, thinking she was dying — even that she might be dead, she shared in her testimony.
Zwerner survived, but she says both her mental and physical recovery have been an arduous journey. Her relationships with her family, who by all accounts have been supportive, are strained. A young teacher — 25 at the time she was shot — who has been described as promising and gifted, could not return to the classroom.
Shortly after the shooting, Zwerner hired the Toscano Law Group to represent her in a $40 million lawsuit against the Newport News School Division and administrators within, alleging negligence on behalf of administrators, who reportedly were aware of the student's gun and, according to the suit, failed to act in time to prevent the traumatic, life-changing encounter.
Lawyers for the school division argued that Zwerner was only entitled to a worker's compensation claim, saying that her injury falls under the state's Worker's Compensation Act. Eventually, after more than two years of hearings, the lawsuit was allowed to move forward.
In that time, the shooter's mother, Deja Taylor, was charged with and convicted of state and federal charges: the commonwealth proved felony child neglect for allowing the boy to access the gun (which she claimed was kept in a safe); federal prosecutors showed that she lied on the form about marijuana use when purchasing the gun. Taylor is serving out a four-year sentence.
As the lawsuit hearings progressed, former Richneck Assistant Principal Ebony Parker, 40, became the lone defendant in the Newport News School Division to face the jury. Zwerner's attorneys allege Parker was informed multiple times about the gun and did not investigate before the young boy pulled the trigger.
That brings us to the week of Oct. 27, when Zwerner and Parker appeared in court — with the eyes of the nation again on Newport News.
Monday, Oct. 27
The first day of the trial was mostly procedural, and attorneys spent the time interviewing 48 potential jurors until three men and six women — seven, with two alternates — were selected to sit on the jury for this highly-visible trial.
Circuit Court Judge Mathew Hoffman, presiding over the case, indicated on Monday he wanted the trial to wrap in about eight days.
Watch: Day 1 recap video
Tuesday, Oct. 28
On Tuesday, Zwerner's team, led by Diane Toscano, began the trial with an opening statement, where she emphasized how Parker was second in command at the school, and that it is her role to ensure safety.
Then, "1:58 p.m., BANG!" Toscano said. "A bullet went through Abby's hand, then through her chest." The bullet is still in Abby's body because it's too dangerous to remove, she added — a point that was reinforced later by medical experts who treated her after the shooting.
Toscano stated that four teachers had warned Parker about the student having a gun. One of those teachers was Amy Kovac, a reading specialist who was in Zwerner's classroom that day. Kovac reportedly heard from other students in Zwerner's class that the student had the gun. She gave her account of that day and her actions in testimony that lasted more than an hour.
Reports of a gun
Kovac testified that she approached the boy, referred to only as "JT" in court, and asked about the gun, which the boy denied. She then went to see Parker and reported what she had heard about the gun, and told Parker she was going to wait until he was out at recess to check his bag for a gun. According to Kovac, Zwerner told her via text that she saw JT take something out of his bag and put it in his jacket pocket, which Kovac presumes now was the gun. She also said JT was acting strange and less gregarious than normal.
Kovac told the court that Parker dismissed the claim that it could have been a gun because the boy's pockets were too small for a gun. She said she felt Parker was more concerned over state testing taking place that day than addressing the gun report. No action was taken by Parker, Kovac said, despite her telling Parker three times about the gun.
Then, Kovac says she heard the gunshot from down the hall and ran into the room.
"I heard that gunshot and instinctively, I come into that room," she said, fighting tears. "As I come in the door, Abby's on the side, I see blood on her leg, so I knew she was hit... I see the kids screaming and running out. I felt like I had a bubble of God around me, and I walked straight to him. He was sitting there with his legs kind of spread open, his arms crossed, like cocky."
Kovac says she then subdued the boy and called 911.
During the defense's cross examination, Kovac was asked why she didn’t confiscate the bag immediately, and why she was seen on the school's surveillance cameras moving at a casual pace.
Watch: Day 2 recap video
Medical testimony
Afternoon testimony included Dr. Alan Chap, a trauma surgeon at Riverside Regional Medical Center, who treated Zwerner when she arrived after the shooting. He told the court that Zwerner was awake when she arrived, but she had low blood pressure and was hypoxic and tachycardic, meaning she had low levels of oxygen in her body tissues and an increased heart rate, respectfully.
Chap described how the bullet entered her body through her armpit, fracturing a rib and puncturing a lung before it became lodged by her spine and aorta. He emphasized that the bullet fragments are still inside her body because it would be too dangerous to attempt to remove them.
Abby's mom
The day concluded with emotional testimony from Zwerner's mom, Julie, who told the court her daughter has never been the same since that day.
She said she was called by the principal and raced to the hospital, not knowing whether Abby was still alive. When she arrived, she recalled Abby just looked at her and said "Mommy..."
“She was in pain, you know, all bandaged up, tubes and machines hooked up to her. Her arm was all wrapped up,” Julie testified.
Julie was also questioned about the lasting impacts of the shooting. She discussed her daughter's current physical limitations in the aftermath, and said her daughter — despite her love and gift for teaching — does not plan to return to the classroom.
Watch: Zwerner's mom testifies
Wednesday, Oct. 29
The second day of testimony in the case began with testimony from a Newport News police officer who responded to the scene. Bodycam footage from the officer was briefly shown, depicting first responders working to save Zwerner's life after she was shot. The footage was shocking to those observing in the courtroom, and due to graphic nature of the video, WTKR has chosen not reshare it to viewers.
Thomas Blyth, a retired corporal with the Newport News Sheriff's Office, also responded to the shooting. He testified about how long it took for law enforcement to be let into the school.
"We immediately went to the front door of the school, hit the buzzer, knocked on the doors, couldn't get in. Didn't see anybody moving around, not what we expected to be responding to a situation like this," noted Blyth. "It seemed like an eternity for us. It was probably about a minute of banging on the door til, I think, a janitor or a security person opened the door for us."
Another unexpected factor, Blyth stated, was the shooter's age: "We were quite taken aback. We didn't expect to see so young of a suspect."
As Blyth testified that he found the gun on the floor, pictures of Zwerner's classroom and the weapon were shown in the courtroom.
Zwerner's left hand
Testimony was also provided by Dr. Romney Andersen, who treated Zwerner's wounded hand at Riverside Regional Medical Center.
In court, Zwerner stood up for a demonstration as Dr. Andersen showed jurors the lasting impacts of the injury on her left hand. During a strength test, he said it felt like her left hand had less than half the strength of her right hand.
When Zwerner's legal team asked Dr. Andersen about the possibility of her left hand's range of motion or strength significantly improving, he responded: "She may make some slight improvements, but I don't think she's gonna make drastic improvements and have her hand be like the other hand."
This point was emphasized again the following day during Zwerner's testimony, when she discussed how she struggles to open a bag of chips or a screw top water bottle.
Twin sister
Hannah Zwerner, Abby's twin, was also called to the stand on Wednesday, delivering another emotional punch at the end of a long day. When asked about how her sister has changed since the shooting, Hannah testified that her sister is more reclusive now, adding that it’s hard to get her to go out and do things.
"She's just not the person that she was. I feel like she's kind of lost her sense of direction in a way. She doesn't want to go out anymore. I don't talk to her as much as we used to," said Hannah Zwerner, later adding, "She doesn't want to talk about things. She doesn't share them with us."
During cross examination, the defense team for Parker asked: “You talk about that your sister doesn't want to go anywhere. Have you given your sister any gifts of concert tickets?” Hannah answered that she “drained her bank account” to take her to a Taylor Swift concert, noting that “it was not without its own challenges.” The defense responded, “That’s a pretty large crowd.”
Watch: Day 3 recap
Thursday, Oct. 30
First taking the stand Thursday was forensic psychiatrist Dr. Clarence Watson, who has treated Zwerner in the aftermath of the shooting. He told the court he had diagnosed Zwerner with post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), anxiety and depression.
It was also noted that Zwerner's father passed in 2020.
Zwerner told the doctor that she has nightmares of fears of being killed, and fears of the shooter following her and coming back to "finish the job."
The doctor added that Zwerner has "impressed" him with her devotion to working on her mental health following the shooting. He later said that she has suffered from suicidal thoughts.
The camera frequently cut to Zwerner, who remained stoic and composed. Behind her, Zwerner's mother, Julie, and sister, Hannah — who both testified earlier this week — held each other and appeared emotional as they listened to Watson describe Abby's mental health issues since the shooting.
Zwerner takes the stand
“The moment went by very fast," the now 28-year-old Zwerner said as she reflected on the shooting. "The look on the student's face is a large memory that I have. I do remember. It was like a very blank look but it wasn’t a blank look at all on his face.”
"Is that why you lifted your hand? Did you know what was about to happen?" Zwerner's legal team asked her, to which she responded, "Yes."
When counsel asked what she remembers thinking in that moment after the shot, she said, “I thought I was dying. I thought I had died. I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven, but then it all got black. And so, I then thought I wasn’t going there. And then my next memory is, I see two coworkers around me and I process that I’m hurt and they’re putting pressure on where I’m hurt.”
Zwerner spent nearly an hour and a half testifying for the court, reliving the moment that changed her life forever.
She touched on comments her family had made about how their relationship was not the same, and adaptations she's had to make in her life as she works to move on.
During cross examination, the defense pressed her on why she did not take action herself to inform Parker of the possible gun.
"You learned from Miss Kovac that two of your students said that JT had a gun in his backpack," the attorney asked.
"She did not tell me which students, but yes, Miss Kovac did tell me that students told her that the student brought a gun with him to school," Zwerner replied.
"Did you go back to Dr. Parker and say... there's a report that he might have a weapon?"
"At that time, no," Zwerner replied. "Miss Kovac was in my room investigating the situation. She was observing the student, sitting next to the student, and at that time, I'm trusting Miss Kovac."
Zwerner was asked if she had removed JT from the classroom as she had done before.
"No."
"Did you remove his backpack from the classroom?"
"No."
"Did you search his backpack."
"No."
"Did you go back to the security officer in the lunchroom?"
"No."
Asked again if she conveyed the rumor of the gun to Dr. Parker, Zwerner answered no.
Watch: Day 4 recap
Zwerner's team rests
Following Zwerner's testimony, the court took a break for lunch and resumed with her team, declaring they had no more witnesses to call.
The defense attempted to call a witness to testify, but Judge Hoffman denied that, saying the testimony was not relevant at this time.
What comes next
Thursday's testimony concluded with a decision to not resume the trial until Monday, Nov. 3, when the defense is expected to call its expert witnesses.
Judge Hoffman had indicated during jury selection that he would like the trial to wrap by Thursday, Nov. 6. If Zwerner's suit is successful in awarding her all or some of the $40 million, Newport News Schools' insurance authority would be liable to pay out the money.
But Ebony Parker's time in court will not end when the lawsuit does. Parker also faces eight counts of felony child neglect, where prosecutors allege she failed to act to prevent the student from shooting Zwerner, which they say also put students in the classroom in danger. The eight counts refer to the eight bullets that were allegedly in the gun at the time of the shooting.
While there is no specific date set for that trial, it is expected to commence shortly after the civil suit concludes.
Watch related: True Crime 757 podcast discusses case of Zwerner's shooting at Richneck Elementary
