A Massachusetts middle school student received a three-day suspension after staff discovered a notebook labelled Death Note containing classmates’ names. Police investigated, but said they were not seeking criminal charges based on the information available, while the school’s principal said investigators found no indication of an intended threat.
As reported by Boston.com, administrators at Chocksett Middle School in Sterling reported the safety concern at around 4pm on 30 September, after students had gone home. Responding officers found no immediate threat to the school community.
The incident concerns a notebook referencing the anime and manga series, not evidence that the student planned to carry out its fictional premise. The suspension and the police assessment are separate outcomes: the school imposed discipline, while investigators did not identify an intended threat.
What investigators found
Boston.com’s account quotes a letter from principal Tina Boss explaining that the student told staff the notebook was connected to an anime television series and was not intended as a threat. The subsequent investigation included dozens of student interviews and involved police, school and district administrators, and the school’s Threat Assessment Team.
Boss said investigators found “no indication that the notebook or its contents were intended as a threat toward the school or any particular student”. She described the television series’ theme as inappropriate for the school setting.
The school held an assembly on 1 October to reassure students and answer questions. Police were also visibly present on 6 October to reassure families and staff. The department said it would maintain a presence as it considered appropriate; that presence did not change its reported finding of no immediate threat.
A parent remains concerned
NBC Boston interviewed a mother who said her daughter’s name appeared in the notebook alongside those of other students. She described it as a “kill list” and said her daughter was upset and afraid. That description reflects the parent’s concern, rather than a finding by investigators that the student intended violence.
The mother wanted her daughter to have no contact with the student. The Wachusett Regional School District told NBC Boston that privacy protections limited its ability to discuss the specifics of the case, directing questions to the police and principal’s statements.
Neither the district’s response nor the reported police findings publicly resolves the parent’s concern about sharing classes. Details of any arrangements between the students remain undisclosed in the reporting reviewed.
What is Death Note?
IGN explains that Death Note centres on a supernatural notebook that kills people whose names are written in it. Fan merchandise includes ordinary notebooks bearing the title; that fictional context explains the reference but does not establish this student’s intent.
Was the student charged with a crime?
Sterling police said they were not seeking criminal charges based on the information available at the time of their statement. The reported three-day suspension was a school disciplinary measure, not a criminal sentence.
