Father Sues Meta and NYC Over Teen’s Fatal Stabbing After Online Bullying Campaign

The father of a 17-year-old girl who was fatally stabbed in 2024 is now taking legal action against Meta, the City of New York, and a city agency, alleging they failed to prevent the violence that killed his daughter.

Emily Lynn Mizle was just 17 years old when she was stabbed to death by another teenager in the Soundview section of the Bronx. Her father, Tony Mizel, is calling the act the horrifying ending of a month-long cyberbullying campaign.

According to the family, Emily was on the receiving end of weeks of harassment and bullying online before she was fatally stabbed outside the assailant’s building while walking to school. The suspect, a 15-year-old girl, had allegedly threatened to stab Emily on Instagram before the attack. Emily was stabbed in the chest, and the assailant has since been charged with murder.

Tony Mizel says his whole world has been flipped upside down. Two years after his daughter’s death, he still wonders what more he could have done. He recalled his daughter crying to him about the harassment, noting that the suspect was not attending school, and that there was “no confidence” the situation would be resolved.

“She was a smart girl. She wanted to dance,” Mizel said.

The family has now filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against Meta, the city, and the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS).

“They should be held accountable for what happened here, as well as the city agency that’s responsible for children,” Mizel said, adding that the knife used in the stabbing came from the suspect’s family home, and that ACS should have done more to supervise the child.

While ACS policies state that content involving threats, bullying, and harassment are removed, the family argues that in this case, more should have been done.

Mizel also spoke to the ongoing pain of losing his daughter, saying he has to see her younger sister, who looks just like Emily, every day when he goes home.

“It’s like my heart just dropped all over again. It felt like it just happened yesterday,” he said. Mizel added that his youngest daughter now sleeps in the living room to be close to her sister’s cremated remains.