A Virginia Beach mother has filed a $150 million lawsuit alleging that a “makeshift prison” in a classroom contributed to the death of her 11-year-old son, who had special needs, at Pembroke Elementary School in Virginia Beach in November 2024, according to a complaint obtained by News 3 on Wednesday.
This lawsuit, which names the mother Julie Xirau as the plaintiff, ties the death of her son, Joshua Sikes, on Nov. 3 to an incident at his classroom on Oct. 31.
Sikes was enrolled at Pembroke where he received services from Southeastern Cooperative Educational Program (SECEP). SECEP and four of its employees — Theresa Renvyle, Carole Parker, Nicole Smrz, and Katherine Wynne — were named in the lawsuit. The four employees were assigned to Sikes’ classroom at the time…