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Lawsuit alleges Cornell failed to address harassment before non-binary student’s death
A lawsuit filed by Sofia Akber alleges that Cornell University failed to address escalating harassment of her child, Winter Knutson, a 19-year-old non-binary student who died by suicide in November 2024. The complaint says the conflict followed a breakup and included false accusations that damaged Knutson’s reputation and contributed to their death.
Knutson lived in Loving House, Cornell’s residence for LGBTQIA+ students, where the lawsuit says a former romantic interest and her roommate spread claims that Knutson had sexually assaulted someone and was drugging people. It describes six escalating episodes that were allegedly visible to the university, and says the sexual assault accusation was amended after Knutson’s death. The lawsuit names Cornell, the two students and 10 unnamed people as defendants; its allegations have not been established in court.
In short
- Knutson’s mother has sued Cornell over alleged harassment and failures to intervene.
- The complaint describes six escalating episodes after a breakup.
- The allegations are claims in a lawsuit, not court findings.
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The case for
Akber’s case is that Cornell had notice of repeated, escalating harassment and a responsibility to respond, particularly in a residence intended to support LGBTQIA+ students. If the allegations are substantiated, the university’s failure to intervene may have left Knutson exposed to serious reputational and personal harm during a vulnerable period.
The case against
Cornell and the other defendants could argue that the claims remain unproven and that responsibility for a student’s death cannot be inferred from allegations of harassment alone. They may dispute what the university knew, whether the reported episodes warranted or permitted particular interventions, and whether any failure to act legally caused Knutson’s death.
Explained simply
Cornell University is a private university in New York state. Winter Knutson, a 19-year-old non-binary student, lived in Loving House, a university residence for LGBTQIA+ students. Non-binary people do not identify only as men or only as women.
The lawsuit, filed by Knutson’s parent Sofia Akber, concerns events after Knutson’s relationship with another student ended. It alleges that the former romantic interest and her roommate spread damaging claims about Knutson, and that the university did not respond to a series of incidents.
Knutson died by suicide in November 2024. The case matters because it raises questions about how universities respond to reports of harassment and what support they provide students. The allegations have not been established in court.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Trans Cornell student killed themselves after ex-lover they met in LGBT dorms spread twisted lies after their breakup, damning lawsuit says”.