Kaylee Gain’s father reveals details of text war which led to near-fatal fight, updates her recovery: ‘Some days better than others’
Tragic Missouri teen Kaylee Gain had been exchanging digital insults for weeks with the adversary who bashed her head into the pavement on March 8, her father has exclusively revealed to The Post.
Clinton Gain, 41, detailed how his daughter suffered brain bleeding, can’t walk by herself and now “talks in a loop” as she struggles to recover from the life-altering brutal school beatdown.
The father and Kaylee’s stepmother, Jamie Gain, told The Post they combed through 16-year-old’s device to understand what led to the caught-on-video clash, which made global headlines.
The teens, several sources have told The Post, were part of rival friend cliques at Hazelwood East High School near St. Louis.
The conflict finally boiled over after Kaylee got into a fight at school with DeClue’s friend — an episode which led to her suspension the following day.
That altercation set off a fresh round of phone threats between Gain and DeClue — now charged with felony assault — and the two girls agreed to square off one-on-one, her dad said, adding he didn’t want to disclose the exact content of the messages.
“They both agreed to the fight, to meet up and settle what was going on,” he said.
The heartbroken father’s current wife, Jamie, accompanies him to visit his child in the hospital on a daily basis. She said both teens had made the “terrible decision” to address their dispute with violence.
The couple pushed back on the narrative Kaylee had bullied DeClue, 15, and said their messages to each other were equally hostile.
“We hope the justice system sees that she went way overboard and nearly killed her,” Jamie Gain said of DeClue’s choice to pound Kaylee’s head into the concrete, leaving her visibly twitching on the floor.
“And that it doesn’t matter who said what to who before it all happened.”
The couple also told of their heartbreak at seeing Kaylee unconscious following the altercation.
“I was just really concerned, really worried when I first saw her in the hospital … But we’re there everyday. We just want to be there for her everyday.”
The couple also gave The Post an inside view into Gain’s grueling recovery process at a St. Louis hospital.
“Some days are better than others,” Clinton said. “Some days she will laugh a little bit, other days she’ll be quiet.”
Gain said Kaylee requires assistance to walk because she remains weak and wobbly after having her skull fractured and suffering brain bleeding.
“She’ll ask us why she is there in the hospital,” Gain said. “She doesn’t remember the fight or a few days before it. We told her what happened, but not too much.”
Kaylee’s days are spent mostly in speech and movement therapy sessions, as she tries to recuperate from her injuries.
“She speaks, but it doesn’t always make sense,” Jamie said. “She sort of talks in a loop.”
However, she does still recognize her parent.
“She says ‘hi dad’,” when she sees me,” he said. “She knows it’s me.”
Gain and DeClue had met at an area known to host teen fights roughly a mile away from their school on the day of the altercation.
The two threw shots before DeClue got the upper hand, mounted Gain and repeatedly smashed her skull against the sidewalk.
Prosecutors are now attempting to charge DeClue as an adult in the case, and a May 1 hearing is slated on the matter.
DeClue’s parents and attorney have told outlets she’s an honors student who speaks multiple languages and played the violin in the school band.
The fight, they’ve asserted, stemmed from Gain’s bullying of their daughter — a claim Kaylee’s father and stepmother strongly push back against, saying it is not true.
Clinton also vowed he will be there for his daughter when she finally recovers.
“It’s been really hard. It’s very slow. When she gets out of the hospital she’s going to live with me, it’s already been decided. She needs that stability and structure again,” he added.
