The mother of a 12-year-old Sydney school girl who took her own life following a severe case of bullying has broken down at her daughter’s funeral, saying: ‘I will grieve the life you never had’.
Charlotte O’Brien, a Year 7 student at Santa Sabina College in Strathfield, made the decision to end her own life on September 9 following years of relentless harassment at the hands of her classmates.
Students had a pupil-free day on Friday so they could attend her funeral at her primary school, Mary Immaculate Catholic Church in Bossley Park.
Loved ones started gathering at the church from about 10am on Friday, many with pink ribbons in their hair because it was her favourite colour.
As the service began, her parents Mat and Kelly tried to hold back their tears as they carried their daughter’s casket through the church, which was decorated with lavender and butterflies.
Kelly then broke down while delivering the eulogy.
‘The first moment I held her in my arms will always be the best day of my life,’ she said, through tears.
Hundreds of friends, students and teachers are expected to attend Charlotte’s funeral on Friday
Charlotte O’Brien’s mother, Kelly, can be seen crying over her daughter’s coffin before the funeral
Charlotte’s parents, Mat and Kelly, carried their daughter’s coffin into the church (pictured)
‘I knew within a moment of being her mother that I had met my soulmate – my best friend, she was wise beyond her years.’
Kelly said her daughter loved swimming and would joke that she was going to ‘be like Moana and never leave the ocean’.
She continued: ‘I will miss everything about you, baby. I will miss our hugs, your kisses, your love, your beautiful smile, and how every day you would ask me how my day was.’
At times, she was completely overwhelmed by emotion and struggled to speak.
Her step-father, Mat, read the last Father’s Day card she gave him in front of family and friends at the service, in which she describes him as ‘more than a captain’.
‘Dear Dad, I will always cherish you as I sow my seeds and become the captain you taught me to be,’ she wrote.
‘You are also like the sea. You can be calm and powerful. Strong when you have to be.’
Her parents found her suicide notes in her bedroom – written in small pink handwriting, she urged them to share her story to raise awareness about the impact of bullying.
Charlotte’s parents (pictured at their daughter’s funeral) cried as they delivered her eulogy
Charlotte’s friends wore pink ribbons in their hair, which was her favourite colour
She asked them to ‘tell the school’ about the torment she went through, saying her life had become ‘too hard’.
Another note referred to her infant brother, Will. She wrote: ‘Please, Mama, live for Will because I can’t anymore.’
Her father previously told media one of the more troubling aspects of her death was how happy she appeared to be on her final day.
‘We had such a great last day with her,’ he said.
‘I hadn’t seen her that happy coming home from school in a long time.’
He said Charlotte was bubbling as she ate her favourite dish, creamy chicken pasta, for dinner, got every question right in her math homework and was doing ‘little happy dances’.
She also baked banana bread and took a piece to her father, still in a good mood.
After playing with her mum and little brother she said good night and ‘literally skipped to the shower’.
Charlotte O’Brien (pictured) tragically took her own life after saying persistent bullying by classmates was making her school-life a living hell
On the night she died, Charlotte seemed to be overly happy and making plans for the future
‘That’s the last time we saw her alive and we could not understand what had happened,’ Mat said.
Police told the couple that people can appear happy before taking their own life because they believe their problems will be solved, but Charlotte’s parents have strongly rejected that explanation.
Mat said the family had discussed their upcoming holiday, Charlotte had wanted to do a road trip, and planned math problems to work on together the next day.
‘This is not a girl that was planning on doing this. Something happened when she went to her bedroom,’ he said.
Police are searching Charlotte’s phone to see what messages she was receiving in her last hours.
Her mother, Kelly, was wracked with guilt and regret, asking why her daughter didn’t just come ‘and get me to give her a hug that night’.
She described her daughter as the ‘sweetest, kindest, toughest, strongest little diva you’ve ever met in your life’.
