Bullies joked about girl's death just one day after she took her own life
A devastated family is mourning the death of a 15-year-old girl who took her own life following years of harassment and bullying.
Matilda ‘Tilly’ Rosewarne, from Bathurst in New South Wales, had been targeted by bullies for years, but not even her death in February this year could stop the brutal torment.
In a heartbreaking essay, the schoolgirl's uncle Sam Mason detailed the horrific aftermath of his niece's death, which occurred in the backyard of her family home.
The teenagers who bullied the "brave little girl" into taking her own life continued to leave nasty comments online in the days that followed her suicide, but this time targeting her death.
"Within a day or so the jokes were already getting posted online in Snapchat and other social networks. The same kids that persecuted her quite literally to death thought it was funny," Mr Mason wrote.
"Only days earlier Matilda had been told that she hadn’t previously tried hard enough. 'Don’t care LOL' posted one and she 'Tried to high five the tree and it left her hanging' said another."
Mr Mason said the bullying had been going on for some time, and after fake porn aimed to hurt Matilda was spread online a year earlier, she was "so desperately upset and tried so hard to clear her name".
The teen tried to make the bullying stop, even reaching out to her school for help.
But "she found none", Mr Mason claimed.
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"She had to hide from another girl at school who was trying to find her and threatening to kill her," he said.
"Terrified and shaking she looked to the school for support and found none. Despite dozens of witnesses, nothing was done.
"The 'alleged' perpetrator came from a 'good family' and of course the parents flatly denied it even happened."
Even with screenshots showing the hurtful words, the kids "flatly denied it," Mr Mason revealed. They said their phones had been hacked.
Mr Mason said his niece was "exhausted, tired, broken" and although she fought for "a bloody long time", "she just couldn’t fight anymore".
Tragic discovery: 'She had planned this moment'
Matilda's dad found her body near the cubby house in their garden before school on February 16.
Moments later, her 13-year-old sister wandered down and saw her older sister's body.
"That traumatic vision will haunt her the rest of her life and is something nobody should ever have to witness at any age," Mr Mason wrote.
Matilda had "researched" her death which was no doubt "planned", according to her uncle.
"She had planned this moment out in detail," he wrote.
"Her phone was clear, the pin number removed, the instructions were there and a short note telling her family that she loved them."
'She needed protection'
Mr Mason said the education system had "abandoned Matilda when she needed protection the most" but "it’s too late to matter now."
He urged all parents or guardians to "reach out to the little ones" because "they need protection and they need it right now".
"There is no obvious solution but we do have one weapon we can apply right now. The one we’ve had for all those countless generations - the power of conversation," he said.
"And if our kids know they can tell us anything, well … maybe, just maybe, we can steer this ship away from the iceberg just a little bit."
Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
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