Devastated parents of teenage girl taken by shark open up about their loss
The parents of Laeticia Brouwer, the 17-year-old Mandurah schoolgirl killed by a great white shark in Esperance, have spoken for the first time about the tragedy.
Laeticia's parents made the tough trip back to the WA beach where she was killed to call for better shark safety - and to launch a scholarship in their daughter's name, a legacy they hope will save other young lives.
It's taken extraordinary courage for Leon and Julie Brouwer to speak publicly about the loss of their daughter.
They're doing it because they're campaigning for better shark safety, including warning signs at beaches after every shark sighting.
"There's no way I would have let Leon and Laeticia get in the water if there was a sign at the front saying there's been a shark sighting today," Julie Brouwer said.
At the stunningly beautiful Kelps Bed beach, Leon saw the great white near Laeticia as they tried to scramble back to shore.
"We were paddling out," Leon Brouwer recalls.
"It wasn't the 100 mile an hour attack that people think you may witness; this was quite slow and when it actually, yeah, when it went into gear after that, it was a totally different story."
Mum Julie was with Laeticia's younger sisters on the sand, kilometres from help.
Now, back on the beach for the first time, Julie and Leon have had an emotional reunion with paramedic Paul Gaughan, the man who tried to save Laeticia's life.
"We've had an extremely hard six months," Leon said.
"It's still pretty raw."
But they say their belief in God has helped.
"Without our faith, I don't think we'd be where we are today," Julie said.
Leon Brouwer says he's certain new surfboard deterrents currently being examined by the WA government can save lives, and is getting them fitted in his family's surfboard.
"I'm convinced that personal deterrents, even if it's nine times out of 10, they encourage a shark to turn away rather than come further for you," Leon said.
"Nine out of 10 is good odds to me."
"It may save someone's life," Julie said. " And then you won't have to go through what we've been through."
Leon says new tourniquet leashes, now available in Perth shops, can stop the blood loss that kills most surfers.
"Where there's an injury but blood loss is quick, tourniquet leashes can certainly help," he said.
The WA government has just installed an acoustic receiver to pick up tagged sharks at Kelp Beds Beach, where the fatal attack happened, but locals say it's too little, too late.
The Brouwers say the new receivers need to do more to alert surfers immediately.
"If there's some sort of audible or visible alarm on the receivers themselves, I think it's an essential step forward," Leon said.
The Brouwers have visited schools in Esperance to launch the Laeticia Scholarship with Surfing WA , to teach school-aged children to be water and surf smart.
"These scholarships will be rolled out every summer going into all areas around the state," Surfing WA CEO Mark Lane said.
He believes the scholarships have the potential to save lives - and will keep the memory of Laeticia in people's hearts.
"Her love for the ocean, her love for surfing with me and being with the family on the beach, I will forever remember how happy she was in the water," Leon said.
"That is just something I'll have forever."
