The father of a 12-year-old Sydney schoolgirl who took her life following allegations of relentless bullying has shared a heartfelt message the “beautiful, kind soul” wrote in her last Father’s Day card to him.
Charlotte O’Brien died in an act of self-harm on September 9 after allegedly suffering years of torment and harassment at Santa Sabina College in Strathfield and on social media.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Charlotte O’Brien laid to rest at emotional service.
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Loved ones gathered on Friday to farewell the Year 7 student at an emotional funeral service at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, where Charlotte was laid to rest in a coffin adorned with butterflies and flowers.
Expressing his love, Charlotte’s father Mat thanked the 12-year-old for welcoming him into her family.
“Thank you for being you, thank you for being so thoughtful, thank you for being so kind, thank you for being so brave,” he said at the service.
“Thank you for letting me take your mum out on our first date.
“I was under very clear instructions that I needed Charlotte’s approval and thankfully I received it.
“Thank you for giving me the greatest honour to be your dad.”
Mat said there was not enough time to share all of his favourite stories about Charlotte, who was such a “beautiful, kind soul”.
Instead, he let Charlotte’s words speak for themselves and read her moving message from his most recent Father’s Day card.
“When you receive a card or a present from Charlotte, it came from the heart; a heart that felt very deeply,” Mat said.
“She wrote in her beautiful handwriting: Dear dad, you are more than a captain, you are also like the sea.
“You can be calm and powerful, strong when you have to be.
“You inspire abundance, achievement and infinite possibilities when you share your depth.
“I’m like a surfer riding your waves of support while you teach me to trust, enjoy the ride and go with the flow.
“I appreciate the wonder, wellness and wisdom you instil in me.
“You teach me how to navigate through life with freedom and ease.
“Dear dad, I will always cherish you as I become the captain you taught me to be.
“Love, Charlotte.”
Charlotte was someone who loved to be loved, and her parents loved to love her back, Mat said.
“I miss you today and I’ll miss you every tomorrow,” he said.
‘You are my world’
Charlotte’s heartbroken mother Kelly said her daughter brought joy and love into her life from the second she was born.
“I knew within a moment of being her mother, I had met my soulmate,” she said.
“She was the cutest, kindest and smartest baby I had ever known. My pride and joy and my best friend.”
Every moment spent with the 12-year-old was one of fun and laughter, her mother said through tears.
“We had the most amazing life together,” she said.
She adored holidays and swimming was the 12-year-old’s happy place.
“On her last night, she told me when we go to Kingscliff next year she was going to be like Moana and never leave the ocean,” Kelly said.
The grieving mother said she will miss everything about her little girl, from her “eye rolls at dinner time” to her “beautiful, beautiful smile”.
“I will always grieve the life you never had,” she said.
“I won’t just miss you on special occasions or your birthday. I will miss you on every day that ends in Y.
“Most of all, I will miss the way you made me feel about me and the way you completed me.
“You are my world, my life, my Queen B diva, my beauty queen, the star on top of the Christmas tree.
“You always were and you always will be.”
Kelly said the family would live the lives Charlotte would want for them and strive to achieve everything she wanted.
“From your first breath to my last, I will always love you,” she said.
“This isn’t goodbye, it just means we get to love you as you are forever.”
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Charlotte’s final words
Charlotte’s parents previously said they raised bullying concerns multiple times with the school and although the school investigated, no further action was taken.
“One day she just burst into tears and she said ‘everybody hates me. I’m a monster. I’ve got no friends. They’re so mean to me’,” Kelly told 2GB.
In her goodbye note, Charlotte called out the bullying she had received at the school and asked her parents to tell the school, Kelly said.
The grieving mother made public the heartbreaking email she sent the school following Charlotte’s death.
“I was scared to label it bullying but that’s exactly what it was,” she said.
“I begged the school to intervene with these girls and now she is gone forever.”
Kelly said her daughter went to and returned from school crying “almost every day” and did not deserve “girls to bark in her face” or “purposely hit her with their bag”.
Kelly said she wished she had been “stronger” for Charlotte, but stressed she did not blame other students for her daughter’s death.
Charlotte’s family has called for NSW schools to analyse their bullying policies, claiming their daughter was broken down over several years because toxic behaviour was allowed to fester.
“I don’t care if it’s a public school, a private school, independent or Catholic,” Mat told 2GB.
“You have a duty of care for those kids and you have to step in as an adult.”
Santa Sabina College principal Paulina Skerman said it was continuing to support Charlotte’s family through their “unimaginable grief” and was working with youth mental health foundation Headspace.
“These matters are always complex and we always work in partnerships with families to support our students,” she said.
Skerman said the school’s anti-bullying policy was available on its website and students and families were “highly informed”.
“They clearly demonstrate the college’s approach to dealing swiftly and appropriately with any concerns raised,” she said.
“To say that there is a culture of bullying at the college goes against the very fabric that holds our community together.
“Every staff member at the school holds the care of your child close to our hearts and this has been reflected in the number of messages I have received from our families.”
If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For further information about depression contact beyondblue on 1300224636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.
