“Devastating”: Family Recalls Final Moments Before 12YO Ended Her Life After Being Bullied

In an interview with 60 Minutes, the distraught parents of 12-year-old Charlotte O’Brien, an Australian adolescent who tragically committed herself after experiencing constant bullying, talked of their last moments with their daughter.

Mat and Kelly Howard appeared on the show to carry out what they claimed to be Charlotte’s final request: to tell her story and spread awareness of the risks associated with social media and how it affects teens’ mental health.
Mat explained how he was taken aback by his daughter’s improved mood right before she committed suicide, saying, “We knew she had been struggling, but the last two weeks were the best we’d seen her in a long time.”

We seemed to be moving forward at last. Kelly prepared her favorite dinner, and she had an excellent day at school,” the father said. “She ran into the house, ate her meal, and then skipped to bed because she was so excited.”

 

On 60 Minutes, the parents of Charlotte O’Brien, the youngster who was “bullied to death,” talked about their last moments with their daughter.

“That was the last time we saw her,” Mat remarked before sobbing uncontrollably and gripping the teddy bear that holds Charlotte’s ashes.

 

Charlotte attended Sydney’s inner-west Santa Sabina College in Year 7. She left her parents handwritten messages before to the tragedy. Her last requests were included in the letters, one of which asked her mother to share her story and the other to continue on for her baby brother, Will.

The Howards, desperate to uncover an explanation, finally learned that their daughter was plagued by bullying everywhere she went. They claim it drove her over the edge that evening when it spread to social media applications like Snapchat and others.

Without disclosing the specifics of the texts and bullying that caused Charlotte such anguish, Mat added, “She hardly had her phone, but it was enough to lead to this.”

With the backing of Australia’s prime minister, the parents are now advocating for legislation that would prohibit teens under the age of sixteen from using social media.

When Kelly found her daughter dead the next morning with her phone on the floor nearby, her heart was shattered in two.

Authorities told her that she had been looking for ways to end her life and that “in today’s world, all it takes is a quick Google search” when she asked them for reasons.

In her final moments, twelve-year-old Charlotte O’Brien wanted everyone to know what had happened to her.

Her story is just one of many heartbreaking ones that have persuaded the prime minister to forbid children under 16 from using social media.

Watch #60Mins on @9Now: pic.twitter.com/gnLp6Zoh41 https://t.co/jNsQkNCDKC

— November 17, 2024, 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins)

Kelly thought, “I feel like we’re giving our kids dangerous weapons when we give them these devices.” “It’s like putting the entire world—with all of its risks—into their hands.”

Convinced about the perils of teens having easy, unfettered access to social media following Charlotte’s death, Mat and Kelly went to Canberra to meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the hopes of enacting laws that would forbid children under 16 from using social media.

“Social media is harming our kids, and it’s time to stop,” Albanese told local media. “I want parents to be able to tell their children, ‘Sorry, that’s against the law.’”

For Charlotte’s parents, passing such legislation would mean that her loss was not in vain. “She didn’t have the chance to build her legacy, but maybe this can be it,” Mat stated.