The family of a 13-year-old girl who took her own life after she was bullied relentlessly say online bullies are still targeting her a year on from her tragic death.
Corrine Lee-Cheu was a happy kid who loved fishing with her dad and brother on their far-north Queensland property until she began to experience ‘bursts of anger’ during Year Eight after other students regularly ganged up and picked on her.
Her last afternoon in September 2023 had seemed normal enough – she had visited her grandmother after school, spoken to her aunty on the phone and had dinner with her family – and then she walked into her room, tragically, for the last time.
This week her mother, Jodie Fitzgerald, revealed a year on from her daughter’s death there are still posts being made on Instagram from people talking about bullying ‘a girl named Lee Chu’ on the night she ended her own life.
‘They told her to go kill herself, called her an ugly rat. And they said she would do it again if she had to,’ Ms Fitzgerald told Newscorp.
‘And this is only a month ago. And I’m like, can’t they just let my poor daughter rest in peace?’
She said just this week she had blocked a person saying awful things about why her daughter killed herself and about their family.
‘She comes from a very loving family, that’s the part that hurts the most,’ she said.
Corrine’s grandma Patricia Stewart previously told Daily Mail the family was completely ‘devastated’ by the death of their ‘beautiful girl’.
‘That afternoon, she gave me a kiss and cuddle and offered to mow my lawn. She had a heart of gold,’ Ms Stewart said.
‘To me, she was nanny’s baby. Her and I just had a strong bond. A lot stronger than any other grandmother and granddaughter I know.
‘She mowed my lawn, she would wash my dogs.
‘We just connected.’
Corrine was the second eldest of five children who belong to the Kuku Possum – Kuku-Warra Indigenous people of Far North Queensland.
She was affectionately known as ‘Kinny’ to her family.
Corrine, who attended Atherton State High School, loved spending time with her family, cooking, sometimes being a ‘girly girl’ but at other times being a ‘tomboy’ – running around barefoot and driving tractors on the Lee Cheus outback station in Kalpowar, near Bundaberg in Queensland.
The station is owned by Corrine’s paternal grandparents, who she adoringly called boy and girl.
Ms Fitzgerald said she began noticing Corrine’s mood change in the weeks leading up to her death but she refused to tell her what was wrong, insisting that she was ‘fine’.
She would experience bursts of anger and throw things around in her room and she would cry in the car before school, to the point where her mother let her stay home for days on end.
Other days she would get up at 6am and spend hours getting herself perfect before classes, sometimes not getting ready until 10am, well after school was underway.
Ms Fitzgerald called multiple meetings with teachers demanding to know what was going on and what they were doing to protect her daughter.
She was told unless a teacher witnessed an act of bullying, there was nothing they could do.
Corrine’s friends told Ms Fitzgerald she was getting picked on by other students at Atherton State High School and they were careful to do it where staff couldn’t see, such as in the toilets and online.
After Corrine was bashed by a gang of girls as she walked through Atherton’s main street, her parents agreed she could have a phone.
Ms Fitzgerald said while they tried to monitor her phone use, she would open secret accounts for apps like Snapchat so she wouldn’t be the odd one out at school.
Corrine finally agreed with her parents to see a professional about the changes in her mood, but Ms Fitzgerald said she sadly took her own life about a week later, just before they were able to begin any counselling.
Corrine’s family have raised awareness around bullying and mental health through the Corrine’s One More Light Foundation.
Ms Fitzgerald said she had spoken to other parents in her area who said their children had had similar experiences.
She said too many children were ashamed to talk about being bullied and that encouraging children to speak up could save lives.
For confidential support 24/7, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.