‘It hurts enough without them jerking me around’: Mother of Daisy Coleman felt cops probing her daughter’s death were ignoring her before she took her own life in a copycat suicide
- Melinda Coleman, 58, died by suicide on Sunday evening at home in Missouri
- Her daughter Daisy, 23, had killed herself in August at her house in Colorado
- Melinda described in texts how she was being ‘jerked around’ and ignored’ by police who were investigating her daughter’s death who was being harassed
- Melinda was unable to get over her daughter’s death earlier this year
- Daisy Coleman killed herself after she was raped, stalked and harassed
- Daisy’s story of being raped in 2012 was made into a 2016 Netflix documentary
- Daisy told of the shame and stigma of sexual abuse of children
The mother of Netflix documentary star Daisy Coleman said she felt ‘ignored’ by the police who had been investigating her daughter’s suicide.
Desperate texts were sent by Melinda Coleman as she struggled to cope with her own daughter’s death in August.
Melinda, 58, died on Sunday evening, just four months after the death of her 23-year-old daughter Daisy who spoke candidly about her sexual assault at the age of 14 in the 2016 Netflix documentary Audrie & Daisy.
Scroll down for video
Melinda Coleman, 58, left, died by suicide on Sunday evening at home in Missouri. Her daughter Daisy, 23, had killed herself in August at her house in Colorado
Melinda described in texts how she was being ‘jerked around’ and ignored’ by police who were investigating her daughter’s death who was being harassed
Melinda (pictured with daughter Daisy), 58, died by suicide on Sunday – four months after Daisy, 23, took her own life
What was the Netflix Audrie & Daisy documentary?
In 2016 a Netflix documentary was released which detailed the outcomes of two young women who had been sexually assaulted as teenagers.
Both of the girls were subjected to abuse and cyberbullying as a result of their attacks.
Audrie Pott was 15 when she was assaulted at a party by three 16-year-old boys she knew on September 3, 2012 in Saratoga, California.
Naked pictures of the young girl were posted online and she suffered tremendous bullying. She killed herself nine days after the assault.
At the age of 14, Daisy Coleman was raped by Matthew Barnett, who was 17 at the time.
She had snuck out from a sleepover with her friend Paige Parkhurst, 13, and they went to visit Barnett and his friends in Maryville, Missouri.
After they were plied them with alcohol, Barnett raped Daisy and another raped her friend. A third teenager was accused of filming Barnett’s assault on Daisy.
The documentary followed Daisy around for two years, documenting the trauma of her ordeal and the hostility from their community.
Barnett, the grandson of a former Republican state representative, was charged with felony assault but was convicted of endangerment of a minor and served four months in jail.
Daisy was bullied at school after the details of her allegations became public.
Documentary makers Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk spoke with the Maryville sheriff Darren White, who said: ‘Girls have as much culpability as boys.’
On Monday it was revealed that she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at her home in Missouri on Sunday, just like Daisy.
During the summer, Lakewood Police Department were investigating her harassment case, but texts that were sent by Melinda and seen by The Sun show how she believed the cops were ‘jerking her around’, leaving to her feeling ‘powerless’.
‘The detective was busy in court all week last week. Then told me Thursday he would call me today. He only works mon-thurs 8-4.
‘I sent two messages asking what time and he ignored me. I sent email to him, sergeant and pr person now.
‘It’s so awful they way they treat me. It hurts enough without them jerking me around,’ reads a text sent on October 12th.
Melinda shared her fears with the newspaper that her daughter might have been raped again shortly before her death and even contacted a local hospital to investigate after she felt police were not doing enough.
In another text sent to the paper she describes the situation as ‘very frustrating’ after failing to get the answers she craved while in a third text she said described some of those causing her upset as ‘vultures picking at her bones,’ after it was revealed Daisy’s tattooing equipment were also stolen from the shop she worked.
Before taking her own life, Melinda said that her daughter’s suicide was a result of a ‘perfect storm’ which saw her dealing with the trauma of her rape combined with being harassed by a stalker. She had also been told she could not have children, most likely as a result of her earlier sexual assault.
John Romero, public information officer for the Lakewood police in Colorado, has described Melinda’s death as ‘heartbreaking.’
‘I can’t imagine what the family is going through right now,’ he said.
Romero had previously said that Daisy had filed a harassment report on the day she died, August 4th, against a man she knew. It is not known whether police every questioned him.
According to The Sun, the man is believed to have obtained access to her apartment building and would stand outside her door as well as bombard her with messages on social media after she blocked his number.
Melinda Coleman, 58, died on Sunday at home in Missouri four months after Daisy, 23, killed herself. Daisy Coleman is pictured with her mom Melinda at a New York Special Screening of Netflix ‘Audrie & Daisy’ in September 2016
Daisy is pictured above shortly before her death. She became an inspiration and source of strength for many when she spoke candidly about being sexually assault at the age of 14 in the 2016 Netflix documentary Audrie & Daisy
Police carried out a welfare check but officers did not think her to be at risk.
‘There was a lot going which Daisy never fully spoke about and Melinda was trying to piece everything together in her final days, she didn’t feel fully supported.
‘Melinda had been let down by the police so many times in the past and she just had no faith left in them so she began doing her own detective work.
‘She was desperate for answers but ended up being faced with more questions and really didn’t know who to trust when it came to those who Daisy surrounded herself with in Denver,’ a source told The Sun.
Melinda shared photos of her daughter and a heartbreaking final Facebook post on Sunday evening above
Melinda Coleman struggled to cope after the deaths of her husband, son and daughter
Just hours before her death, Melinda posted a series of posts and pictures of Daisy to her Facebook page.
‘There aren’t enough I love yous I could have said when I was holding your cold, broken, dead body,’ wrote Melinda.
‘I held you like a baby anyway, my baby. The baby I held when you first came into this world.
‘It has always been my greatest honor and joy to be your mother and best friend. Mama bear!’
One post was a message from Daisy’s late father to her. The letter described the joy Melinda and Michael Coleman experienced when Daisy was born.
‘We went to the hospital and found our Daisy,’ the note read. ‘When the doctor held you in the air, we were very proud parents. I was privileged to rock you to sleep every night for the first year of your life.’
Her death comes two weeks after she posted a cryptic message that worried friends.
On November 18, she wrote: ‘Albany wins. I’m dead’ – an apparent reference to her Missouri hometown, where Daisy was shunned after her attack.
On November 20, she lamented that she had let her daughter down.
‘My heroic daughter who saved so many and suffered more than anyone ever should,’ she wrote.
‘We failed her. She did great things for us and we failed her. Especially me.’
On December 1, she wrote: ‘Just need to cry for awhile. Missing my babies!’
Daisy alleged she was raped by Matthew Barnett, pictured. The son of a Republican state politician, he denied raping Daisy and served four months in prison on misdemeanor charges
Daisy fatally shot herself at her home in Colorado Springs, while on a FaceTime call with her on/off boyfriend in August.
She had attempted suicide multiple times before.
It came years after she described in the Netflix documentary how she was raped at a house party by high school athlete Matthew Barnett while a boy filmed the assault.
The family faced a fierce backlash after the alleged rape in Albany, Missouri.
Barnett had claimed the sex was consensual although he did plead guilty to endangering the welfare of a child after he gave Daisy alcohol and left her in the freezing cold outside her house on the night the alleged assault occurred.
The tragic family’s saga began with the death of Melinda’s husband Michael in a car crash in 2009, when the car with Daisy, one of her brothers, and their father skidded on ice and went off a ravine.
In 2016 Daisy’s story was made into a Netflix series, intertwining her tale with that of Audrie Pott who killed herself in 2012, eight days after she was sexually assaulted at a house party by three teenagers and footage of the attack appeared online.
Pott was 15 when she was assaulted at a party by three 16-year-old boys in Saratoga, California.
Melinda Coleman (right), killed herself on Sunday, four months after her daughter Daisy’s (left) suicide
Naked pictures of the young girl were posted online and she was intensely bullied.
In the film, Daisy described being plied with alcohol and raped at a house party hosted by the popular high school footballer, in her in Missouri home town.
The documentary followed Daisy around for two years, documenting the trauma of her ordeal and the hostility from their community.
The sheriff of their town of Maryville, Darren White, told the Netflix documentary makers Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk: ‘Girls have as much culpability as boys.’
Barnett, son of a Republican state politician, denied raping Daisy and served four months in prison on the misdemeanor charge of child endangerment.
The family’s tragedy did not end there.
Their home burned down in a fire in 2013 and in 2018, Daisy’s brother, Tristan Ash Coleman, died in a car accident at age 19, while he was helping his sister move to Colorado Springs.
Pictured: Tristan Ash Coleman, Melinda Coleman and Daisy Coleman at the grave of Michael Coleman in March 2018. Tristan died in a car crash later that year, Daisy died by suicide in August and Melinda killed herself on Sunday. Michael, Daisy and Tristan Ash’s father, died in a car accident when Daisy was a young girl
A timeline of the Coleman family tragedies
Before Melinda Coleman’s death, the family had faces immense tragedy over the years, beginning with the death of Melinda’s husband.
2009: Michael Coleman, who was a physician, died while traveling in a car with Daisy Coleman and one of her brothers in 2009. They were on the way to see one of her other brother’s in a wrestling competition when the car hit black ice and went into a ravine, killing Michael.
2012: Daisy Coleman was 14 years old when she was raped in the early hours of January 9, 2012. Daisy’s rapist was not convicted.
2013: The Coleman family’s home burned down in a fire that her mother Melinda believed was deliberate.
2018: Melinda’s son, Tristan Ash Coleman, died in a car accident at age 19 while he was helping his sister move to Colorado Springs when the incident happened in Oakley, Kansas.
August 2020: Daisy took her own life during a FaceTime call with her boyfriend.
December 2020: Melinda Coleman took her own life after living for years with the grief of losing her husband, her son and more recently, Daisy.
Daisy leveraged her experiences and fame to found SafeBae, a sexual assault prevention group.
On Monday SafeBae executive director Shael Norris said that Melinda spoke to students about sexual assault prevention via Zoom just days before she died.
‘So she jumped on the call and talked to all the kids, and the thing she texted me was how beautiful that was to just be able to see it herself,’ Norris said.
‘She just said thank you for giving me that, and I love you. And that was her last text,’ Norris added.
SafeBae announced the news of Melinda’s death on Sunday.
‘The bottomless grief of losing her husband, Tristan and Daisy was more than she could face most days,’ the organization said.
‘Melinda was a gifted veterinarian, devoted mother and wife, and talented body builder.
‘More than anything, she loved and believed in her children. It is no accident that she created some of the most gifted, passionate, and resilient children.
‘Our hearts are with Logan and Charlie. There are no words for our sadness, only that if you are struggling with trauma or depression, you are not alone.’
Several people who said they were friends of Melinda’s paid tribute to her on social media as ‘thoughtful, compassionate and sincere’.
One woman said that Melinda became a friend to her ‘in a way she knew I needed’ after their sons died around the same time.
Cindy Waitt, who produced the Audrie & Daisy documentary, wrote: ‘Melinda, I will never forget our first conversation when you and Daisy agreed to tell your story.
‘I told you at Sundance that your story would touch countless lives. And it did. Rest in Peace beautiful lady.’
For confidential support call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255.
For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details.
For confidential support call LIFELINE: 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au . Kids Helpline: 1800 55 800 https://kidshelpline.com.au/
SafeBae, a sexual assault prevention group, announced the death of Melinda on Sunday
Source: Read Full Article