Najma Carroll: Star student’s tragic life of addiction and its grim end in Sydney scrub
Najma Carroll was known for her intellect and compassionate soul. But in a tragic tale with parallels to that of former NSW premier Neville Wran’s daughter Harriet, she struggled with the outside world, falling into drug abuse before in a tragic, twisted end, her burnt body was found dumped in remote bush.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
To her classmates at Sydney Girls High, Najma Carroll was known for her intellect, dry sense of humour and compassionate soul.
But in a tragic tale with parallels to that of former NSW premier Neville Wran’s daughter Harriet, she struggled with the outside world and fell into drug abuse after excelling at the prestigious selective school.
In a tragic, twisted end, Ms Carroll’s burnt body was last week found dumped in remote bushland at Menai, 25km away from where the 33-year-old had been couch surfing and looking for work in Marrickville.
The police homicide squad is investigating.
Friends said she rarely spoke about her family, but Chris, who did not want to give his last name, told The Daily Telegraph she was supported by her mother when they were doing a rehab program run by an organisation called WHOS at Rozelle in 2015.
“Her Mum visited her … she had loving parents, I know that, but every addict has put their parents through hell,” he said.
“She was smart, (she) was a bookworm when I knew her … she was a quiet girl, but get her on a subject she likes … like her dog or history, and she comes alive.
“We got clean off the drugs at the same time but, sadly, she fell back into it.“
Ms Carroll was a star student at Sydney Girls High and was proud of it, keeping her school certificates in a book and stowing them away as she moved between houses across Sydney in her 20s and early 30s.
Former boyfriend Mathew Roberts, 50, a concreter from Moorebank who met her in 2014, said she was a regular ice user and not in contact with her mother when they lived together for about a year.
“She sent me all her high school certificates and all that kind of stuff, then I started to think ‘What’s she doing hanging around here in the west?’ ” he said. “She’s well-educated, and I’m thinking … ‘with your education, you could get any job’.”
Mr Roberts said Ms Carroll often purchased ice when she got Centrelink payments.
“Every time she got paid, she wanted to get ice … she was addicted to it all the time. If you woke up at three in the morning and looked, she (would be) up. Who’s awake at three in the morning?
“She would get $100 and say I’ll have a little bit and then an hour later she would be having more and more.
“By two days or a day, it’d be gone.
“She forgot her problems. She said it made her feel like she had no problems.“
After Ms Carroll and Mr Roberts split, she eventually went to Coonamble in country NSW where she met Ian Clare, who took her in with his girlfriend and let her stay in their Liverpool home.
On June 28 — only a few weeks before her death — Ms Carroll texted Mr Clare and seemed full of hope for the future, writing: “I’m not working ATM but I’m itching to so I’m working towards it at the moment. Just bought a car and next step is a place to live … then I can be stable enough to work.”
But in a foreboding sign, she also hinted at relationship troubles and wrote to Mr Clare: “Up until very recently I let everyone use me … they will anyway, so why fight it?”
Ms Carroll’s death has left her former classmates in shock.
The Sydney High School Old Girls’ Union posted on social media this week that former students were “very saddened to hear of the tragic and violent death of Najma Carroll (class of 2004)”
“We want to extend our sincere condolences to Najma’s family and friends for the loss of a daughter, sibling and friend taken too early,” the union said.
“We hope that the person responsible for this terrible crime can be found and brought to justice.
“One of her classmates remembers Najma’s intelligence, dry sense of humour and kind nature - may she rest in peace.”