‘Listen to your children,’ says mother of teen who took his own life

A Perth mum who read her son’s messages after he took his own life in tragic circumstances says she would act differently if she had him back.

Michael Halfhead’s story is complicated, his mother Charmaine tells me when we first make contact.

What she means is that his death is complicated.

It took seven days for the coroner to return the 17-year-old’s body after he took his own life in tragic circumstances on Valentine’s Day last year.

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The “jovial” Year 11 student with a big laugh and even bigger personality had taken the drug LSD — a habit he secretly began after changing from private to public school following a suspension that made national headlines.

His behaviour, fuelled by the drug, saw him jump through a window before taking a knife from the kitchen of his girlfriend’s home.

His mother found him face down on the floor where she attempted CPR but it was too late.

The coroner found Michael’s death was “an accident”. Not quite suicide, not intentional but self-inflicted.

It sits uneasily with Charmaine who is still searching for answers and trying to piece back together the broken parts of her family. She knows that at times in the last months of his life, Michael was not happy.

The text messages he sent her now ring alarm bells in hindsight but at the time were dismissed as normal teenage complaints.

“He appeared happy,” Charmaine says. “But he would text me things like, ‘Mum, I’m not doing well.’ ‘Mum, I can’t sleep at night.’”

She said it is “hard to say what state of mind he was in before he died”.

What she knows for certain is that if she had her time again she would have listened harder.

Perth teenager Michael Halfhead took his own life last year. Pictured here with his mother, Charmaine.

Michael, right, appeared happy and was “always dancing and mucking around”, his mum says.

‘Don’t ignore it’

“When somebody says they’re not doing well, don’t ignore it,” Charmaine says.

“Don’t worry about going to work the next day. Don’t ignore it. Say, ‘Hey, let’s have the day off school. Let’s just go out.’ Just take your kid out. Turn your phones off. Pay attention to what they want, what they need.

“They might hate it but I think going to a beach with your kids, making them know they are loved, is the most important thing.

“When I was reading the messages, it was like, Michael’s not getting his own way. But his frustrations were real. Perhaps if I had paid more attention to him, not been so busy trying to make the house look good and working.

“I thought he was fine. But perhaps he wasn’t. I should’ve just been closer to him. Parents out there need to speak to each other about their kids. If a kid sends you a message telling you they are struggling, it’s real.”

In the months before Michael took his own life, he was suspended from Perth private school Serpentine Jarrahdale Grammar.

A story about his suspension that his mother says is inaccurate appeared on one of the national television networks and Michael received some negative feedback.

He swapped schools, made new friends and it appeared that he was getting on with life.

He was learning to drive, working part time at McDonald’s and doing work experience to become a plumber.

He was trying to provide a role model for his two younger brothers and was always helping out.

“In the mornings he would hurry up and get the kids in the car,” Charmaine says. “The kids are receiving treatment for that. They miss their brother.”

In his spare time, Michael would be found at Perth Wake Park flipping through the air. He was talented and athletic and loud. The hole he left behind is impossible to fill.

Perth teenager Michael Halfhead, pictured here as a young boy, took his own life last year.

Michael was always make people laugh, his mother says.

‘The domino effect was really bad’

“The domino effect in the whole family is really bad,” Charmaine says.

“I crash and burn all the time. I have good days and bad days. I can’t change anything so I’ve got to live for the good memories.

“I was lucky to have those years with Michael. I was grateful for the time I had. It might not have been a long time but it was a good time.”

She says the community took it hard, too.

“A couple of his friends went downhill. They lost their best friend. One had their 18th birthday and didn’t want to do anything for it.”

On social media, they celebrate his short life and talk about how much they miss their mate.

Some of his friends made videos. It is all they have left of him now.

Charmaine wants people to know that help is available to them.

If you are going through a difficult time, please reach out to family and friends.