Family ‘devastated’ after teenager’s memorial site removed by school

Year 7 student, Charlotte O’Brien, took her own life in September after experiencing relentless bullying. 

Year 7 student, Charlotte O’Brien, took her own life in September after experiencing relentless bullying while attending catholic school, Santa Sabina, in Strathfield, innerwest Sydney.

 

Following the 12-year-old’s tragic death, her heartbroken family set up a memorial on a tree near the girls’ school.

Charlotte’s aunt Melinda Rodgers explained it was the only way they could share their farewells to the young girl.

“It was something we wanted to do for Charlotte because we didn’t get the opportunity to say goodbye,” she told 9News.

“It was our special way of giving her something to say you mattered and we miss you.”

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Charlotte, 12, died by suicide. Picture Supplied to news.com.au by her family.

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The memorial was set up on a tree over the weekend, with a small plaque and flowers to pay tribute to Charlotte.

When the family drove past the memorial the next morning, the site had increased in size, with others leaving flowers of their own to pay tribute to the 12-year-old.

However, later on Monday afternoon, the entire memorial had been removed.

The family first realised this when they discovered Charlotte’s grandfather “wandering aimlessly up and down the street … trying to find the memorial site to lay his flowers”.

After he left the flowers at the site of the original memorial, they were “devastated” to learn they had also been removed.

“Words cannot express how devastated we were,” Ms Rodger said.

Charlotte, and her grandfather at the memorial. Image: news.com.au

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Paulina Skerman, principal at Santa Sabina, confirmed they had removed the memorial “because of concerns that were raised about the impact this could have on young people”.

She explained the school was “with Charlotte’s family to find a permanent and loving way to remember Charlotte” and promised the 12-year-old would “not be forgotten”.

Despite this reasoning from the school, Charlotte’s father Mat said he was “running out of words” to describe his feelings about the situation.

“From the school’s perspective, If I was given advice to remove those things, I wouldn’t have touched them,” he told 9News, adding it would be a “positive step” for the school to erect a permanent memorial to his daughter.

Originally published as Family ‘devastated’ after teenager’s memorial site removed by school