List of Qld teen suicide victims as calls grow for social media change: Let Them Be Kids
It’s the tragic human toll of a faceless war – begging the question: How many more young lives need to be destroyed before there is change? SPECIAL REPORT
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It’s the tragic human toll of a faceless war.
News Corp’s Let Them Be Kids campaign, pleading for stricter guidelines on social media use, comes amid a growing suicide count among teens across Queensland.
In November 2024 Ella Catley-Crawford, 12, became the latest young life lost, victim of a relentless bullying campaign, sparking yet more anger and calls for change.
In September 2024 Anthony Albanese said he is personally in favour of raising the minimum age of social media to 16, but would work with states on a final proposal to ensure Australia ends up with a nationally consistent limit.
That pledge came after chilling numbers in November 2023 outlined the depth of the scourge crippling the state, with a child aged between 10 to 14 years dying from suicide every four-and-a-half weeks.
In August 2024 it was reported that a resilient Sunshine Coast PT who lost his brother to suicide was among those trying to give troubled youths a safe, judgement free place to connect with others.
This is the tragic list of young lives lost to suicide in recent years, as pleas for change grow >>>
December 2022
Baker
A grieving mother and psychologist shared her private pain at the shock loss of a son to suicide despite “everything going for him” and how her profession had her grappling with what warning signs could have been missed.
Baker, 19, whose surname was withheld at the request of his family, had in recent years graduated from a popular high school in Brisbane’s western suburbs and appeared to be “high on life”.
He was excited about a Christmas Party in Sydney, wanted to travel to Canada and was saving for his first car. But in September Baker took his own life, leaving his mother Katrina and her partner, himself a psychotherapist, in shock and grief.
February 2023
Sorawit “JJ” Nganprateepkul
A senior Sunshine Coast academic said a “perfect storm” created by Covid opened cracks in mental health support networks as loved ones tried to come to grips with the sudden death of a much-loved teen.
Friends and family mourning a Sunshine Coast teen who died in a tragic incident at Maroochydore revealed he could not afford to see a psychologist despite sharing his mental health struggles to his friends.
Tributes flowed for 19-year-old Maroochydore man Sorawit “JJ” Nganprateepkul after he died in an incident at a major Sunshine Coast road on February 16.
October 2022
Courtney Grace Morison
A young Queensland woman suffering depression and pleading for help was repeatedly told to go home by staff at a Townsville Hospital after self-harming and took her own life just hours after being discharged yet again.
Courtney Grace Morison’s care at Townsville University Hospital was investigated in a “full clinical review” following her death after she was released from the mental health unit in October.
Courtney’s mother, Anne Le Pla, and sister, Brittany Morison, believed more should have been done to keep her alive, and she should never have been released so soon.
October 2023
Mac Holdsworth
It took just 30 minutes for a 45-year-old man, posing as a 15-year-old girl, to groom Mac Holdsworth over Instagram and convince him to send an intimate photo of himself.
Just 30 minutes to destroy the life of this happy, loyal teenager, the school captain, and his family.
On October 24, 2023 15 months after Mac sent that photo, he decided to take his own life, unable to live with the consequences.
Wayne Holdsworth never thought something like this would happen to his son who his mates called “the life of the party”.
January 2024
Corrine Lee-Cheu
A heartbroken family of a 13-year-old Queensland student who died by suicide said their baby girl was made to feel “ugly” by relentless torment from bullies online and at school.
Corrine Lee-Cheu was a tomboy at heart who loved skateboarding, chasing cattle, catching barramundi and the great outdoors.
The Far North Queensland teenager, known by Kinny or Barefoot Corrine by her loved ones, was never one to show any interest in her hair, makeup or jewellery.
Kinny would take her own life on September 13, the day before RUOK Day.
August 2024
Kupa Parata
The Sunshine Coast rugby league community banded together with strength and love following the sudden death of a talented teenager.
Tributes flowed for Coolum Colts player Kupa Parata, 15, originally from New Zealand, following his shock death on August 29.
The club shared a heartfelt tribute to their fallen star.
“In the face of the unthinkable, community becomes our lifeline, our shelter, and our guiding light. Together we get through the unthinkable,” the club posted.
October 2024
Isla Marschke
The principal of a school attended by a 14-year-old girl who took her own life after online bullying told how requests to social media companies to remove posts harming students are “futile”.
“We are often left to deal with young people who are damaged by the words and actions of others – who may be local or they may be acting from thousands of miles away,” Shalom Catholic College Principal Dan McMahon said.
Mr McMahon lashed out at social media behemoths saying platforms were riddled with posts targeting students but it was close to impossible to convince them to take them down.
Shalom Catholic College in Bundaberg was rocked by the death of student Isla Marschke who tragically took her own life after years of online torment and mental health struggles.
November 2024
Ella Catley-Crawford
A 12-year-old victim of relentless online bullying at an elite Brisbane girls’ school took her own life, with her heartbroken family calling out the dangers of social media as they grappled with the loss.
Ella Catley-Crawford, 12, was a “bright and quirky” girl who had just earned an academic scholarship at one of Brisbane’s most prestigious all-girls’ schools at the start of the year, but her joy was short-lived.
After just one term, Ella became the victim of an online catfishing scheme orchestrated by other girls who shared her photos across social media, leading to bullying, isolation and a mental health battle.
On October 27, Ella attempted to take her own life and died in hospital a week later on Sunday.
Originally published as List of Qld teen suicide victims as calls grow for social media change: Let Them Be Kids
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