Suicide letter of bullied girl released

THE grieving parents of a Welsh 13-year-old, who died following a suicide pact with a friend, yesterday released a letter written by their daughter which highlights her anguish at being bullied at school.

On the same afternoon they laid their daughter Laura Rhodes to rest, Yvonne and Michael Rhodes underlined the importance bullying had played in the tragic death of their 13-year-old daughter.

A 1,500-word letter discovered after Laura’s death powerfully underlines her fears of bullying and the feelings of self-loathing she went through as a result.

Her devastated parents discovered Laura unconscious at their home in Cimla, Neath, south Wales, on September 4. She died from a suspected drug overdose in an apparent suicide pact with best friend Rebecca Ling who survived.

Days after the death, Mr and Mrs Rhodes released a statement insisting that bullying had played a part in Laura’s death after the police had earlier said, publicly, it had been ruled out.

Yesterday they said: “The reason that we want people to read Laura’s story is that we want them to understand how demoralised, belittled, and helpless a bullied child feels.”

Extracts from the letter said Laura would lie in bed in the morning hoping she would never have to leave.

“I used to give a girl a lift to school each day even though she used to hit me,” the letter said. “It didn’t matter. She was still someone to follow to escape the loneliness.” As she put on weight, she describes herself as ‘fat, ugly and worthless’.