Presentazione

Da Herald Sun

Lauren Wilson and Stephen Lunn | July 22, 2009

CHANELLE Rae was beautiful, bubbly and a devoted fan of the Geelong Football Club. And on Friday night she became the fourth student of the same state high school to commit suicide this year, raising serious concerns about cyber-bullying and copycat suicides.

The death of the 14-year-old schoolgirl, who was adored by her parents, brothers and friends, has reopened wounds at the co-educational Western Heights College in Geelong.

In February, 14-year-old Natalie Rowe, who battled with bipolar disorder and briefly attended Western Heights College last year, took her own life.

A month later Zac Harvey, 15, a handsome, sporty teenager who was well-liked at the high school, made the decision to kill himself. Three weeks later, Zac's devastated girlfriend of 2 1/2 years, Taylor Janssen, 16, joined her boyfriend in death.

Taylor's mother, Helen Janssen, last night told The Australian that Taylor left her family a note saying she loved them but she couldn't live without Zac. She killed herself to the music that was played at his funeral.

Since February, Natalie's older brother, Thomas Rowe, 17, has got very little sleep. He told The Australian that he stayed up most nights, talking on his anti-suicide website, Gravity, to other young people in Geelong and across Australia who are contemplating taking the same, desperate action.

"It is not so much a Western Heights (College) problem, but a community problem," he said.

"There needs to be a clearer understanding that young people are more prone to keeping their feelings inside.

"I try to get the message out there that you are not alone, that everybody feels it."

Ms Janssen said she did not believe there was a culture of copycat suicides at the Geelong high school, that her 16-year-old daughter's death involved very different circumstances.

"Taylor and Zac had spoken about death. It was a Romeo and Juliet type thing, they had said if one was to go the other would too," she said. "They were star-crossed lovers."

But Ms Janssen said she expected that her daughter was, "getting a little bit of flack from school" in the three weeks after Zac had taken his own life.

Chanelle's mother, Karen Rae, remained at their north shore family home yesterday, where friends left bouquets of flowers and Geelong Football Club memorabilia. In an emotional interview with Melbourne's 3AW radio, Ms Rae warned other parents to "keep their kids off the rotten internet". She revealed her daughter received an online threat in the hours before she took her own life on Friday night.

The only further clue came from Chanelle's best friend Georgina Probert, who last night told The Australian that some students had begun teasing Chanelle about her appearance. "Cyber-bullying is a problem but I don't really think there is any way that we could stop it," she said.

Principal Kris Rooney said the school community was devastated and extra counsellors had been on campus during the past two days to help students manage their grief.

"The death of any young person has many victims," Ms Rooney said.

"We are deeply saddened by this death. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family."

The Australian understands police officers have attended Western Heights College to speak to students about the threat of cyber-bullying. However, the high school is not presently conducting an investigation into the allegations.