NZ Herald health reporter Emma Russell shares with Damien Venuto (The Front Page) some of the ways that people have been supportive of her mental health.
Video / NZ Herald
The mum of a teenager who was killed in a freak workplace accident has issued a plea to the online bullies who have attacked her family, shared cruel memes and spread false rumours after her son’s death.
In October, Laura McMullin’s 16-year-old son, Jayden Fuller died in a workplace accident involving a roller truck. Although Queensland Ambulance attempted to revive Jayden, the student passed away at the scene.
While the events surrounding the tragedy are being investigated by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, the Gold Coast woman says her and her family have been subjected to intense cyber-bullying, which has left her physically and mentally drained.
Speaking to news.com.au, she asked the bullies to stop.
“Please, please leave me and my family alone,” she said.
“I haven’t had one minute to even understand or process why my boy is no longer looking for my reaction, giving me hugs and just loving me.
“My son wasn’t a bully. He’s been targeted by strangers that no one in Jayden’s group circle seems to know.”
The circumstances around the 16-year-old’s death are being investigated by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland. Photo / Facebook
‘I can’t take any more’
Over a month after Jayden’s death, Ms McMullin said her family are still unsure about the events that led to Jayden’s death. However, the family have been tormented by messages which have perpetuated gossip around his death and rumours about their son and brother.
The barrage of bullying led to her going to police.
“All we know was he was crushed by a roller,” she said.
“(Other than that,) we know absolutely nothing at all. Which is really hard on the brain. Doesn’t help when kids make up stories they truly know nothing about.
“Five weeks of nasty threatening messaging just got to me in the end.”
Last week, McMullin shared a Facebook post which asked parents to “help educate (and) speak to our children” about the effects of bulling.
“Just when you think I might have an okay day and I can talk to people, your son goes ahead and makes fun of my son getting killed. He makes fun of my son who is no longer here,” she wrote in the post which has been shared nearly 1000 times.
“To the parents of these kids, I should tell you I hope you feel my pain, I hope you feel the anger, the hurt the heartbreak that I do … but I do not wish this on anyone.
“I simple ask you, you as a parent to parent, please ask your children to stop talking about my son … make them understand what they are doing is unhealthy, disrespectful, disgusting and they should be ashamed of themselves.”
Instead, Ms McMullin wants her son to be remembered as the loving and caring son and “class clown”.
“All I hear is how funny, sensitive, caring (he was), with not a nasty bone in his body,” she said.
