“If it’s been shared, I’m going to kill myself.”
This was the heartbreaking text sent by Chloe Walklate to close friends just two days before she took her own life at home after skipping school.
The 13-year-old boy, from Queensland, had struggled with the transition from primary to secondary school and was bullied relentlessly.
The cruel taunts followed her home via Snapchat. Then rumors began about messages she may have sent on the platform.
Chloe died in September 2017, just three days before the end of term.
Chloe’s mom Sam (pictured above) wishes her 13-year-old daughter had been able to open up about the things that worry her.
Chloe Walklate took her own life in September 2017 when she was just 13 years old.
Speaking to FEMAIL, her distraught mother Sam said she knew Chloe was unhappy and had been trying to enroll her in a different school.
But she had no idea how dark her daughter’s life had really become.
In the months before her death, Chloe, a talented student with an A+ academic record, began skipping school.
Her grades dropped and she was put on a performance management program to try to get back on track, but her heart wasn’t in it.
“He had gastrointestinal symptoms for a week and missed school,” his heartbroken mother said.
Sam now knows that these symptoms probably reflected the intensity of Chloe’s anxiety and depression rather than her gut health.
Sam had no idea of the rumors and ridicule his daughter was subjected to, nor of her suicidal thoughts.
Chloe went from being cheerful and bright at home to being withdrawn and quiet.
Most of the rumors surrounding Chloe when she took her life in September 2017 centered around Snapchat, an app known for its disappearing messages.
A Snapchat spokesperson told FEMAIL that there is no place for harassment on the platform and that the company continues to develop rules and resources to keep teens safe.
Chloe’s classmates had apparently relayed messages from the young teenager, making her feel isolated, scared and desperate to escape.
She begged her parents for a fresh start, something they both attempted to achieve by beginning the process of enrolling in a new school.
But Chloe’s inability to escape her bullies proved too much.
The first warning sign came when Chloe missed the school bus and her grandfather took her to school.
The 13-year-old boy, once an enthusiastic student, refused to get out of the car when they arrived.
“She was a mess, so he took her to McDonald’s to have a heart-to-heart talk,” Sam recalled.
Chloe also opened up to a close family friend two days before she died, but the adult thought she had been “convinced” so she didn’t mention it to Sam.
Sam wishes her daughter had come to her instead of trying to deal with her problems alone.
‘I would have told him that no matter what you’ve done, we can fix it together. “Nothing is so bad that you have to deal with it on your own,” Sam said.
Sam said he would have done anything to protect his daughter and wants other young people to give their parents the chance to help.
“I know it can be scary for young people to open up to their parents, but if she did, she’d still be here,” Sam said.
Chloe begged her parents to help her move schools before she took her own life. They had started the process before she ended her life.
The next time Chloe missed school would be the last.
Sam got the call to say she hadn’t caught the bus, but as it was the last Wednesday of term, she and her husband decided to let Chloe stay home.
“The last time I talked to her I told her to catch up on her outstanding schoolwork,” Sam said.
She met resistance, but thought they had decided to end up old school with everything updated.
But when Sam couldn’t reach Chloe a few hours later, he panicked.
‘I went home. It was very unlike her not to answer the phone. I was hoping to find her riding a horse,” she said.
The teenager wanted to be a veterinarian and loved her pets. But she wasn’t with the horses.
The young woman missed school the day she took her life
“I saw her as soon as I pulled into the driveway,” the devastated mother explained.
He had to keep driving down the driveway despite knowing what he would find when he got there.
“She had been dead for two and a half hours. I screamed and a neighbor came. “We knew it was too late, but we tried to revive her,” he said.
A full picture of Chloe’s mental health emerged in the weeks after her death.
The police were called to investigate, and friends and family came to Sam with clues that seemed mundane at the time, but in retrospect were significant.
He had sent his friends the ominous text message: “If you’ve shared it, I’m going to kill myself.”
He’d even decorated the back of his school journal with graffiti about death, something Sam wishes he’d seen before it was too late.
“It still bothers me when I see it,” the mother said.
Chloe had also spoken to her loved ones about the funeral arrangements and what she might like.
‘She did it so casually. I had grandparents and an aunt who passed away shortly before, so I thought it was just her talking about it,” Sam said.
The distraught mother has spoken out about her daughter’s death to help prevent further tragedies and as part of Life line ‘Giving Day’ on May 30.
Eight Australians die by suicide every day and it remains the leading cause of death among people aged 15-44.
The impact of a suicide is felt by up to 135 people: their family members, colleagues, friends and neighbors.
If you or a loved one needs help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14