After a resurgence of online harassment from her peers, Daisy Coleman, the 16-year-old Missouri teen whose alleged sexual assault in 2012 received national attention through the “hacktivist” group Anonymous, has attempted suicide once again.
News of Coleman’s third suicide attempt was made public by her mother, Melinda Coleman, in a Facebook post on Monday, in which she chastised the girls who harassed Daisy.
It’s been reported that Daisy likely suffered some brain damage during her latest suicide attempt, but it’s not yet clear whether the brain damage will be permanent.
“She’s not coherent, she makes no sense, she’s like a two year old,” Melinda Coleman said. “I asked the nurse if she thought she would get better, and she said there was no way of telling.”
According to Robin Bourland, a longtime acquaintance of the Coleman family, Daisy was being treated at a Kansas City children’s hospital after ingesting unidentified pills on Sunday evening.
“It’s been heartbreaking for them,” Bourland said of the Colemans, who moved from Maryville, Mo., where the assault happened to Albany, Mo., to escape what Melinda Coleman called persistent harassment.
“This has been a really long, drawn-out battle, and it’s heartbreaking to see something like this happening,” Bourland said. She added that what sparked this latest suicide attempt was that Daisy started getting harassed online after attending a party that weekend, and said “it just escalated from there.”
Melinda Coleman added that when Daisy came home after the party, one girl wrote on her Facebook wall that Daisy was “a fake and a phoney,” “you wanted it,” referring to the alleged rape, and called Daisy a “slut” because she went to a party.
Daisy took to social media herself after receiving the messages, writing on Twitter: “Don’t give up they say. You’re so strong they say. But none of you even know me.”
In her Facebook post on Monday, Melinda Coleman asked Anonymous for help, since the group was a large force behind publicizing her rape case. Anonymous took to social media channels asking for justice for Daisy and her unidentified friend this past summer after the alleged rapists — one of whom is the grandson of a former state legislator — had charges against them dropped.
“My daughter has been terrorized to the point she tried to kill herself last night. She may never be ok,” Melinda Coleman wrote. “Where are you and your super hacking skills and internet help now…….we really need them.”
Anonymous heard the plea for help and re-launched its “#OpMaryville” campaign, with one account tweeting: “To the guy/girls involved in bullying Daisy to the point of attempting suicide- we know who you are. Everyone else will soon. #opMaryville.”
In keeping with Anonymous’ anonymity, one of the several Anonymous Twitter accounts, @YourAnonCentral, apologized for Daisy’s latest suicide attempt, and said “If anyone failed Daisy it wasn’t the whole of Anonymous but this account in particular. We are sorry we couldn’t help her. #OpMaryville.”
Another account Tweeted that “The people who took to your daughter’s case and did what they could to shed light on the injustices you were going through are devastated right now, and at the same time, furious.”
Whether the Coleman family has accepted the apology is not known, but Melinda Coleman told the Daily Mail that the group has done little since they spoke out about the case last year. She said if the group could get the video of the rape, as well as emails between prosecutor Robert Rice and Maryville’s Sheriff Darren White, it may prove the dropped charges were a political move.
Whether Anonymous will be successful remains to be seen.