The dad of a teenager who took her own life said his daughter was a "beautiful soul" who had a "full life".
Macie Jayne Vella, 18, took her own life on July 26. Dad David Vella's said Macie - who was "loved by so many" - will be "missed dearly". David, an executive director of a software company in Madrid, received the devastating news from Macie’s grandfather, Karl, via a phone call, and says the ordeal was "absolutely horrendous."
Macie, a former student at Scarisbrick Hall School near Ormskirk, was due to receive her exam results next week.
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David said: "Myself and our family are completely devastated and are grateful for the kindness and respect that has been shown from family, friends and people in the town. Macie was a beautiful soul, so full of life, very kind and caring and loved her family so much, she had a troubled mind and after the death of her biological mother in her early years, she struggled with her emotions and was diagnosed with EDD ( emotional dysregulation disorder) last year.
“She was loved by so many and will be missed dearly, she will leave a hole in my soul that will never be replaced.”
David claims Macie had been a target for bullying for around 18 months LancsLive reports. He said her car had been damaged, she had received abusive messages and snaps, and had a drink thrown a drink over her in a nightclub in Liverpool.
David from Skelmersdale is now calling for better mental health support for young people as well as tighter curbs on social media platforms. The 43-year-old said: “She attended a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) counselling course to learn some coping mechanisms; she responded well to this and seemed happy. This was just before her 18th birthday and she seemed fine: she had a new group of friends, she had a part time job in a bar, she was planning to go to uni to study business in Manchester and she had a driving test booked for September.
“Teenage years are tough, managing high school, puberty, relationships, going into adulthood, exams pressures, and it’s just really sad that people aren’t more kind. I want to raise awareness of mental health and the pressures that young people are under, and to highlight the impact of social media trolling, bullying and other harassment.
"We’d often have a movie night and make food and chill with the dogs and sometimes she would talk about lots of stuff that was bothering her, while other times, she would seem fine.”
Macie lost her biological mum at the age of seven, with dad David and her adoptive mum Linda Murray, raising her from the age of three. She had been referred to Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services when she went to high school, David said there had been ‘no follow up,’ and is now calling for improvements in mental health provision as well as in social media regulation.
He said: “I understand that funds are depleted - but when you see the amount of money that’s been spent in other areas, this is more important. These are the young people, they are the future. Macie had a happy and full life, she succeeded and achieved throughout that life but due to struggling with her emotions due to the impact of her biological mother’s death, the impact of the bullying weighed heavily on her mind.
“My message for her bullies would be just to realise the detrimental impact that their words can have, and their actions, on people, and one day, they might be parents themselves and how would they feel? All of us at some point in our lives are fighting a battle that nobody knows anything about, so like I said, it is just be kind."
Neil Smith, Suicide Prevention Lead for the Lancashire and South Cumbria Health and Care Partnership, said: “Macie’s death is deeply saddening and while we cannot talk about individual circumstances, I appreciate the devastating impact this will have had on Macie’s family and friends. We are committed to ensuring children and young people can access mental health support and resources, as early as possible.”
Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok were contacted. A spokesperson for Snapchat said: “Bullying has devastating consequences, online or offline and there is no place for it on Snapchat. We are always looking at what we can do to help our community have a safe and positive experience. We have tools like our Family Centre which help parents get insight into who their teens are talking to.”
A ‘Celebration of Life ‘ for Macie will take place on Friday, August 19, at St Paul’s Church in Skelmersdale at 13:45pm, followed by a service at West Lancashire Crematorium, for which the dress code will be black with a splash of purple, which was Macie’s favourite colour.
Macie’s family are asking for donations instead of flowers in her memory to the children and young people’s mental health charity ‘ Young Minds,’ via a Just Giving page which can be accessed here.
For confidential support the Samaritans can be contacted for free around the clock 365 days a year on 116 123.
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