Melinda Coleman, mother of sexual assault survivor Daisy Coleman, has died by suicide four months after her daughter’s death.
Melinda Coleman worked as a sexual assault victim advocate after her daughter's own assault, which was examined in the 2016 Netflix documentary "Audrie & Daisy.” The 58-year-old died by suicide on Sunday evening, according to SafeBAE, the sexual assault prevention organization her daughter co-founded.
“We are in shock and disbelief to share with our SafeBAE family that we lost Melinda Coleman to suicide this evening," the organization’s statement said. "The bottomless grief of losing her husband, Tristan, and Daisy was more than she could face most days."
Her daughter took her own life in August, and her son Tristan died in 2018 in the crash of a car he was driving and in which Melinda Coleman was a passenger. Melinda Coleman is survived by her two other sons, Logan and Charlie.
The Coleman family became the subject of national interest after Daisy Coleman said she was raped at a party at the age of 14 in Maryville, Missouri, in 2012. The teenager accused a 17-year-old boy, Matthew Barnett, of raping her and was subjected to online harassment and bullying by her peers after speaking out.
Barnett pleaded guilty to lesser charges of misdemeanor child endangerment in 2014 and was sentenced to two years of probation and a four-month suspended jail term, according to The Associated Press.
A 2016 Netflix documentary detailed the aftermath of the sexual assaults of Daisy Coleman and Audrie Potts, a California teen who was sexually assaulted in 2012 and died of suicide 10 days later.
Melinda Coleman posted about her daughter frequently on social media, including multiple Facebook posts on Sunday. She also posted on Saturday, marking four months since her daughter’s death to the day.
“I’d like to challenge everyone to be kind and lift up others in pain, especially sexual assault survivors and those hopeless in this holiday season,” Melinda Coleman wrote. “Send out light and love and protect each other and I will protect and pray for anyone who needs it. Let’s make this a Daisy Day filled with light, hope and love.”
If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide please call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
