A gay teenager broke down in tears the day before his suicide, telling a friend he was afraid of returning to school.
Gypsie-Lee Edwards Kennard told 7.30 she was on a fishing trip with Tyrone Unsworth when he revealed the extent of the homophobic taunts he was facing from other students.
“He was an absolute mess, crying his eyes out and telling me everyone wants him dead and I said, ‘Tyrone, what do you mean everyone wants you dead?’,” Ms Edwards Kennard told 7.30.
“He said, ‘The kids at school keep telling me to go kill myself’, and I was obviously gobsmacked.
“[The other students] did call him nasty names, like faggot and fairy.
“He loved girly things, he’s chosen dresses for me and his mum to wear, he’s asked to use makeup.
“Kids obviously thought because he’s like that he could be a target for their bullying.”
Ms Edwards Kennard said she pleaded with him to seek help from his teachers at Brisbane’s Aspley State High School.
“I said, ‘You need to speak to someone [at the school]’ and he said, ‘They don’t care’,” she said.
“He just felt like no-one wanted him around and he didn’t belong.
“It’s really hard to hear that from a child that’s only 13 years old.”
‘This kid picked up a fence paling and hit him from behind’
One month ago Tyrone was in a fight with another student outside of school hours that left him hospitalised.