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Netflix Star Daisy Coleman Dies By Suicide At 23

By Michael Bamidele

05 August 2020   |   5:30 pm

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Daisy Coleman, the sexual assault victim whose story was the subject of "Audrie & Daisy" Netflix documentary, has died by suicide. She was 23. According to her mother, Melinda, Daisy took her life on Tuesday night, TMZ reported. "My daughter Catherine Daisy Coleman committed suicide tonight," Melinda Coleman wrote on Facebook. "If you saw crazy…

Daisy | Image: Netflix

Daisy Coleman, the sexual assault victim whose story was the subject of “Audrie & Daisy” Netflix documentary, has died by suicide. She was 23.

According to her mother, Melinda, Daisy took her life on Tuesday night, TMZ reported.

“My daughter Catherine Daisy Coleman committed suicide tonight,” Melinda Coleman wrote on Facebook.

“If you saw crazy messages and posts it was because I called the police to check on her. She was my best friend and amazing daughter. I think she had to make make it seem like I could live without her. I can’t. I wish I could have taken the pain from her! She never recovered from what those boys did to her and it’s just not fair. My baby girl is gone.”

According to PEOPLE, Coleman was 14 when she alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Matthew Barnett, a teen boy in her small Missouri hometown. Afterwards, she was left intoxicated, wearing only a T-shirt, for hours outside her home in sub-freezing temperatures.

Coleman’s accusation led to a felony sexual assault charge against Barnett which was later dropped. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. (He claimed their sexual encounter was consensual.)

The case triggered national scrutiny against Coleman’s family as well as an intense backlash in their small town. After becoming a target for bullying — both online and in person — Coleman attempted suicide multiple times before becoming an advocate for other victims, PEOPLE reported.

In 2017, Coleman worked on the national campaign SafeBAE — Safe Before Anyone Else — to help prevent others from enduring sexual violence. She also appeared in Netflix’s documentary Audrie & Daisy in 2016.