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The funny, kind, 12-year-old who took a fatal overdose

Eleanor Lawrie and Michael Buchanan

BBC News Social Affairs

Rachel Halliwell Semina Halliwell looks at the camera in a cropped close-up photo. Rachel Halliwell

When 12-year-old Semina Halliwell was lying in the hospital, she asked the consultant if she wanted to die. Semina told him she wanted to “sleep a few days.”

She was put in a coma but died shortly after June 12, 2021.

Three days ago, she posted on social media: “I may laugh and smile every day, but I am in pain.” The same day, she went to the bedroom and swallowed her mother’s prescription medicine.

Investigation ends on Thursdayin the months after her death, she heard evidence about Semina’s mentality.

“She went from being a smart and frustrated and evacuated girl to being frustrated and evacuated,” Semina’s mother, Rachel Halliwell, told the court. She was grabbing the child and daughter Portrait of favorite denim jacket while talking.

On Thursday, coroner Johanna Thompson recorded a brief narrative conclusion.

She said Semina has a “complex social history” and is “very fragile.”

“Her intentions were unknown at the time because of her mother’s overdose,” she said.

Rachel Halliwell Semina Haliwell looked at the camera and smiled. Her chin was lying on her hands. She has long black hair and a bracelet on her wrist. Rachel Halliwell

Semina loves singing and dancing, her mother Rachel says

Rachel said Semina was a quirky kid who loved watching TV, attending ballet and tap dance classes. She told the BBC she has had two best friends since she was four.

“She spent all her childhood singing and dancing,” Rachel said. “She would pretend she was the host’s show.”

But within a few months, she said a series of events began, leading to the tragic death of Semina.

In the summer of 2020, at the height of Covid Lockdown, a big boy began sending messages to her on Snapchat. Rachel believes he is embellishing Semina.

Semina then starts secondary school in September. After that, Rachel said her change was “very fast.”

“We’ve gone from watching Barbie dolls to becoming very wary and moody,” she said.

Semina began to self-harm and was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

“Since her autism is feeling, she struggles with her clothes – the feeling of tags – she will show up barefoot in the pouring rain and never feels cold.”

Semina also began wearing tights and gloves to hide the scars of self-harm and to make herself sick after eating.

The day before Mother’s Day, in March 2021, Semina told her mom that she was sexually assaulted by a big boy in the woods a few months ago. She said the older boy had been sending messages to her on Snapchat.

“She said she felt scary, she hated herself, she felt dirty,” Rachel said.

When Semina told her mother, Rachel encouraged her to tell Merseyside police. But the family insisted that officials did not properly support Semina.

They say the 12-year-old was told it would be a complex case that could take 18 months to appear in court, which boils down to what she said about the boy.

They left it to Semina to decide whether to sue.

Rachel Halliwell Semina Halliwell looked at the camera and smiled. Her head tilted to the side. Her dark hair was tied back and had a red headband. She was wearing a light-colored top.Rachel Halliwell

Coroner found Semina “very fragile”

The family has since filed 13 complaints with the Merseyside Police to deal with allegations of rape against Semina and the abuse they have suffered online and local communities.

The investigation concluded that none of the authorities dealing with Semina could stop her death.

The coroner concluded from evidence that Semina was “very fragile” but she disagreed with the Merseyside Police, Semina’s School, Health Trust Submissions from the Foundation (Semina’s School) and the Council of Sefton Metropolitan Borough.

“The evidence has not revealed any signs to me that any relevant point in time knows that both the real and direct risks of Semina’s life can prevent her death,” she said at the end of the investigation.

Merseyside Police reiterated the coroner’s findings, and did not recommend any systemic violations by the troops, and there was no evidence that authorities could prevent Semina’s death.

A police spokesman told the BBC: “We want to express our thoughts and condolences to Semina’s mom and family.”

The bullying of Semina began after her family reported the incident – including on Snapchat.

She sent the nude photos of the boy, which were distributed at school and online.

Semina’s video was also “jumped” and was attacked several times by girls.

“She’s downhill and she can’t handle it,” Rachel said. “Bullying is terrible.’ The biggest ore in seventh grade – that’s how she’s referred online.”

Andy Burrows, CEO of the Molly Rose Foundation, a charity founded after Molly Russell’s death, said: “This case shows Snapchat’s clear, systematic Failure to actively regulate its services.”

“Imagine knowing those videos are being shared to understand the corrosive effects and further abuse of mental health every time you ping on your phone, further news.”

A Snapchat spokesman described the case as tragic, saying “our heart goes out to Semina’s family.” They added that the company “has tried to prevent and act on such behavior in a variety of ways.”

“The only people who helped her are myself and her mom, we are not qualified,” Semina’s aunt Clare Halliwell told the BBC. “We have never experienced this before.” , We beg everyone who is qualified to help, they do not listen.”

Lincoln O'Neill stands on the grass at the school. He was wearing a black winter puffer jacket. There are buildings in the background.

Lincoln O’Neill has been Semina’s friend since she was four

Before her death, Semina’s social media posts and WhatsApp messages became increasingly eye-catching. In a post read in court, she said she “had no feelings” and felt “destroyed.” “I’m in pain. I just want to be complete again,” Semina wrote.

The night she overdoses, police were visiting Semina’s home. When she said she was “fed up”, her mother thought she meant she was bored with the police there and the wider situation.

She poured a glass of juice and went upstairs to the bedroom where she swallowed some tablets from her mother’s prescription medicine.

The inheritance of that day was valued by her relatives.

Semina and her best friend Lincoln O’Neill have been “inseparable” since they were four years old.

“She’s great, funny, and friendly-her smile can light up the whole room,” he said.

He also noticed a big change in Semina when she was in school.

“We started to notice her self-harm and it was horrible to see her.” He said she had revealed the alleged sexual assault to him.

“You can see that it has an impact on her. She started hanging out with a new group of people.” Now, he started to “go the wrong way.”

Lincoln dropped out of school after Semina’s death.

“It’s too much because there are constant reminders every day that she’s gone.”

Rachel Halliwell stood in front of his daughter's grave. The grave is made of black stone with a photo of Semina in the middle. There are angels on each side of the tombstone.

Semina’s mother says she still has difficulty believing that her daughter is dead

Rachel told the BBC that since Semina’s death, she may have reported more than 100 incidents to police, including people who threatened other children, kicked their family homes and big ones Shouting threats.

She said that within an hour of her daughter’s death, the troll posted messages about her cruelty and ridicule online.

“It’s endless,” Rachel said. “They (trolls) would put a picture of the dead in the coffin and add Semina’s name.” Rachel said someone offered a £10,000 reward online to anyone who wasted his daughter’s grave.

“Someone came to the grave to visit her, and when they got there it was just covered in dog feces,” she said.

Today, Semina has a new black tombstone engraved with a portrait of her wearing her favorite denim jacket. The inscription reads: “Semina Mary Halliwell. Forever 12.”

Rachel told the BBC that she wanted to be responsible for her daughter’s death.

“Sometimes I think I’ve dealt with her and she’s gone,” Rachel said. “She doesn’t need to die.”

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