The heartbroken father of a 14-year-old schoolgirl who killed herself after being bullied has said she was ‘failed’ by the people who ‘were meant to keep her safe’.
Mia Janin, a Year 10 pupil at the Jewish Free School (JFS) in Kenton, north-west London, was found dead at her family home in Barnet in March 2021.
Before the end of an inquest into her death this week, Mia’s family released a voice note she sent on WhatsApp to a friend that month highlighting her despair at the bullying she endured.
In it, she say: ‘Tomorrow’s going to be a rough day, I’m taking deep breaths in and out. I’m currently mentally preparing myself to get bullied tomorrow.’
Mia was last seen alive at about 10pm on March 11, 2021, when she said goodnight to her parents in their family home.
She was found dead by her parents at about 6.50am on March 12.
North London area coroner Tony Murphy concluded Mia ‘took her life while still a child and while still in the process of maturing into adulthood’ at Barnet Coroner’s Court on Friday.
Two undated letters in Mia’s handwriting were found on her bed addressed to ‘her loving family and friends’ which ‘explained that Mia decided to end her life’.
Mr Murphy added before his conclusion that Mia had ‘close friends including at her secondary school, but she also experienced bullying from some male students’.
Statements given by friends of Mia to the Metropolitan Police after her death were read out to the inquest, in which they said Mia was bullied by other pupils at the school, and that their friendship group was nicknamed the ‘suicide squad’ in the months leading up to her death.
They said that one of Mia’s TikToks was shared to a Snapchat group chat run by male pupils at JFS, where they made fun of her.
One child said the boys used the group chat to share nude photos of girls.
Mr Murphy said neither Mia’s family or teachers were aware of that before her death.
He added: ‘Mia’s secondary school has introduced systemic changes following her death.
‘Mia is much missed by her loving family, caring friends and the wider community.’
The area coroner said he would let the legal representatives know at a later time if he would be issuing a prevention of future deaths report.
Mia’s father, Mariano Janin, paid tribute to his daughter, saying ‘she was fantastic, she was very bubbly, good sense of humour, she was beautiful, she was very kind, very creative’.
In a statement after the inquest, he said: ‘Nothing will bring back my wife and my daughter Mia.
‘For almost three years we have sought answers for the loss of Mia, today we found some of those answers and the failure of the people who trust and were meant to keep her safe.
‘My daughter experienced prolonged and sustained bullying in various ways in person and online.
‘In a way it’s a relief this has now been recognised, however, there does need to be accountability. Another family cannot live what I have lived.’
Mr Janin said he was ‘glad’ to hear the school has put changes in place.
Rabbi Howard Cohen, former deputy headteacher at JFS, told the inquest that after Mia’s death there was ‘some talk around the school’ of what he described as ‘boys-only bravado groups’ sharing images of girls, and he was made aware of a boys’ WhatsApp group in which members were rating the ‘attractiveness’ of female pupils.
But there was no reason to believe the groups related to Mia, Rabbi Cohen said.
He told the inquest he held a meeting with members of one of the group chats, who then agreed to disband it.
Mr Janin told the inquest that his daughter asked if she could move school, after coming home on March 11.
The inquest heard that his wife Marisa, who has since died, told Mia she could be home-schooled for the rest of the school year, and that they would look into moving her to a new school after.
Mia then went to bed. Hours later, she was dead.
The area coroner previously said that there was no evidence that any images or videos involving Mia had been shared in the group chat, except for the TikTok.
Need support?
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
If you're a young person, or concerned about a young person, you can also contact PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide UK. Their HOPELINK digital support platform is open 24/7, or you can call 0800 068 4141, text 07860039967 or email: pat@papyrus-uk.org between the hours of 9am and midnight.
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