Teens like Charlotte are being killed by a silent epidemic. Her farewell note made a plea to her parents.

In September this year, Charlotte O'Brien took her own life after she was relentlessly bullied. In a farewell note, the 12-year-old pleaded with her parents to share her story to raise awareness about bullying and prevent other children from experiencing what she had.

Now, they are doing just that.

The impact of bullying and youth suicide is set to be laid bare in Charlotte's Wish, a powerful new documentary that comes out on Sunday, November 17. The feature highlights the stories of four vibrant teens, including Charlotte, and 13-year-old Corrine Lee Cheu, whose lives were cut short after enduring bullying.

Corrine's mother, Jodie Fitzgerald, has spoken about her daughter's suffering and the continued cruelty she faces, even after her death.

Corrine Lee Cheu. Image: Charlotte's Wish.

"They told her to go kill herself, called her an ugly rat," Jodie told The Daily Telegraph. "And they said she would do it again if she had to.

"And this is only a month ago. And I'm like, 'Can't they just let my poor daughter rest in peace?'"

She added, "Yesterday I got a message and I deleted it and blocked the person. People saying horrible stuff about why Corrine killed herself and about our family. She comes from a very loving family, that's the part that hurts the most."

Despite repeated pleas to Corrine's school for help, Jodie said she received little support. The bullies targeted Corrine both in person and online, leaving her feeling isolated and unsafe.

"Once we knew Corrine was being bullied we did ask the school a few times 'What is going on? What is going on? And they told us that unless they see it, they can't do anything about it," Jodie said.

'This is not you. Your moods change.'

Jodie described the heartbreaking changes in Corrine's behaviour in the lead-up to her death.

"I'd go to drop her off at school and she would be in the car just crying. And I'm like, 'All right, you can stay home today,'" Jodie said.

"And then I asked her if there was something going on at school. She said 'No, no.' But then it got to the point where she started wagging because she didn't want to go to school."

Corrine's worrying behaviour continued to escalate.

"She started to change, her attitude and her moods started to change. She got more aggressive, more angry. She'd have more anger spurts, throw stuff in her room," she shared.

"She got up at 6am but still wasn't ready for school by 10am."

It was only after persistent questioning that Jodie discovered the bullying happening in hidden corners of the school.

"At the bottom of the steps, in the toilets, they were calling her an ugly rat and pushing her around and just being really cruel," Jodie said.

Corrine's torment didn't end at the school gates. Despite rules banning Snapchat in her household, Corrine secretly opened accounts where the bullying continued unabated.

"I don't really even want to know half of the stuff that was said, but just half of the stuff I found on her phone was enough," Jodie said, adding that it was the "same people that were doing it at school were also then doing it on Snapchat".

Corrine would finally agreed to her mother's pleas to see a professional about her struggles.

"I said to her, 'I think it's time. This is not you. Your moods change. You are not yourself. This is not normal teenage behaviour. I've never seen you like this before,'" Jodie explained.

"And she agreed. She gave me a big hug and then went off playing with her little brother."

Jodie recounted her repeated efforts to encourage Corrine's school to take proactive steps.

"I told them, 'You have those big signs at the front of the school that light up. Why can't you be a billboard for mental health? Put some lifeline numbers up. That's all I want.'"

However, her suggestions fell on deaf ears.

Now, Jodie works tirelessly to raise awareness through Corrine's One More Light Foundation.

"It needs to stop. Too many parents and siblings are suffering," she said.

Charlotte's story.

Corrine's story is not dissimilar to that of Charlotte O'Brien, who died by suicide in September 2024.

Every day, Charlotte would cry endlessly, said her mum, Kelly — on the way to school, and on the way home.

"She didn't deserve the pain she was in," Kelly wrote in an email to the school Charlotte attended a day after her daughter's passing. "She didn't deserve girls to bark in her face or scream out her name and run away, to purposely hit her with their bag and say, 'Whoops'.

"She deserved love and kindness. She deserved to be treated with dignity and respect."

Charlotte O'Brien. Image: Charlotte's Wish.

Desperate to help her daughter, Kelly said that she reached out to the school and asked staff to intervene, but no action was taken. On September 9, the 12-year-old died by suicide, leaving her devastated parents "broken".

In a final note to her parents, Charlotte pleaded for her story to be told as a way to stop bullying and save lives. "Her final wish for us to tell her story and that hopefully this would gain some awareness and something positive could possibly come from this," her stepdad, Mat, said.

"I get up every morning and talk to whoever wants to talk to me about it… We need to do better for our kids than we're doing today."

The release of Charlotte's Wish aims to shine a light on the urgent need for change in how society addresses bullying. It also serves as both a tribute to the lives lost and a rallying cry for parents, educators, and communities to take a stand against bullying.

Charlotte's Wish will be released on November 17. You can watch it here.

If you or anyone you know needs to speak with an expert, please contact your GP or in Australia, contact Lifeline (13 11 14), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636), all of which provide trained counsellors you can talk with 24/7.