A 12-year-old schoolgirl took her own life after being targeted by bullies on Snapchat, an inquest has heard.
Amelia Bath’s mother found her dead in her bedroom at their family home in Walberton, West Sussex, on the morning of March 6.
The evening before her death Amelia had eaten a fish and chips supper at her grandparents where she was reportedly laughing and joking.
But Amelia’s friends told her parents, company directors Steven and Marie Bath, that she was being bullied on the social media app Snapchat in the weeks before she died.
The inquest opening at West Sussex Coroner’s Court in Horsham heard the provisional cause of her death was hanging.
A statement from a coroner’s officer said: ‘She was sadly found deceased at her home address by hanging.’
Area coroner Joseph Turner said the facts and circumstances of her death were ‘unnatural’ as he opened the inquest.
The inquest was adjourned and a pre-inquest hearing has been scheduled for June 17.
Amelia Bath was found dead at her home in Walberton, West Sussex, on the morning of March 6
Friends later told her parents, company directors Steven and Marie Bath, that she had been relentlessly targeted by bullies on Snapchat in the weeks before she died (Pictured left to right: Marie Bath, older sister Olivia, Amelia and Steve Bath)
Her devastated aunt, Lisa Marsh, previously told the Daily Mail the family had no idea she was being targeted and said Amelia had seemed in good spirits in her final days.
She said: ‘There were no signs, no indication whatsoever that Amelia was being bullied.
‘The evening before she was found she’d gone with her parents to her grandparents’ home where she had fish and chips for tea.
‘She seemed happy and was laughing and joking but the following morning the family’s lives were turned upside down.
‘My sister found Amelia in her room when she went to get her ready for school the next morning.
‘Amelia’s friends said that she had been experiencing problems with bullies online on messaging services like Snapchat but we don’t know how long it had been going on for.’
She added that the family’s world had been ‘shattered’ and called for a greater focus on cyber bullying among children.
‘Cyber bullying is an issue that needs to be highlighted because had she not received these kind of messages then we probably wouldn’t be in this situation,’ Mrs Marsh said.
‘Many parents don’t realise that their children are using social media for all the wrong reasons. No family should go through this.’
Her uncle Kris Marsh said: ‘It is an ongoing investigation, but there were messages on Snapchat. The police have obviously taken her iPhone and her iPad to go through them and see what they can find. There were absolutely no signs. Everything on the face of it was totally normal. That’s why it is so dangerous with these apps.
‘These days kids seem so quick to be horrible to one another. They might think that it is just a text message or a voice message but it has lasting impact on people’s lives.
A GoFundMe fundraiser set up by Lisa Marsh has raised more than £16,000 to help with funeral costs, and for her family to make a donation in her memory to children’s hospice, Chestnut Tree House (Pictured: Amelia and her older sister Olivia)
Pictured: Floral tributes left for Amelia at her school in nearby Bognor Regis
‘If anything our message from this whole tragic incident would be that there is always somebody you can talk to. Let your feelings be known because no 12-year-old should think that resorting to suicide is the only way out.’
Since her tragic death, Amelia’s fellow pupils at The Regis School, in nearby Bognor Regis, have left a shrine to her memory with flowers, soft toys and balloons.
Mrs Marsh said: ‘Amelia was an amazingly bright, funny, kind-hearted, and loving girl who filled every room with warmth and laughter.
‘She had the most beautiful soul and so much life ahead of her. She was deeply loved and loved deeply in return.
‘The silence she has left behind is unbearable, and the hole in our hearts will never truly heal. She was loved fiercely by so many.
‘There has been a huge outpouring of grief at the school with children leaving notes, balloons and teddy bears. It’s been incredible to see. Our message would be that if someone is being bullied, especially online, then there is absolutely no shame in seeking help. There is always someone you can turn to.’
A GoFundMe fundraiser set up by Mrs Marsh has raised more than £16,000 to help with funeral costs, and for her family to make a donation in her memory to children’s hospice, Chestnut Tree House.
The fundraiser said on the morning of March 6 ‘our world shattered’ after Amelia was found by her mother Marie believed to have taken her own life.
A spokesman for Sussex Police said officers are ‘reviewing the wider circumstances’, and her death is not being treated as suspicious.
‘We are working alongside schools and partner agencies to support the girl’s family and others who have been impacted,’ he said.
The inquest has been adjourned until June 17 for a pre-inquest review.
Interested parties in the case include Sussex Police, West Sussex County Council children’s services, education services and Amelia’s parents and grandfather.
