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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Vassia Barba

Mum shares heartbreaking message bullied girl, 11, recorded before she took her own life

An 11-year-old girl who took her own life after being the victim of horrendous bullying at her school had previously recorded a heartbreaking anti-bullying message.

Felicia LoAlbo-Melendez, from New Jersey, was a sixth-grade student at F.W. Holbein School in New Jersey. Before her death in February, she had also written an SOS email to school officials, in which she called for a "safe space" for students to express their feelings and emotions.

It has now emerged that before she took her own life, Felicia had also recorded herself sending a message to her future self, urging her to "never be bad", never be a bully and be nice to everyone, which was shared by her devastated mum.

Felicia was found dead inside a bathroom at the school in February.

Felicia, an 11-year-old New Jersey girl, took her own life after complaining about bullying (Facebook)

Felicia had been suffering horrid bullying at her school, and her mum had previously contacted another student's parent to ask them to help stop it.

Once, Felicia reportedly punched one student who told her to "unalive" herself, Fox reported.

Her dad, NJ Transit Detective Alexis Melendez, had also died recently from cancer.

In the email that Felicia LoAlbo-Melendez wrote to school officials, she suggested the idea of a "Trama (sic) club" instead of a drama club, where students could have a safe place to let out all their feelings and emotions.

She wrote, "Trama (sic) is not a light subject to talk about, but I believe that having somewhere that people can go to, destress and let out all of their feelings and emotions."

She also offered to help and provide as much as she could if the school accepted her idea.

Felicia expressed hope that her idea would be implemented and added, "I for one have heard from my friends and others about things that have happened to them and I think this would be a fantastic thing."

Felicia died shortly after the death of her dad, NJ Transit Detective Alexis Melendez, from cancer (Facebook)

Her mum, Elaina LoAlbo, has alleged that the school tried to cover up the bullying and has demanded to see security footage to prove her daughter was alone at the time of her death.

Elaina told Fox News Digital: "My daughter has been advocating against bullying since kindergarten, when she was told to color herself with a brown crayon.

"My daughter believed she was golden. That Mommy was white and Daddy was brown. … She started standing up for herself and others since then."

Elaina shared an audio recording from 2021 that she found in Felicia's mobile phone. The message hears her advised being nice to everyone and she says: "Don't be a bully."

School officials have denied the cover-up allegations and have said they fully cooperated with the investigation, including providing surveillance footage and documents related to the case.

The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office has said that the footage will be released to LoAlbo soon.

Felicia's mother believes the school is trying to cover something up (Facebook)

The school district has provided support to students and staff to help them grieve the loss of Felicia.

Robert Mungo, superintendent of the Mount Holly Township School District, told Fox News Digital: "Our district suffered a loss, which continues to weigh heavily on the school community.

"School counselors and administrators, with the support of the Burlington County School Crisis Response Team, have and will continue to increase outreach to students and staff and are prepared to aid them in processing this latest information as they continue to grieve.

"We remain focused on strengthening our support system for students, especially regarding their social and emotional well-being. Beyond that, we are committed to a culture that involves our entire school community in making our schools safe and secure for every student."

In the US,if you or someone you know needs help, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

In the UK, the Samaritans is available 24/7 if you need to talk. You can contact them for free by calling 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or head to the website to find your nearest branch. You matter.

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