Trolls torment mother by posing as her 13-year-old son who killed himself after being bullied
Tyrone Unsworth's family has been repeatedly targeted since the 13-year-old killed himself
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The family of a 13-year-old boy who killed himself after he was bullied for being gay has been subjected to online abuse.
Tyrone Unsworth, from Brisbane in Australia, killed himself last week after he was routinely victimised.
But despite his death, bullies have pursued the Unsworth family, posting offensive messages on social media sites.
Abusive messages have appeared on fake Facebook profiles under Tyrone’s name.
“You have no bloody right doing this,” wrote his mother Amanda in response to the messages.
“Our son is dead and you still want to bully him, grow up you pathetic little bastards.”
When confronted by a concerned woman on Facebook, the unknown abuser replied that their “issue” with Tyrone was that “he is a f**”.
Another abusive Facebook profile was shut down after concerned friends led a social media campaign. However, the abuse has continued.
In another exchange a Facebook user replied to an abusive message from a fake account saying they had reported the user’s IP address to Australian federal police.
“I’m tough”, they responded. “I don’t give a f***.”
They also posted a picture in which they are seen holding a toy gun.
Ms Unsworth also replied to one message, saying “how about you come and have a look at my son’s dead body and other kids that take their lives.”
To which the fake account responded: “I’ve already seen dead bodies before I don’t care.”
Ron Van Houwelingen, one of the organisers of vigil which will be held for Tyrone in Melbourne tomorrow, told Mail Online: “Initially my heart also went out to Tyrone's tormentors - imagining that they would have to learn to live with the fact that they drove him to the point of feeling that there was no other option than taking his own life.
“After hearing that the bullies are trolling the family, I am absolutely devastated for them, a family still clearly deep in grief.
“As a society we need to do better. We need to ensure that schools are a safe space for all children.
'”e need to combat bullying, particularly for LGBTI and indigenous youth. We need (the) Safe Schools (program) and we need there everywhere.”
Speaking to Australia’s Courier Mail last week, Ms Unsworth said her son had killed himself after bullies had driven Tyrone “to the edge”.
She said: “He was a really feminine male, he loved fashion, he loved make-up and the boys always picked on him, calling him gay-boy, f****t, fairy.”
Friends have raised over $20,000 for the funeral which will go ahead on Thursday.