Grieving father says ‘every day is hard’ following the sudden death of his wife who ‘couldn’t cope’ four months after they lost their daughter, 14, to suicide caused by suspected cyberbullying
- Mia Janin, 14, took her own life on the first day back at school after lockdown
- Her father wants to gain access to her social media accounts for answers
- Mr Janin revealed on This Morning that his wife Marisa died 4 months after Mia
A grieving father whose teenage daughter took her own life has said ‘every day is hard’ after also losing his wife four months later.
Mariano Janin’s daughter Mia, 14, died by suicide after her first day back at the Jewish Free School in Kenton, North London after a Covid lockdown on 12 March 2021.
Her loving father, who described his daughter as ‘bubbly’, appeared on This Morning to talk about his battle to have Mia’s social media platforms unlocked.
He believes that Mia was up late online the night she passed away and suspects she was being subject to bullying.
Mariano Janin has been battling to unlock his daughter’s phone and social media accounts since she took her life in March 2021
Mr Janin described Mia as a ‘bubbly’ girl who had just been invited on a holiday to Greece with her best friend from school
Speaking to presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, Mr Janin said Mia seemed excited to go back to school and had just been invited on a summer holiday to Greece with her best friend, Evie.
But when she took her own life, he and his wife Marisa fell apart.
Mr Janin told the presenters: ‘Four months after my daughter passed away, my wife suddenly passed away as well. She couldn’t cope with it.
Marisa Janin died of cancer, which Mr Janin believes came on suddenly due to the stress she was under after Mia’s death.
‘At the moment it’s just me and my son. It’s hard every day.’
He added he is desperately searching for answers as to why his daughter died, but said he hasn’t been able to get into to her social media accounts.
‘The problem is, we need access to [her] phone,’ he said.
Mr Janin appeared on This Morning talking of his battle to unlock Mia’s phone to find out if she was being cyber-bullied
Mr Janin appeared alongside NSPCC’s Andy Burrows, who claimed social media companies are avoiding their responsibility to grieving families
Andy Burrows, head of child safety online policy at the NSPCC, said Mariano’s battle is a common problem grieving families have.
He said: ‘There’s a legal process that kicks in whereby the [tech] companies have to meet the requests for data.
‘Even though this process has ben streamlined it takes many many months it’s in the hands of lawyers in these tech companies.’
He added the Online Safety Bill, which was originally due to be voted on in the House of Commons today but has now been shelved, would have put the responsibility on social media companies to comply with requests like Mr Janin’s.
In June, the bereaved father implored parents and pupils at Mia’s school to come forward with any information that might help explain Mia’s death.
He told The Times: ‘This whole experience has been a nightmare that is too horrible to explain. Every day feels as though I am living in slow motion. Parents with information — please take it to the coroner.’
He recalled driving Mia to school the morning of the day she died, and said she was excited to go back after spending so long being homeschooled.
But when she came back home that day, Mia asked her parents if she could change schools.
Later that night and shortly before she took her own life, Mr Janin believes his daughter logged onto an app – either Houseparty or Yolo.
Today he told This Morning he believes data from Mia’s phone has finally been unlocked, but it took more than a year for the information to be released.
‘At the moment we are in the inquest process,’ he explained.
‘We have a hearing in September waiting to see what is found on the phone.’
He added the family now needs ‘closure’ about what happened to the teenager.
Mr Janin said: ‘I need to find out what’s happened with Mia and I want to know the truth.
‘Then I would like to get some justice if I can.’
Dr David Moody, headteacher of the Jewish Free School, told the programme: ‘Like the family, the school is waiting for the findings of the external investigations to be published.
‘We hope the publication will be as soon as possible.’
If you are struggling and need mental health help, you can call The Samaritans helpline which is open 24/7 on 116 123.
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