Melinda Coleman, Mother of Audrie and Daisy's Daisy Coleman, Has Died By Suicide 4 Months After Her Daughter

Melinda Coleman, whose daughter Daisy was the subject of the Netflix documentary Audrie and Daisy, died by suicide on December 6, just four months after her daughter died the same way. She was 58.

Melinda also appeared in Audrie and Daisy, a documentary which followed the aftermath of the prolonged attack on Daisy that began when 17-year-old Matthew Barnett—the grandson of former Republican state representative Rex Barnett—allegedly raped the heavily intoxicated then-14-year-old while friends filmed the assault and then dumped her unconscious body on her lawn in freezing temperatures. As authorities failed to properly investigate the crime, or even acknowledge that a crime occurred, the town of Maryville, Missouri, turned on the Coleman family, and the Colemans’ home was burned down. In August, Daisy Coleman had filed a harassment complaint against a stalker (unconnected to the Maryville rape) in the hours before her suicide.

Additionally, Melinda Coleman’s son, Tristan, died in a car wreck in 2018, just as her husband did when Daisy was a child. She is survived by two sons, Logan and Charlie. In addition to being a veterinarian, Coleman also worked as an advocate for victims of sexual assault for SafeBAE, a sexual assault prevention group founded by Daisy:

“The bottomless grief of losing her husband, Tristan, and Daisy was more than she could face most days,” a statement from SafeBAE posted to Instagram read. “Melinda was a gifted veterinarian, devoted mother and wife, and talented body builder. More than anything, she loved and believed in her children.”