Daisy Coleman's Family to Start a Rehab Center for Trauma Victims

In an essay published on xoJane Monday by Melinda Coleman, the mother of the girl at the center of the closed Maryville rape case reveals further details about her daughter Daisy’s recent suicide attempt, the harassment the family has experienced and their plans to open a rehabilitation center for young people who have experienced trauma.

Since Daisy’s alleged rapist Matthew Barnett accepted a plea deal of two years probation for child endangerment, Coleman has been active on Facebook, speaking out against fake groups she says were founded under the guise of supporting their family. Coleman says these groups are really an attempt to raise money to discredit them. She’s also used her Facebook to apologize “for getting into internet arguments and for offending anyone”:

I have been so very worried about my daughter and frantic. I am sorry for being too aggressive with my verbiage to the hacker or anonymous groups as well. I am very grateful for your help. I didn’t mean to seem ungrateful. I just was so hopeful that information would come out as in Steubenville that would save the case. Again, It was the ramblings of a mother that was scared to death. Also once again, Thank you to all and I’m so sorry for anyone I hurt!

In her essay, Coleman writes that she believes that if her husband hadn’t died, none of what has happened to Daisy would have occurred. She confirms that Daisy is home from the hospital and that she attempted suicide using a combination of Benadryl and prescription drugs “she shouldn’t have gotten a hold of.” Melinda also elaborates on some of the recent harassment the family has dealt with; they’ve apparently been tracked by a private investigator who almost got Daisy in a car accident while tailing her.

As they’ve said before, the family wants to move forward. To do that, they’d like to start a rehab center on farmland that they own to “help other kids who have been affected by tragedy and trauma and work toward rehabilitating animals (my specialty as a veterinarian),” Melinda writes. “Daisy especially wants to help other kids who might be displaced in the foster system, which she was exposed to during one of her outpatient stays.” In order to help start the facility, the family is accepting donations through PayPal at [email protected]. According to Melinda, Daisy’s focus is others: “I just want to help some of these kids,” she told her mother.