I buried my 14-year-old daughter after bullies drove her to suicide – then four months later I buried my wife next to her after she was killed by cancer

The father of a 14-year-old girl who killed herself after being mercilessly bullied has spoken of his grief at losing both his daughter and wife in three months.

Young Mia Janin was found dead at home in Harrow, north London, in March 2021 after being bullied by classmates, both online and at the Jewish Free School (JFS), where she was a Year 10 student.

This week, a coroner’s court ruled that she had committed suicide “while still a child and while she was still maturing” after “experiencing bullying behavior from some male students.”

Her father Mariano, an Argentinian who moved to Britain with his wife Marisa in 2001, has now spoken of the pain of burying both his daughter and his life partner months apart after she died of leukemia aged 59.

In a new interview, Mr Janin, 59, said he will never forget his wife’s “terrifying scream” when she discovered the teenager’s body – adding that he believes Mia’s death accelerated her own cancer.

Three months after Mia’s death, she was diagnosed with untreatable acute myeloid leukemia; within weeks she too was dead from a brain aneurysm.

Mia and Marisa are buried side by side in a Jewish cemetery in Israel; Mr. Janin says he can hardly believe he made the same trip to Tel Aviv twice with the bodies of his loved ones in such a short time.

He told the Telegraph: ‘I was less strong than Marisa, but Mia’s death killed her. After that she never went upstairs again. She slept on the couch and I sat with her until she fell asleep and then went to bed.”

The inquest at Barnet Coroner’s Court heard she was viciously mocked in a Snapchat group of 60 boys after posting a video on TikTok in which she defiantly told her oppressors to leave her alone.

One child who gave a statement to police, which was read out in court, said sick tormentors photographed girls’ faces in pornographic images.

Mr Janin said Mia, who had ambitions to become a doctor or architect, had struggled to integrate with others at the school and had been happier in lockdown when learning remotely.

He added that after the lockdown, she came home in a low mood and asked her parents if she could be home-schooled for the rest of the year.

The inquest later heard a ballot she had sent to a friend that evening, in which she said: ‘I am currently mentally preparing myself to be bullied tomorrow.’ Her parents found her body in her bedroom the next morning, March 12.

He recalled: ‘My wife went into the kitchen to prepare Mia’s breakfast. I was still awake when I heard Mia’s alarm go off. My wife called her. Then I heard a very terrifying scream from Marisa. It will stay with me until I close my eyes.”

Two handwritten notes were found on her bed, written on pages torn from her diary, which was also found in the bedroom.

One was addressed to her family and the other to one of her best friends.

In the note to her family she wrote: ‘I just wanted to let you know that I love you very much. I was raised well by both of you.

“I learned a lot of things, I love you all very much. But I know this decision is the right one for me.

‘On earth I have never felt connected. I felt a desire to get away for a while. I know this is a shock to you.”

She closed the note, “Please let my friends have my stuff. I love you very much.’

Bosses at JFS allegedly ‘deny’ there is bullying in the corridors, the inquest was told, but the coroner accepted evidence from the agency it said it was not aware of.

Despite this, the hearing was told that Mia and her friends were bullied at school, on the street and on the bus, hit with footballs while boys verbally abused her; her tormentors called her friendship group the “suicide squad.”

Months after her death, the school’s security was rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted inspectors, who noted that students were reporting ‘sexual bullying, including via social media’. The headteacher, Rachel Fink, left.

In 2022, it was reported that the school pulled some boys from the Snapchat group aside and told them to delete it; it denied this in a statement at the inquest.

But Mr Janin says he plans to continue campaigning to hold schools accountable for bullying in their school buildings, and to put pressure on police to take action against those accused of bullying.

At the inquest he described Mia as ‘fantastic… she was very cheerful, had a good sense of humour, she was beautiful, she was very kind, very creative.

He said that “school is not just for the curricula” and that the school must promote “clear values” of respect, adding: “Unfortunately, I am a victim of this failing system.”

To this day, no charges have been filed against Mia’s alleged tormentors and Mr. Janin says they have never shown any remorse for what they did.

When asked if he wanted to see those responsible appear in court, he told the Telegraph: ‘Yes, but this is not about revenge… They must understand for themselves what they have done. I don’t know how they will deal with this in their lifetimes.’

The Jewish Free School says changes have been made since Mia’s death.

Dr. David Moody, the school’s headteacher, said after the verdict: ‘Although I was not in office at the time of Mia’s death, I can only promise that we will continue to do everything we can to embed all the changes that have been made. introduced over the past three years.

“Mia remains a greatly missed member of our school community and our thoughts remain with the family.”