The saddest boy in Australia: How Riley, 16, is facing life alone after the tragic deaths of his dad, mum and four siblings: ‘It’s one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen in my life’
A 16-year-old Western Australian boy faces life alone after the deaths of his father, mother and four siblings.
Riley Bolton, described by his family as a “very shy teenager,” has suffered more heartbreak than most people do in a lifetime.
His father died last month. This followed the death of his mother from leukemia, the suicide of his two brothers, the death of his sister in a car accident and the cot death of his brother.
Riley’s relatives, from the Goreng-Noongar community in Gnowangerup, a sheep-grass town 370 kilometers south-east of Perth, have started a GoFundMe to help the teen.
After the death of Riley’s father, his family gave Daily Mail Australia permission to tell the teenager’s story and publish photos of him and his family members.
Riley’s cousin, Justyne Eades, said his situation was “extremely difficult” for someone so young.
“Not only was Riley effectively orphaned by the death of both his parents, but he also lost all four of his siblings,” Justyne said.
‘His parents lost their first child, Adam, to cot death when he was five weeks old, his six-year-old sister tragically died in a car crash in 2009 and both of his older brothers died by suicide in 2013 and 2018.
Riley (above with his grandmother Florence) is orphaned after the death of his father last month, which follows that of his mother, three brothers and his sister
Riley Bolton’s father, Duane Bradley Mourish Snr (above) died, leaving the 16-year-old teenager without any immediate family members
“It is impossible to describe the immense grief Riley has endured thus far in his young life.
‘Riley is a young man of few words, but he shares many of the traits of his late mother and sister. He is a beautiful soul with a bright smile, just like his mother’s, if you are lucky enough to catch one.’
Under the caption ‘Please support Riley in his hour of need’, Justyne Eades wrote: ‘With permission from Riley, we were asked to create this GoFundMe to raise much-needed funds to help him contribute to his late father’s funeral expenses.
“As an older cousin, I am hopeful that our wider family and community will be willing to assist Riley, by making a donation, to contribute to the funeral of his beloved father.”
The family’s misfortune began in August 1989 when baby Adam Lee Bolton died and was buried at Gnowangerup Cemetery.
Riley’s mother Trina (above left) died in 2017, followed five weeks later by her son Duane Jr (above right). Regan (bottom left) took his own life in 2013 at the age of 19, and six-year-old sister Janaya (bottom right) died in a car accident in 2009
Riley (above, right) has endured tragedies in his family from a very young age
A grave in Gnowangerup Cemetery for three members of the family: Adam, who died of cot death in 1989, Janaya who died in a car accident exactly twenty years later, and Regan, who took his own life in 2013
According to Riley’s aunt, Carleen Eades, Adam’s parents Trina and Duane Mourish Snr had more sons, Duane Jnr, and Regan, a girl, Janaya, and Riley.
Tragedy struck again on the twentieth anniversary of Adam’s death from cot death.
In 2009, their father, Duane Bradley Mourish Snr, was driving back to Gnowangerup from Albany when his car was involved in an accident in the Stirling Ranges, and Janaya died.
Riley’s grandmother, Florence, later revealed to the ABC that the older brothers ‘weren’t given enough guidance’ after their sister’s death for their grief and in 2013 Regan took his own life.
Regan was under “stress due to an upcoming court case” and Carleen Eades said that for years after Janaya’s death he “felt responsible and couldn’t live with himself.”
The day after he returned from court in Albany, Regan took his own life.
“He was only 19,” Carleen said, “then Trina was diagnosed with leukemia in 2015… and passed away in 2017 at the age of 46.”
Riley is now a shy teenager of ‘very few words’, but according to his cousin, has had a love for motorcycles from a very young age
Riley (above) ‘takes many of the traits of his late mother and sister. A beautiful soul with a bright smile, just like his mother’s, if you are lucky enough to catch one’
Family friend, local councilor and Indigenous mental health campaigner Robbie Miniter OAM said that on the same day Riley’s mother was buried in December 2017, the boy’s grandfather, James, died of a heart attack.
“It’s one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen in my life,” Mr Miniter said of the series of deaths in the Bolton-Mourish family.
Five weeks after Trina’s death, Carleen said Riley’s older brother Duane Jr. took his own life at the age of 27 because “he couldn’t live without his mother, they were very close.”
Riley went to live with Florence after Trina’s death, with Carleen saying his father Duane Snr “became homeless, and then I think he got lung cancer.”
Robbie Miniter told Daily Mail Australia that Duane Mourish Snr most likely died ‘of a broken heart’.
“I don’t think he ever came to terms with his daughter’s death, and they lost quite a bit of family,” Mr Miniter said.
The graves of Riley’s mother Trina (left) and his brother Duane Jr, who died within five weeks of each other, in the grounds of Gnowangerup Cemetery, southern Western Australia
Duane Bradley Bolton-Mourish took his own life five weeks after his mother’s death, with his aunt saying ‘family member after family member was lost’ to tragedy or trauma
Mr Miniter said despite starting his own mentoring business with his own resources, there was still a large gap in mental health care in Gnowangerup with needs he could not afford.
“I’ve worked in local government and sports development for 20 years, working with communities and trying to break the cycle of alcohol and drug use, and I’m trying to bring together a forum,” he said.
Carleen Eades said the trauma of loss in Riley’s family and the lack of services in the Great Southern Region of Western Australia had likely contributed to the deaths of his older brothers.
“Every time his family lost someone, there was a growing anger and guilt that tore them apart and they couldn’t cope,” she said.
“The older they got, it seemed like family member after family member was lost.
“We have four boys in our immediate family who committed suicide, including my son.
Riley Bolton, pictured a few years ago with his father Duane Sr, who recently died leaving the teen without any immediate family
‘Men feel that they should be strong and that they should be ashamed if they have to go to therapy, and because they are adults you can’t insist on that.
“They say, ‘I’m fine,’ and we miss the signs. To my son he just said, “I’m tired, Mom.”
“The trauma runs across generations and we feel with Riley that he is suffering from trauma.”
Justyne said Riley “adores his grandmother” Florence, “and has an absolute love for motorcycles that has been present from a very young age.”
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