Harrowing WhatsApp messages and social media posts were read out at an inquest into Semina Halliwell’s death
Semina Halliwell, 12, from Southport(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Semina Halliwell told her mum she “didn’t want to let him get away with it” after being allegedly groomed and raped by an older boy months before her death. Semina, 12, told her mum Rachel she “just wanted to forget about it” as she struggled to decide whether she wanted to report the boy.
Semina, from Southport, died at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital on June 12 2021 three days after taking an overdose of prescription tablets. It followed months of alleged harassment after she said she was taken into the woods and raped by a boy in January that year.
At the second day of her inquest at Bootle Town Hall today (January 14), a series of harrowing WhatsApp messages and social media posts made by the Y7 Stanley High School pupil in the months leading up to her death were read to the court. In them, she said: “I’m in so much pain. I just want to be happy again.”
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Speaking yesterday, Semina’s mum Rachel Halliwell said her daughter had previously been “a happy little girl (with a) big friendship group”. But this changed in 2020 around the time Semina moved from primary to secondary school, when she became “withdrawn and very sad” and started self-harming.
In March 2021, she told her mum she had been raped by an older boy in January that year. Ms Halliwell said Semina had been in contact with the boy since summer 2020, when she was just 11 years old.
WhatsApp messages between Semina and her mum, obtained by Merseyside Police after her death, were read out in court today. In an exchange on March 28 2021, the pair discussed reporting the attack to police, with Rachel saying: “I’m not pushing you to do anything. If you’re not comfortable doing it then you don’t have to, OK? I love you and I will support you whatever you want.”
Semina replied: “Yeah I know, it’s not that. I just don’t want to talk about it but I want to take it further.”
Rachel said: “OK no problem. So what would you like me to say to the police?”
Semina said: “I don’t know because I feel like I’m letting you down as well.” She added: “I don’t want to let him get away with it but at the same time I just want to forget about it, but I don’t know. I just want to forget about it.”
Further details of chat logs, pictures and videos found on Semina’s phone were read out by DS Chris Maher. These included posts made on the night of June 9 2012, when she took an overdose of pills that had been prescribed to her mum.
Ms Halliwell previously gave evidence that Semina had been bullied and harassed by multiple children, who were not Stanley High School pupils, in the months following the alleged rape. Police had visited the family’s home following another report of harassment, and Semina had gone upstairs at around 12am, saying she had “had enough”.
At 12.20am, Semina made an image which referred to feelings of not wanting to be alive, but not wishing to “end it either”. This was followed by another image one minute later which read: “At this point I have no feelings. I’m numb. I may smile and laugh every day but I’m in so much pain. I just want to be happy again. It hurts so bad.”
DS Maher also described a number of Tiktok videos made by the 12-year-old alluding to the problems in her life, including rumours that she had been “used and abused”. On the night of June 9, shortly before she was found by her mum and taken to hospital, she made a video of herself miming the words: “Now that was a lot of damage.”
A video taken at 12.16am showed the 12-year-old miming a song and crying, and another video at 00.31am showed her miming the worlds “love, love, what’s it worth? Nothing.” This was followed by another video at 00.52am, which showed “empty blister packets which appeared to be on her bed”.
She later told her mum she had taken the pills, and she was taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where she took a further three videos from her hospital bed. Her condition deteriorated and she died on June 12.
The court heard Semina had been known to children’s mental health services since November 2018 after concerns were raised about her showing signs of autism, which she was later diagnosed with. She had been in contact with practitioners on several occasions, however she did not see anyone from the service after January 2021.
A face-to-face appointment was arranged for May 11 2021, but this was cancelled due to Semina attending school on that day and no replacement appointment was made. The inquest continues.