The father of a 14-year-old girl who took her own life after being mercilessly bullied has spoken of his heartbreak at losing both his daughter and his wife in the space of 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 killed herself ‘while still a child and while still in the process of maturing into adulthood’ having ‘experienced bullying behaviour from some male students’.

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

In a new interview Mr Janin, 59, said he will never forget the ‘haunting scream’ from his wife as she discovered the teenager’s body – adding that he believes Mia’s death expedited her own from cancer.

Mariano Janin believes his daughter Mia’s suicide contributed to his wife Marisa’s death months later (pictured: Mariano, Mia and Marisa)

A coroner’s court ruled Mia had taken her own life having ‘experienced bullying behaviour from some male students’

Mariano has said in a new interview he will never forget the ‘haunting scream’ from his wife as she discovered Mia’s body in her bedroom

Mia and her mother Marisa, who was diagnosed with an untreatable form of cancer three months after her daughter’s death

Mariano, Marisa and Mia on holiday in Paris. Mariano says his wife could not bear to go upstairs in their house again after finding Mia’s body

The Jewish Free School, where Mia was a pupil. It has denied any knowledge of Mia’s bullying

She was diagnosed with untreatable acute myeloid leukemia three months after Mia died; within weeks, she too was dead after suffering a brain aneurysm.

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

He told the Telegraph: ‘I was less strong than Marisa, but Mia’s death killed her. Afterwards she never went upstairs again. She’d sleep on the sofa and I’d sit with her until she was asleep and then go up to bed.’

The inquest at Barnet Coroner’s Court heard she had been mocked viciously in a 60-boy Snapchat group 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 photoshopped girls’ faces onto pornographic images.

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

He added that she came home from her first day back post-lockdown in a low mood, and had asked her parents if she could be home-schooled for the rest of the year.

The inquest later heard a voice note she had sent to a friend that night, in which she said: ‘I’m currently mentally preparing myself to get bullied tomorrow.’ Her parents found her body in her bedroom the next morning on March 12.

He recalled: ‘My wife went down to the kitchen to prepare Mia’s breakfast. I was still waking up when I heard Mia’s alarm go off. My wife was calling her. Then I heard a very haunting scream from Marisa. It will be with me until I close my eyes.’ 

Two handwritten notes were found on her bed written on pages ripped 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 I do love you guys very much. I have been brought up well by both of you.

‘I have learned many things, I love all of you very much. However I know this decision is the right one for me.

‘On earth I never felt connected. I felt a longing to leave for a while. I know this is a shock to you.’

She concluded the note: ‘Let my friends have my things please. I love you lots.’

Mr Janin said his daughter came home from her first day of school post-lockdown and asked to be homeschooled for the rest of the year. Tragically, she was found dead the next morning

Mia with her mother Marisa. Mr Janin believes his wife’s death was expedited by the stress of her daughter’s death

Mr Janin says he has never received an apology from any of Mia’s alleged bullies

Mia had posted a defiant TikTok video in the days before her death telling her bullies to leave her alone

Bosses at JFS were said to be ‘in denial’ about bullying taking place within its corridors, the inquest was told, but the coroner accepted evidence from the institute in which it said it had not been aware.

Despite this, the hearing was told Mia and her friends were bullied at school, in the street and on the bus, struck with footballs while boys called her names; her tormentors called her friendship group the ‘suicide squad’.

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

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

But Mr Janin says he plans to continue campaigning for schools to be held accountable for bullying happening within their halls, and to pressure the police to act against those accused of bullying. 

During the inquest, he described Mia ‘fantastic… she was very bubbly, good sense of humour, she was beautiful, she was very kind, very creative.

He said that ‘school is not only for the curricula’ and that the school needed to promote ‘clear values’ of respect, adding: ‘Unfortunately, I’m a victim of this failing system.’

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

Asked if he would like to see those responsible appear in court, he told the Telegraph: ‘Yes, but this is not about revenge… They need to understand for themselves what they did. I don’t know how they will deal with this during life.’

The Jewish Free School says it has made changes since Mia’s death.

Dr David Moody, headteacher at the school, said after the ruling: ‘Whilst I was not in post at the time of Mia’s death, I can only promise that we will continue to do everything we can to embed all of the changes that have been put in place over the last three years.

‘Mia remains a hugely missed member of our school community and our thoughts continue to be with the family.’

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