Tragedy of girl who secretly browsed anorexia websites: Mother's warning after suicide of teen with everything to live for

• Elle Holmes had been battling 'hidden demons' and visited 'pro ana' sites
• The controversial sites encourage eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia
• Her mother Leigh Holmes is trying to release a song Elle wrote before death
• The 15-year-old was in Beijing at the time of death where inquest was held

By Rosie Taylor

Published: 08:33 EST, 3 August 2014 | Updated: 18:42 EST, 3 August 2014

To those around her Eleanor Holmes was a brilliant schoolgirl and talented musician with everything to live for.

But she was secretly battling inner demons – and the only clue to what was troubling her so deeply came in a haunting song she wrote about a girl’s hidden worries about her looks.

Shortly after writing the song Eleanor, 15, killed herself, tormented by pressures to be thinner and prettier and to get on with all her friends.

Scroll down for video

Elle Holmes, 15, took her own life after pressures to be thinner and prettier and to get on with her friends

Leigh Holmes (centre) whose teenage daughter Elle (left) died after a tragic accident has revealed that her daughter had been visiting pro-anorexia websites before her death

The lyrics of the song Mirror, Mirror include the lines: ‘Mirror mirror don’t you see, What you show her is deadly, You killed that little girl.’

Her family had no idea anything  was wrong and say she must have  suddenly felt overwhelmed by her worries and snapped.

After her death they discovered that she had secretly browsed sick ‘pro-ana’ websites – which promote anorexia and bulimia – and had made herself sick after eating and had self-harmed in the days before her death on May 26.

Eleanor’s mother Leigh, 40, said her daughter had shown ‘no sign’ of depression and was filmed laughing in a family video hours before she died.

‘I don’t know why my loved, brilliant, popular, talented, funny baby made that decision,’ said Mrs Holmes, a teacher at an international school in China. ‘She left no note. She said nothing to the little brother she adored. No word to her boyfriend, or her close inner circle of friends.

‘There was no long-suffering depression, or slow descent into despair. The spiral into darkness seemed to occur over just a few short hours as her mind became overwhelmed and she simply snapped.’

'Mirror, Mirror' - by Elle Holmes

She added it was only through ‘forensically mining’ her daughter’s computer she discovered her hidden concerns.

‘Her secret internet history revealed many of the pressures of modern life, a desire to be skinnier, prettier, have different hair. There were secret accounts on pro-ana websites,’ she said.

Eleanor was a star student with dreams of becoming a child psychologist. She had taken GCSEs a year early, was captain of her school’s swimming, netball and football teams, played three instruments and had volunteered helping orphans in Tanzania.

She wrote and performed her own songs, often accompanied on the drums by brother Oliver, 13. Among them was Mirror, Mirror. On the night of her death, Eleanor – who was also known as Elle – received texts with a Gothic-style image of skulls and nooses from a friend and sent texts asking whether another friend whom she had fallen out with had ‘given up on her’.

Mrs Holmes said: ‘Elle appears to have started becoming distressed and began texting a friend, a blameless young artist who also was exploring her own demons, who could not have known the state of mind Elle was in from such short digital messages, carrying none of the nuance or body language of a real conversation.

‘We can only imagine what dark tunnels Elle’s mind took her down from there onwards, but roughly two hours later, my wonderful baby died – leaving me heartbroken.’

Elle loved to sing and recorded a track called Mirror Mirorr which the family hopes will become a world wide hit

Elle Holmes, from Bootle, Merseyside, had also been self-harming, covering her injuries with chunky accessories, her mother revealed. She was in Beijing at the time of her death

Before she died in May, Elle recorded a song that Ms Holmes now wants to share to bring hope to other youngsters struggling across the world and raise funds for teens in crisis

Mrs Holmes added: ‘Elle was a dream child: funny, mischievous, caring about her family, committed and openly loving to her mum and her little brother. But, clearly, she did have hidden demons.

‘If this could happen to my kid, it could happen to anyone.’

The family live in China because Mrs Holmes works at the British School of Beijing but are originally from Bootle, Liverpool. A Chinese inquest found the cause of death to be asphyxiation.

Mrs Holmes is now in talks with singer Anita Prime from New Zealand to record a version of Mirror, Mirror to help support girls struggling with their body image.

The record will raise money for teenage mental health charity Papyrus. To donate in Eleanor’s memory visit: www.elleaholmes.com.

Family friend Sheree Brown wrote a blog warning parents of the dangers of technology, especially in teenagers’ rooms at night.

She said: ‘Mobile devices and the such allow too much into what should be their “safe place”.’

■For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 08457909090, visit a local Samaritans branch or go to www.samaritans.org.

■For support and advice on battling eating disorders, contact b-eat: For the Adult Helpline, call 0845 634 1414. For the Youthline, please call 0845 634 7650. There is also a Youthline email service at fyp@b-eat.co.uk

 

What is anorexia? Howcast describes diagnostic criteria

Comments (37)

Share what you think

• Newest
• Oldest
• Best rated
• Worst rated

 View all

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

Enter your comment

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Submit Comment Clear

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now