Check out our latest products
TRIGGER WARNING: This article could be confronting to some.
Robyn Goldie was a lively young girl with a bright future ahead of her. However, her life took a devastating turn when she became seriously unwell. While watching television, Robyn’s health deteriorated. Unfortunately, her mother, Sharon, did not take seriously the severity of her condition, thinking Robyn was exaggerating her symptoms. As a result, Robyn didn’t receive the help she desperately needed.
While her mother was out drinking with friends, Robyn succumbed to her condition and passed away while watching Tipping Point on TV, all alone.
A Little Girl’s Cries For Help
On the day she died, Robyn Goldie told her mum she wasn’t feeling well, but her mum brushed it off, thinking she was just being dramatic or looking for attention. This left Robyn feeling scared and alone, leading to a heartbreaking outcome.
“I told her only people with heart attacks need ambulances and I didn’t think it was a hospital job. I thought it was a stomach bug and paracetamol and ibuprofen would be what the doctor would give her,” her mother said during a fatal accident inquiry.
July 24: Robyn was pale and visibly shaking.
July 25: Sharon prevented Robyn from receiving care after a friend offered to drive the teen to the hospital. The teen was begging for help, saying she couldn’t breathe but her mother came outside and intervened.
July 26: Robyn was gone.
After returning from a night at the pub, Sharon saw her daughter slumped on the sofa. She then sat in her garden, drinking with a friend, while Robyn’s health deteriorated. Tragically, instead of receiving the medical attention she needed, Robyn remained on the couch, feeling increasingly desperate and isolated.
Her mum’s friend Jim Duffy checked in on the teen to discover she wasn’t breathing, and rigor mortis had begun to set in. Robyn had succumbed to a perforated duodenal ulcer as a result of a peritonitis infection of her stomach.
Inquiry Revelations
Sadly, this incident wasn’t the first awful thing Robyn had experienced. The inquiry revealed Robyn’s life was far from idyllic.
Robyn’s mum has allegedly failed to provide her daughter with adequate food, clothing, and heating. She was accused of hitting her daughter and allowing her to drink alcohol and smoke cannabis. Robyn had been exposed to unhygienic conditions, including cat urine, faeces, and fleas.
The inquiry claims Sharon prevented Robyn from reporting a sexual assault by telling her she “would be examined by doctors, have a lot to do with the court and the press would then get involved and it would follow her about all of her life.”
The inquiry also learned that Sharon often exposed 13-year-old Robyn to her sex life by removing Robyn’s bedroom door.
Pleading guilty to wilful ill-treatment and neglect, Robyn’s mother was jailed for three years and six months.
At Goldie’s sentencing, Lord Beckett said:
“Your daughter was in pain that afternoon, you gave her a painkiller and went to the pub. By the time you came home, she was slumped on the sofa, but you and your friend went into the garden to have a drink because the weather was nice. She was dead an hour later.”
Let Down By The System
It was discovered that social workers showed a “lack of urgency” in addressing the worsening issues at the family home. Instead of prioritising the need for proper parental care, they attempted to help Robyn “achieve her own safety.”
After living with her grandmother for eight years, Robyn was returned to her mother.
Maggie Mellon, 70, an independent social worker involved in the case, said: “The biggest question was whether she could safely stay in her mother’s care, and it was thought she could be made safe through advice and guidance.”
Robyn Goldie’s tragic story is a heartbreaking reminder of the critical importance of listening to children and recognising their needs. Her vibrant spirit was silenced far too soon due to a series of failures—both personal and systemic—that should never have occurred.
No child should ever feel invisible or neglected, and we must strive to create an environment where every child’s voice is heard, valued, and protected. Robyn’s memory serves as a powerful call to action for change, ensuring that no other child suffers in silence as she did.
What to read next
