Perth ballerina starved by her parents as a teen insists she’s not a victim

Perth ballerina starved by her parents as a teen insists she’s not a victim

At a sentencing hearing for her parents yesterday, the court heard the now-20-year-old emailed the judge a day earlier, taking blame for their predicament.

Lawyers for the Floreat couple blame mental illness for their offending, which saw their daughter on the brink of death.

Starving trial
The Perth ballerina who was starved by her parents as a teenager insists she’s not a victim and made her own choices about what she ate. (9News)

“Before this situation occurred I lived a quiet life as a child should … I want my life back, but I know this won’t happen,” the victim said in her statement.

“This case will haunt me forever.”

In another letter sent to the judge in July, the daughter insisted she was not a victim and made her own choices about her diet.

She blamed herself for what her parents were going through, while also taking aim at the media and authorities.

Judge Linda Black yesterday said the ballerina was not blaming the two people she should be, adding she’d never seen a case like this.

Starving trial
The parents were found guilty of neglecting their daughter as a teenager after a five-week trial in November. (9News)

The parents were found guilty of neglecting their daughter as a teenager after a five-week trial in November.

Dance teachers concerned about her weight raised the alarm, with the victim eventually admitted to hospital weighing just 28 kilograms days before her 17th birthday.

Doctors said she was at risk of death.

The parents were meant to be sentenced yesterday but lengthy submissions delayed that.

Defence lawyers claimed the whole family have obsessive compulsive disorder and this was at the heart of the offending.

Starving WA ballerina
Dance teachers concerned about her weight, raising the alarm, with the victim eventually admitted to hospital weighing just 28 kilograms days before her 17th birthday. (9News)

The mother’s lawyer, Michael Parella, pushed for a suspended sentence, explaining how living with OCD would be difficult in prison, that she had recently self-harmed and would be an easy target for inmates.

While the parents didn’t acknowledge each other during the hearing, the mother spotted her daughter in the court’s public gallery, broke down in tears and waved at her.

The parents will learn their fate today.

People living with eating disorders or disordered eating, or who are concerned about themselves, or their loved ones are encouraged to contact the Butterfly Foundation Helpline on 1800 ED HOPE (1800 33 4673) or support@butterfly.org.au.

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