Disclaimer: This article comprises mentions of sexual assault, bullying, and suicide. Reader discretion is suggested.

Daisy Coleman, the topic of the Netflix documentary Audrie & Daisy, as soon as shared that Matthew Barnett, a senior from her highschool, allegedly raped her. According to Coleman, she was 14 when Barnett, then 17, sexually assaulted her in January 2012. The incident reportedly occurred at a home social gathering after that they had rather a lot to drink. Following this, she claimed her assaulter left her on her household’s garden in freezing temperatures. Coleman’s buddy Audrie Pott, 13, who had accompanied her that night time, was additionally raped. Pott died by suicide solely days after the alleged sexual assault.

Reportedly, as soon as Daisy Coleman opened up concerning the assault, she confronted criticism and bullying. Additionally, the county prosecutor initially dropped the fees towards Matthew Barnett and two different boys. Allegations surfaced that they dropped the case as a result of Barnett got here from a well-connected household. Then, in 2014, Barnett pleaded responsible to a lesser cost of kid endangerment. He claimed the intercourse between him and Coleman was consensual, refuting the latter’s claims that she blacked out.

Daisy Coleman and Matthew Barnett’s case gained nationwide traction earlier than Netflix’s documentary Audrie & Daisy premiered. Daisy Coleman, who had tried to kill herself a number of occasions in the course of the case, died by suicide in 2020. Her unlucky demise got here 4 years after she featured within the documentary.

What occurred between Daisy Coleman & Matthew Barnett?

According to NPR and ABC News, Matthew Barnett allegedly raped Daisy Coleman within the early hours of January 8, 2012. The proof and statements surfaced throughout a police investigation together with textual content messages and interviews with Barnett and Coleman. The latter claimed she and her 13-year-old buddy Audrie Pott have been “drinking in my bedroom without my mom’s permission that night.” She admitted to receiving a textual content from Barnett, saying, “Hey, you want to hang out?” to which she responded, “Well, I’ll have to sneak around. It’s like 1 in the morning.” 

In a textual content message the duo exchanged that night time, Matthew Barnett wrote, “U wanna come drink wit me and chill.” Daisy Coleman replied to the message, saying, “OMFG. Sweeet.” She then wrote, “Do you want me to bring alcohol [sic]?” Barnett then picked up Coleman and her buddy Audrie Pott from her home. All three then sneaked into the Barnett house together with another boys the place they consumed extra alcohol.

Later, round 5 a.m., Coleman was discovered on the porch of her household’s house. She was unconscious and had been there in sub-freezing temperatures in only a T-shirt and sweatpants for almost three hours.

Reportedly, authorities interrogated Matthew Barnett hours after the alleged sexual assault on Daisy Coleman. At the time, Barnett admitted to having a sexual encounter with Coleman however maintained it was consensual. He additionally alleged that the latter was not drunk when the intercourse occurred. However, Coleman argued that she blacked out after consuming an excessive amount of. The then-14-year-old claimed Barnett raped her earlier than leaving her within the entrance yard.

Once the case surfaced, Daisy Coleman and her household confronted harassment. Coleman’s friends bullied her at school, and she confronted cyberbullying. Due to the harassment, the Coleman household even needed to transfer, however the bullying continued. The rape survivor tried to take her life on a number of events. Moreover, within the days following the alleged sexual assault, Audrie Pott, who was additionally a rape sufferer, died by suicide.

ABC News reported that Nodaway County prosecutor Robert Rice dropped the case towards Matthew Barnett three months later. Rice claimed there was inadequate proof, however he later confronted accusations of dropping the fees due to the Barnett household’s political ties. Reportedly, Matthew Barnett is the grandson of former Missouri State Representative Rex Barnett.

Ultimately, in January 2014, Barnett pleaded responsible to a misdemeanor depend of kid endangerment. Then, Daisy Coleman appeared in Netflix’s Audrie and Daisy documentary in 2016 to additional discuss concerning the alleged rape. Four years later, she died by suicide at 23.