'I will meet him in Valhalla': Politician’s son ends life day after telling parents about ‘evil’ abuse by relative
NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA: Former MP Jeremy Buckingham bemoaned the tragic death of his son, who allegedly ended his own life a day after revealing to his parents that he had "suffered the most evil abuse" from a relative.
The former Greens MP shared the news in a Facebook post on Friday, August 19, writing how his "beautiful golden boy" Eden had died earlier this week. The devastated father described his 23-year-old son as a "sensitive, intelligent, warrior" who had been struggling with mental health issues for years. Buckingham vowed to bring his son's alleged abuser to justice and thanked NSW Police and State Emergency Services for taking care of him. The politician said he will remember his "beautiful boy" every day and will meet him again "at the long table in Valhalla" -- referencing a majestic hall in Norse Mythology where the gods reside.
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"These are the hardest, unbearable words," Buckingham wrote. "My beautiful, golden boy Eden is gone. I love him so much and can't believe I have to go on without him. Tragically he took his own life on Monday. His family and friends knew his struggle, that his mental health had been challenging since a very young age, but Eden battled hard - he was a sensitive, intelligent, warrior."
The former MP said that his son couldn't live with the shame after allegedly being abused by a relative. Eden, who had recently beaten addiction and was looking forward to the future, ended his life just a day after revealing to his parents the alleged abuse. "Eden couldn't live with his truth, telling us a day before he passed that he had suffered the most evil abuse from a relative," Buckingham continued. "His trust, faith, and hope were shattered. He couldn’t live with the secret shame and guilt, and couldn’t live with the truth revealed. He said he didn’t want to be the guy that this had happened to. It was too much for him. I understand and am not angry at him. I know why." The grieving father has since deactivated his Facebook account.
Earlier this week, law enforcement put out a missing person alert saying they had serious concerns for Eden's welfare. Speaking to the Daily Mail Australia, a police spokeswoman said his body was ultimately found near a walking track in the NSW suburb Bellingen on Wednesday, August 17, about 4 pm. "Officers from Coffs/Clarence Police District commenced inquiries to locate a man last seen at a home in Bellingen on Monday," the spox told the newspaper. "Following extensive enquiries, a man’s body was located a short distance from a walking track in Bellingen about 4 pm yesterday. A report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner."
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Buckingham served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 2011 to 2019. He was a Greens member from 2011 to 2018 but parted ways with the party in December 2018. He made a political comeback in June this year, joining the Legalise Cannabis Party and campaigning for the popular drug to be decriminalized across the country.
"In Australia, 65,000 people are arrested every year for simple Cannabis possession, tens of thousands of these and up before the courts and are fined or criminalized unnecessarily, and thousands more are put into jail wrecking their lives at great expense to the taxpayer," he said while explaining his decision to join the party. "It’s time this ended. It’s time we had a rational, data-driven debate about a sensible approach to Cannabis law reform. It’s time to legalize it. Let’s deal with this issue sensibly, create an industry of enormous benefit to our economy and farmers and free up a medicine millions of Australians use regularly," Buckingham added.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
If you or anyone you know suspects child abuse, you are urged to immediately call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential and the hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.