HER FAMILY BEGGED HER TO GET HELP… THEN CAME THE NEWS THEY FEARED MOST..! – EEN MUM’S HAUNTING FINAL POST EMERGES AFTER SHE D OUTSIDE HER CELL AT A FEARED WOMEN’S PRISON AS UNSEEN PHOTOS AND VIDEOS REVEAL HER SHOCKING DECLINE AND FAMILY’S DESPERATE PLEAS FOR HER TO GET HELP.
Tarsha Golightly was a teenage mother who had spent much of her young life in the care system, battled drug addiction and lost custody of her own child – before her life came to a devastating end.
By 18, the Geelong teen had already endured more hardship than many people face in a lifetime.
She never had the chance to turn her life around. Any hope of redemption was extinguished last month when she was found dead outside her cell at Melbourne‘s maximum-security women’s prison, the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, on July 27.
Her death is not being treated as suspicious, but will be the subject of both a coronial investigation and a workplace investigation.
The Daily Mail has sought clarification from police and corrections about the charges she faced and why, at just 18, she was incarcerated in a prison that houses some of the state’s most hardened offenders and prisoners awaiting trial.
Dame Phyllis Frost Centre is home to infamous mushroom killer Erin Patterson – who, according to a well-placed legal source, is ‘running the joint’ after being released from solitary confinement earlier this year.
‘Shrewd and conniving’ Patterson, the insider revealed, had ‘teamed up with a second inmate… and now run the prison’.
Other high-profile inmates have included underworld matriarch Judy Moran; former ultra-Orthodox school principal and convicted child sex offender Malka Leifer; and, until she was granted bail last month, Melbourne ‘meth queen’ Tess Rowlatt.
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Tarsha Golightly endured more hardship than many people face in a lifetime
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The 18-year-old mother became unrecognisable in the year before her death
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Just four months before her death, the teenager shared a chilling photograph of her legs bearing the words: ‘They’ll miss me when I’m gone’.
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Whether Tarsha had any contact with those inmates remains unclear, and there is no suggestion any were connected to her death.
Tarsha’s short life was marked by escalating drug use, instability and a series of truly shocking social media posts that charted her downward spiral in the months before she was jailed.
Just four months before her death, the teenager shared a chilling photo of her legs bearing the words: ‘They’ll miss me when I’m gone.’
The post was accompanied by an equally bleak caption: ‘What’s the point of being here if no one gives two f*cks about yah.’
Her parents, Robert Golightly and Tanya Wells, were teenagers themselves when they had her, and Tarsha would later spend time in care.
A chaotic childhood saw Victoria Police issue an alert for the then 12-year-old when she went missing in 2020.
She would later lose custody of her own child after becoming pregnant at just 17.
Before entering custody, Ms Golightly chronicled her increasingly erratic life on social media.
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Tarsha’s short life was marked by drug use and a series of disturbing social media posts that offered a glimpse into her spiralling circumstances in the lead-up to her fateful incarceration
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A bong and ice pipe are seen alongside a child’s backpack in this unsettling photo
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‘Getting high’: She regularly posted photos of drugs and drug paraphernalia
Harrowing footage shared online appeared to show the teenager posing with weapons, including what appears to be a firearm, while behind the wheel of a car.
Other vision showed her smoking from a meth pipe during her pregnancy.
In one post, she posed with what appeared to be a battle axe.
Friends and family had reportedly long been concerned about her escalating drug use, including marijuana and methamphetamine.
Commenting below a video Tarsha shared to social media in May, a family member appeared to confront her over her dependence.
‘No, this is called drug psychosis,’ they wrote.
‘Go wash that crap off your eyes, you look horrible. Have a shower, freshen up. We would all like to see a photo of you not with that s*** all over your body and off your guts on drugs.’
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Tarsha is pictured as a baby with her parents, Robert and Tanya
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A young Tarsha is pictured with her father
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Tarsha, as a child, is hugged by her mother, who was a teenager herself when she had her
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Commenting below a video Tarsha shared to social media in May, a family member appeared to confront her over her drug use: ‘No, this is called drug psychosis’
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Tarsha’s death will be the subject of a coroner’s report
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Dame Phyllis Frost Centre is home to infamous mushroom killer Erin Patterson – who, according to a well-placed legal source, is ‘running the joint’ after being released from solitary
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Ultra-Orthodox Jewish former school principal and convicted paedophile Malka Leifer (right) is serving time alongside Patterson at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre
Tarsha often posted images appearing to show her using a meth pipe and smoking from a glass bong, alongside photos of drug paraphernalia, including a torch lighter.
One worrying post appeared to show a needle embedded in a wall, although it is unclear if she was ever an intravenous drug user.
The social media trail paints a picture of a teenager whose drug use and increasingly volatile lifestyle had become public in the months before her death, seemingly indifferent to the concerns of family members and the image she projected online.
One sad post showed her dancing alone on her 18th birthday.
Later, she shared a photo of herself wearing a tracksuit, slingback heels and socks, cigarette in hand, captioning it: ‘Happy 18th, just having a fag. Happy that I can go pokies now.’
Now, questions are being raised about her final days inside Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.
The circumstances surrounding her death are the subject of scrutiny amid reports inmates had been subjected to several days of lockdown before she died.
Several former prisoners have reportedly raised concerns about the lockdowns, which can be triggered by a range of incidents, including security concerns, staff shortages and self-harm attempts.
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Tarsha’s social media posts showed her with demonic-looking eyes towards the end of her life
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‘Go wash that crap off your eyes, you look horrible,’ commented a family member below one of Tarsha’s posts about a year ago
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A Facebook friend commented ‘are you pregnant again?’ below this image. It’s unclear if Tarsha welcomed a second child
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One of Tarsha’s posts showed $50 bills
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The circumstances surrounding her death are the subject of scrutiny amid reports inmates at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre had been subjected to several days of lockdown before she died
It remains unclear what prompted the lockdowns at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in the lead-up to Tarsha’s death or whether they had any connection to Ms Golightly’s death.
It is also unclear what happened in the hours immediately before she was found outside her cell.
News.com.au reported that prisoners had been kept on lockdown for several days before Ms Golightly was found dead.
During a lockdown, prisoners can be confined to their cells for up to 23 hours a day, depending on the circumstances.
If you or someone you know is in need of support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.
