Australian actress, Clare McCann has shared the heartbreaking news of her 13-year-old son Atreyu’s death by suicide, following what she described as months of relentless bullying.
In a deeply emotional plea to the public, McCann is now urgently seeking to raise $200,000 to cryogenically preserve her son’s body—a wish he expressed during their many conversations about the future.
In a statement on social media, McCann said Atreyu had taken his life last Friday, and she is now racing against time to fulfill his desire for cryopreservation, a procedure she hopes could one day offer him another chance at life.
“All I really need to say is how much I really need these funds to give my son what he wanted,” she said. “About six or seven years ago, we started talking about the afterlife and heaven. I mentioned cryogenics, and he told me he would like to do that.”
According to McCann, cryogenics became a shared dream between mother and son—an idea they often imagined together. “We talked about maybe being revived in a future so advanced that people could breathe underwater with dolphins or live on another planet. It was our thing. We dreamt about it so much.”
She described Atreyu as the “brightest light” in her world—kind, creative, and deeply loved. Her grief-stricken post drew widespread sympathy from her 62,000 followers as she asked for support in honoring her son’s wishes.
The online fundraiser, launched shortly after her announcement, states that without the necessary funds, the opportunity to preserve Atreyu’s body and potentially revive him in the distant future will be lost forever. At the time of writing, only a small fraction of the $200,000 goal had been raised.
McCann said every dollar contributed would go toward the cryopreservation process, including legal and medical fees, transportation, and the creation of a trust in Atreyu’s name. Surplus funds, she added, would support anti-bullying education and advocacy efforts to help prevent other children from suffering similar fates.
McCann revealed that Atreyu began experiencing severe bullying the day he started high school on February 7, having previously been homeschooled. “It was just relentless. He started to withdraw. He wouldn’t speak to me about everything, but I was still advocating for him every day.”
Despite her repeated formal complaints to the school, the Department of Education, and other relevant authorities, she says no meaningful action was taken. She shared medical records, including a confirmed PTSD diagnosis, but said her pleas for help were ignored.
“He was just 13. He deserved a future. If the school and government had acted when I asked, he might still be alive,” she said. “The school system fails children. The only comfort I can find right now is that this must have been our purpose.”
She also described the current system as broken, saying, “They wouldn’t expel or suspend anyone. It’s wrong when there are so many incidents in schools. This horrible system of bullying is causing so much tragedy.”
Authorities have expressed sympathy for the family, with officials confirming that counseling and other forms of support are being offered to affected students and staff.
McCann, known for her roles in “Blog Party” and “Clublife” and her work with the Sydney International Women’s Film Festival, often appeared on the red carpet with her son. In her Instagram posts, she described his death as her “worst nightmare.”
“It breaks my heart beyond what words can compare to share that in a moment of unbearable pain, Atreyu took his own life. This was not his fault,” she wrote. “He suffered horrendous amounts of bullying. Please help me preserve his life.”
