2 days ago
EXCLUSIVE Pheobe Bishop's mum has been through hell after the alleged murder of her teenage daughter. Now her life has been made even more unbearable - as her family come out on the attack
The cousin of tragic teen Pheobe Bishop has warned the family has had enough of the constant attacks by trolls and conspiracy theorists and pleaded for it to end.
Pheobe's body was found last week in remote bushland near her home in Gin Gin, close to Bundaberg in central Queensland, three weeks after she vanished.
Her former housemates, Tanika Bromley and James Wood, have now been charged with her murder and two counts each of interfering with her corpse.
But Pheobe's mum Kylie Johnson has come under fire from vile anonymous social media trolls attacking her for letting her teenage daughter to live with the couple.
'I hate how cruel people are being,' said Pheobe's cousin Whitney Woodfield in a furious blast at the online critics.
She vehemently defended Pheobe's mother and insisted she was not to blame for her the 17-year-old's death.
'I hate how I see so many people going and attacking not only Kylie, but the rest of our family,' she posted on Facebook.
'Finding ways to blame us when the blame should only be [elsewhere].
'People hide behind their fake accounts and their posts thinking they know every little thing about us, thinking their words have no impact.
'In reality, they would never say it to our faces.'
Pheobe was posted missing on May 15 after failing to check in for her trip from Bundaberg Regional Airport to Western Australia to meet her boyfriend in Perth.
Her body was found last Friday in the remote Good Night Scrub National Park, an hour outside of her hometown.
At a vigil in memory of Pheobe on Sunday evening in Gin Gin, Ms Woodfield told Daily Mail Australia that the family is 'very broken'.
'We are shocked. This has been all over the news and social media,' she said.
Some Gin Gin locals have expressed concern about why the 17-year-old was with Wood and Bromley in a home strewn with rubbish and dog faeces
One IGA worker told Daily Mail Australia she helped Pheobe buy food when she didn't have enough money, fuelling more online criticism against the teen's family.
But Ms Woodfield hit back: 'They think they're being vigilantes for Pheobe, thinking this is what they need to do.
'What they don't know is that Pheobe wouldn't have stood for this behaviour.
'She wouldn't want people to be so focused on blaming her mum, her sister and the rest of her family for this.
'And Kylie, I don't know how you do it, you are one very strong woman. I know Phee would've never blamed you.'
Ms Johnson appeared at the Sunday evening vigil and urged locals 'not to retaliate' against the accused's family and was grateful for Ms Woodfield's support.
'Phee would be livid with this [trolling and conspiracy theories],' Kylie said in reply to the post.
'We as a family know who we are.
'Whitney, Phee would be so proud of you for being so steadfast, loving and strong through this.'
At Sunday's vigil, which was attended by more than 500 people at Gin Gin's Kolan Community Park, Ms Woodfield added: 'We should not remember Pheobe for the tragic ending that she experienced.
'We should remember her for the person, the beautiful soul that she was.'
Pheobe's mum also made a heartbreaking plea to the Gin Gin community to 'respect' Bromley's family in the wake of the murder charges laid against her.
In a show of brave stoicism, Ms Johnson called on the local community to remain peaceful, and said her daughter would want people to show 'compassion'.
'I also want to remind our community - a very important reminder - and this is imperative for our family and for us to move forward in our healing,' she said.
'I know Tanika has been charged. I know her family live within our community and I expect them to receive respect... those kids mean the world to us as a family.
'They meant the world to Pheobe as a family as well. It is imperative to us, as a family, that they are supported just as much as us.
'They are hurting probably more than us, even though we have lost our child.
'But I really need you to know that Pheobe's compassion would have reached that depth.
'There is to be no anger or hate towards that family.'
Pheobe's big sister Kaylea, 18, also paid tribute to her sibling at the vigil, insisting that Pheobe had given the family a 'run for our bloody money' during her short life.
As the memorial came to an end, Kaylea urged mourners to dance: 'Because you know it's what this b***h would do,' she added.
