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Girl's death not linked to show: mother

Reality TV series The Colony was not to blame for the suicide of teenager Carina Stephenson, her mother said.

Liz Stephenson told The Sun-Herald from her south Yorkshire home that the series, which screened earlier this year on SBS, was nothing but a positive experience for the family.

The English family was one of three chosen to spend four months recreating the life of Australia's early settlers on the Hawkesbury River last year.

Carina, 17, was found dead in woodland near the family home in Doncaster on May 21, three days after she was reported missing.

She had come out as a lesbian some weeks earlier. Police seized her computer for clues on her disappearance.

It is understood she had been frequenting suicide websites.

"I want to get all my thoughts together because there's a massive message that needs to be sent to the world," Mrs Stephenson said. "But we want to bury her first."

The Colony's cast and crew will hold a memorial service for Carina in Sydney to coincide with her funeral.

By Danielle Teutsch
May 29, 2005
The Sun-Herald