The grieving family of young mum Tarsha Golightly gathered to say a final goodbye on Friday afternoon, two and a half weeks after the troubled 18-year-old was found dead outside her cell at a notorious women’s prison.

Her parents, teenagers themselves when Tarsha was born, joined friends and relatives at Geelong Crematorium to remember the girl whose short life had been marked by turmoil, addiction and time in the care system – before her death on July 27 at Melbourne’s Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.

Her white coffin, topped with an elaborate arrangement of red roses, was carried into the chapel by four pallbearers as Dani and Lizzy’s Dancing in the Sky, a song often played at the funerals of young people, filled the chapel.

The service was held at the crematorium’s memorial gardens in Armstrong Creek, about 11 kilometres south of Geelong’s CBD.

The funeral began with a selection of classic anthems, including More Than Words, Man in the Mirror, Drops of Jupiter and Every Breath You Take.

The service was led by a funeral director who acknowledged the difficult path Tarsha had walked during her short life.

‘Today we remember Tarsha with open hearts and honest minds. We will not pretend that her journey was simple,’ she said.

‘Her path was often turbulent, marked by steep hills, sharp corners and friction with the world around her. There were fractures in relationships and struggles that brought her into conflict with society.’

Friends were invited to leave messages and cards on the coffin as Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U played.

‘I’m sure you’ll agree that nothing and no one compared to Tarsha,’ the funeral director said.

Mourners were told of the difficult circumstances surrounding her birth in January 2008 and early childhood.

‘Her entrance to the world was medically difficult,’ the funeral director said, explaining that she spent several weeks in hospital, including three weeks at the Royal Children’s Hospital, before her parents, Robert Golightly and Tanya Wells, could take her home.

At age four, she was diagnosed with ADHD.

Her childhood was later marked by instability and time in the care system, with Tarsha removed from her mother’s custody when she was 11.

But the funeral director said there had still been many happy memories for her family to hold onto.

‘Although Tarsha had been removed from her mother’s care when just 11 years old, there were still a lot of happy times that both her parents Rob and Tanya will no doubt hold close to their hearts, as you all will too,’ she said.

The last four years of Tarsha’s life were described as particularly turbulent.

‘At age 16, Tarsha gave birth to a son,’ the funeral director said, adding that, ‘although she was not able to raise him herself, he remains with family’, in the care of a relative whose identity the Daily Mail has chosen not to disclose.

‘As the years go on, I’m sure he will be told about the very many good aspects of his mum’s short life,’ she added.

Her father, Rob, delivered an emotional eulogy, sharing memories of his daughter’s life and thanking mourners for their support.

The funeral director also read a eulogy written by Tarsha’s mother, Tanya, who described herself as her daughter’s ‘incredibly proud parent’.

Tanya said 18 years was far too short, but described the way her daughter lived as ‘magnificent’.

She said Tarsha never wasted time trying to fit in, and instead lived authentically, deeply loving and being deeply loved.

She said her daughter remained true to herself until the very end, before concluding with a final message to her: ‘To my beautiful girl Tarsha, you are free now. No boundaries, no rules, just pure freedom to fly and sing as loud as you want.’

The funeral concluded with a poignant reading titled If I Had a Voice, reflecting on Tarsha’s struggles and her search for peace.

It was followed by a photo montage of a young, blonde Tarsha alongside friends and family, set to her favourite song, Zombie by The Cranberries.

For a teenager whose final months had been marked by escalating drug use, instability and a series of increasingly troubling social media posts, the images offered a starkly different portrait of the girl her family knew and loved.

As Tarsha was laid to rest, the Daily Mail uncovered details of the serious charges she was facing at the time of her death, as well as the fact she had been remanded in custody after her bail was revoked.

She was also due to face court on July 28, but died the day before she was scheduled to answer the allegations.

Tarsha had been in prison for less than a week when she died, having been remanded in custody at the high-security facility following a suspected bail breach on July 22.

Court documents show she faced charges including theft, criminal damage by arson, aggravated burglary and breaching a Family Violence Intervention Order by allegedly contacting or approaching a protected person in defiance of the order.

The most serious allegations stem from an alleged arson in Norlane on May 1 and an aggravated burglary in Corio the following day – both Housing Commission hubs in Geelong’s northern suburbs – with the burglary charge alleging that a person’s life was endangered.

Tarsha was arrested on May 5 and granted bail the following day. Her bail lasted for about two and a half months before she returned to custody, with a court date set for six days later, on July 28.

According to court documents, it was her first time in custody.

The documents also state that Tarsha had an acquired brain injury and an intellectual disability and was withdrawing from drugs while on remand.

Dame Phyllis Frost Centre is one of Victoria’s maximum-security women’s prisons and has housed some of the state’s most notorious inmates.

Among them is convicted triple-murderer Erin Patterson, who is serving a minimum 33-year sentence after being found guilty of murdering three people and attempting to murder another with a meal containing death cap mushrooms.

Patterson was previously held in prolonged isolation at the prison because of the risk posed by other inmates, but reports in May this year said she had since been moved out of solitary confinement and into the general prison population.

Other high-profile prisoners to have spent time at the centre include underworld matriarch Judy Moran and convicted child sexual offender Malka Leifer.

Melbourne ‘meth queen’ Tess Rowlatt was also held at the prison before she was granted bail last month.

Four months before her death, Tarsha had shared a photo on Facebook of her legs bearing the words: ‘They’ll miss me when I’m gone.’

The post was accompanied by the caption: ‘What’s the point of being here if no one gives two [expletive] about yah.’

She had also shared photos and video appearing to show drug use and weapons, while friends and family had expressed concerns about her escalating use of marijuana and methamphetamine.

One Facebook friend said they feared she was experiencing drug-induced psychosis.

Meanwhile, Tarsha’s death has also raised fresh questions about conditions inside the troubled facility, which has been subject to repeated lockdowns.

The prison has faced scrutiny over rolling lockdowns, with previous reporting revealing more than 100 lockdowns since July 2024 and former prisoners describing periods in which women were confined to their cells for extended periods.

It remains unclear what prompted the lockdowns in the days before Tarsha’s death or whether they had any connection to her death.

There is also no suggestion that any other inmate was involved in her death.

Her death is now being investigated by the coroner and workplace authorities.