HEARTBROKEN mum Carole Graham has spoken for the first time about her young son’s tragic death.

She broke her silence to publicise a fundraising event she has organised to cover the costs of a headstone for son Jordan Valerio, who was 12.

The Honley High School pupil was found hanged in his bedroom at Roundway in Honley last November 30.

Speaking exclusively to the Examiner, Carole, 45, said: “I still think how am I going to live the rest of my life without him?”

Keen rugby player Jordan was discovered by his big sister Daniella, 19, on the evening of November 30 last year.

Jordan was a brown belt in karate and had used one of his belts to hang himself.

But an inquest into his death in August concluded there was not enough evidence to prove he had meant to kill himself.

And Carole is convinced his death was accidental.

She said Jordan and Daniella had argued shortly before the incident over who should take their dogs for a walk.

She believes his hanging was a practical joke that went tragically wrong.

Carole said: “I will never get any answers. I think he did what he did without realising the consequences.

“He probably went upstairs thinking ‘I’ll show her’ – as a shock tactic.”

“He was looking forward to Christmas and to his birthday in January, he was so excited.

“A friend of mine had seen him on the way home from school that night and he was as happy as could be.

“Sometimes I sit here and think about where he got the idea from – maybe he had seen the news about all those kids in Wales who had committed suicide.

“But I’m absolutely convinced he never meant to do it. We were really close and we talked a lot. There was never any indication anything was wrong.”

Home care worker Carole was working in Scholes that night when she got a call from Daniella at about 5.30pm.

“Daniella was hysterical,” she said. “All I could make out were the words ‘Jordan’, ‘ambulance’ and ‘dead’.

“I remember it so clearly. I was standing there and my legs just gave way and I ended up in a heap on the floor.

“I sat there for a good five minutes not able to move. Deep down I knew he had gone.”

Jordan had been taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary by the time she got home.

Despite efforts to revive him, he was pronounced dead that evening.

Daniella moved out of the house shortly after Jordan’s death because she was so affected by the trauma.

Carole now lives there alone.

She said: “Even now, sometimes I still look out of the window at 3.30pm expecting to see him come in from school.

“It’s like he has gone to his friend’s for a few minutes. It’s like I’m looking down on someone else going through this, it doesn’t seem real.

“The thought of never seeing him again is just unbearable.”

She said she had thought about taking her own life, but had been helped by friends and family.

She added: “You have to sink or swim, you either go under or you try to move on. Every day is difficult. You get up and it takes you ages to get going.

“I have gone through so many different emotions. You see parents who take their own lives after they lose their children and I can understand why.

“I’ve got some really good friends. I don’t know what I would do without them.”

She described her son as a popular, happy-go-lucky boy who rarely got into trouble.

The youngster played for Meltham All Blacks and was on the school basketball team.

Marsh charity The Joseph Salmon Trust, which helps families of children who have died with funeral and associated costs, have agreed to pay for a £2,000 headstone for Jordan at his grave at St George’s Church, Brockholes.

But Carole is organising a fundraising day in Honley next month to try to cover the costs.

The money will be given to the charity.

She said: “A headstone is so expensive and like most parents you don’t really make provisions for your child’s death.

“I’ve got life insurance but you don’t think about using it for your children – you don’t expect them to die before you.

“I want to be able to give the money back to The Joseph Salmon Trust and hopefully help people in my position in future.”

Rachael Salmon, who set up the trust with husband Neil when their three-year-old son, Joseph, died in 2005, said: “When Jordan’s mum contacted the trust, we were extremely saddened for her but also glad to help with the purchase of a headstone for her son, and we have often thought of her and her situation in the time since she first made contact.

“As a charity, we pay out grants, not loans, to people, and we do not have any need for the money to be paid back to us.

“Therefore when we heard that Carole was hoping to raise funds for the Trust, we were touched by her generosity.

“The very desire from Jordan’s mum to do something on our behalf has reinforced our belief that we are doing important work in the long-term as well as in the short term.”

The fundraiser, at Honley Village Hall at Roundway on Saturday November 1, will include tombolas, raffles, face painting and an auction of items including a computer games console given to Jordan.

It starts at noon.