For nine-year-old Mia Clougherty, New Year's Day took a traumatic turn when she found her mother dead in their family home. The young girl and her father Alan Clougherty found Michelle Clougherty after she had fallen from the bed. Alan failed to resuscitate Michelle while the traumatised child looked on. The police concluded that the death did not take place under suspicious circumstances. Since Michelle's death, Alan and Mia have not been able to return to their family home in Glasgow.

Michelle, a care unit worker, had gone to bed before the rest of her family on New Year's Day. The tired mother is suspected to have fallen from the family bed. The usually non-fatal fall ended up causing a life-threatening injury in Michelle's case.

It is unclear when the 40-year-old woman fell off the bed or when her family discovered her unconscious on the floor. Michelle's daughter and her husband found her unresponsive when they went into the room intending to go to bed. Alan tried desperately to resuscitate the woman he had been with for 22 years. Mia watched in shock as her mother failed to respond to Alan's frantic attempts.

A Beatles teddy bear sits on a bed with pillows
Nine-year-old left too traumatised to return home after her mother fell off the bed and died. Reuters

After Michelle's death, Mia and Alan moved to the home of a family member. Speaking to the Daily Record, the 40-year-old father revealed that the family was too traumatised to return to the home where they found the matriarch dead.

The police have not found the death to be suspicious so there is no ongoing investigation.

In an effort to help out the family, a friend of the couple, Caroline McLaggan, has set up a crowdfunding page. The Justgiving page with a target of £5,000 has managed to raise nearly £2,000 since it was set up on January 3. On the page, McLaggan has pointed out that the money raised will be used by Alan for Michelle's funeral and will also be used to support the family which is struggling to cope with the tragedy.

Another friend of the family stated that Alan was having a difficult time managing his grief as well as taking care of the young girl. Friends and family paid tribute to Michelle calling her the "nicest person" with "a heart of gold."