Caroline Stuttle
Caroline Stuttle was murdered in Bundaberg Queensland by being thrown off a bridge in a robbery in in April 2002.
Stuttle was born on 2 September, 1982 and taken in Bundaberg, Australia in April 2002. During her 19 years with us, she managed to live an outstanding life, fulfilling impressive personal goals, and dazzling us with her wonderful personal qualities.
When people first met Caroline, it struck them how kind, confident and intuitive she was. She was remembered afterwards, not because she shouted the loudest or craved the most attention, but because she glowed with warmth, intelligence and compassion.
Everyone who met Caroline loved her wonderful spirit. Her sense of humour, in particular, was bright, sweet natured, and on occasion a little daring, which showed us that she was also independent and self-reliant. She also responded to humour well, and was easy to make laugh.
Caroline was incredibly friendly and continually surrounded by others. It was a rare sight to see Caroline by herself. Her family and her friends were terribly important to her, and so many of her every day concerns and future dreams involved them all.
She was particularly fond of her grandmother, regularly visiting and telephoning her, and was also very close to her brother Richard, the pair becoming good friends as they grew older. She was a quintessential young woman, so deservedly popular, so sociable, so energetic and so animated. One of her many friends once commented that it was as if she ran on Duracell batteries, because her energy never ran out. She had an insatiably talkative nature, and always fitted so much into her life.
From an early age, Caroline involved herself in numerous engaging activities. As a little girl, Caroline was a member of the local gymnastics club, also taking ballet and tap at four years of age, followed by swimming at five, which she particularly loved and decided to focus the majority of her attentions on. Like many girls, horse riding became a real passion, and she regularly rode between the ages of 7 and 9.
Clearly comfortable outdoors, she also completed her Bronze level Duke of Edinburgh award whilst at secondary school. Caroline was an ACTIVE Brownie, and naturally followed this by becoming a Girl Guide. Typically, Caroline’s giving and caring nature led to continue working with such organisations after her Guide years had finished and she was an active volunteer for the local Rainbows group.
Caroline was an extremely creative individual, gaining an outstanding grade in her Art GCSE examination. However, she did not just draw and paint as a means to an end, but because she genuinely enjoyed expressing her creative nature.
Music was also something she loved, and over the years tried her hand at the recorder, cello and keyboards, with which she found her greatest talents lay. She played regularly throughout her teenage years, her favourite piece being “My Heart Will Go On”, a piece later to be touchingly played at her funeral.
It is not surprising then, considering Caroline’s giving and expressive nature, her kindness, love and consideration for others. She expressed emotion easily, giving frequent hugs of friendship, sympathy or tenderness. She loved, and was loved by, her family, her boyfriend and a great number of close friends. She had too, a terrific love of animals, and was very attached to the many family pets over the years, particularly her dog Jude; although Caroline showed a great deal of love and affection for all the numerous mice, gerbils, rabbits, hamsters, fish and stray cats she cared for.
Caroline had a wonderfully generous spirit and was such a giving person. Regardless of what she was doing, she would unthinkingly put it to one side so she could help others, or simply be there for them. Caroline combined studying hard with working to save for her dream; her family with her active social life that she shared with so many friends. Caroline would always find the time to help others, sending thoughtful messages, sharing class notes, listening to other’s problems, giving lifts in her car. She would put aside her saving so that she could send cards and mementoes to show she cared. Again, Caroline unselfishly thought of others all the time. Caroline’s family was important to her, and she had many close friends, but she shared her energy equally among them all.
Caroline was naturally sensitive and supportive of other people. She genuinely wanted those around her to be happy. Caroline was delighted by the success of others and never felt any envy or jealousy about their accomplishments. Caroline encouraged others to do well. She knew intuitively how to help those around her, giving practical support when needed. For example, lending her revision notes to classmates, or arranging the accommodation for a friend’s arrival in Australia. She would do anything to help the people she knew.
Perhaps it was the emotional support she gave that helped others the most. Caroline was truly able to empathise and understand the feelings of others in order to know how to help them best. She would always give advice and reassurance no matter what time of day or night. Caroline would put her own worries aside and focus on the problems of those around her. The people she helped were taken seriously, were not judged, and the advice she gave was wise and from the heart.
Caroline was clearly a mature, patient and determined young woman, which is perhaps why she was also such an outstanding student, through all of her years at school, which she left in 2000 with 1 A* (in Art), 5 A’s and 4B’s at GCSE, culminating in outstanding achievements at A Level. Her A level grades were ABB. She particularly adored Psychology right from the start and her talent was immediately obvious to her teachers – indeed this was the subject in which she gained her A grade. Perhaps Caroline was attracted to psychology because the subject aims to understand and help others, as she herself endeavoured to do. She enjoyed the analytical side of the course and flourished when writing her own research, which she threw herself into with dedication and enthusiasm. In fact she worked so hard, her teachers nicknamed her “Caroline Study” after she wrote her name this way on an exam paper. The resolute side of Caroline’s personality drove her through her studies - her determination and ambition to achieve her goals never faltered.
Early on in her studies, Caroline set herself some tough targets, which required such hard work many would have been discouraged from attempting them, but Caroline was well on the way to making them become a reality. She worked hard to save for her travels, waitressing in a local deli before a pizzeria, while studying furiously to obtain the grades needed to read Psychology at Manchester University. And of course she got them. We were all thrilled, but not remotely surprised when we saw her exam results.
Caroline had her heart set on a career in forensic psychology, an arduous career and by no means an easy choice, but it is obvious she would have succeeded. Caroline possessed all the right qualities: she was sensitive, compassionate and non-judgmental so could understand those that need help. And she had the rational and resilient side needed to work in a challenging and consuming career. Caroline would have achieved anything she put her mind to.
In their gap year, Caroline and her best friend left Britain to travel Asia and Australia before settling back down to study at University. The photos are evidence of the wonderful time that Caroline enjoyed abroad, of making her dream a reality. Their tour of Australia led them to Sydney, followed by Queensland, and would have ultimately led them to the Great Barrier Reef, a place Caroline had dreamed of visiting for a long time.
During their travels, they sampled many adventurous activities, including camel trekking and wind surfing, and met mountains of friends, becoming close to many other travelers who were all bonded by their fabulous adventure. Caroline’s hard work had paid off and she was living, and loving, her dream come true.
Caroline’s dreams must be kept alive and others encouraged to follow them. We hope that young people can learn from Caroline and inspire the same kindness, compassion and generosity in others. Others must be reminded not to waste a single moment, to set goals and to achieve them, just like Caroline did. We must not let Caroline’s glow fade away.