Paige Jordan and Michael Gower have been tested in ways that no parent can imagine.
On Christmas day 2016, they got a phone call from the Christchurch police saying their daughter Francesca Borell had allegedly stabbed her partner 26-year-old Hardeep Singh multiple times.
Two days later the charge was elevated from intent to cause grievous bodily harm to murder. Her partner, from rural India, had passed away in hospital.
Borell's whānau told Three's The Hui they feel she's been let down by the mental health system, having been diagnosed with bipolar and depression in her teens.
"We were asking them, 'Please help us,'" says her mother. "How many times do you have to inform somebody or an organisation when you need help before they give you help? Because I've lost count of how many places we've tried to plead for help."
Her parents believe that if she had received the support she needed, it's possible this tragedy could've been avoided.
Borell will stand trial next year.
In a special two-part story, her parents share the challenges they faced trying to manage their daughter's mental illnesses - watch the video.
The Hui
