Brothers, 12 and 13, orphaned after finding parents dead months apart

Tragedy for two brothers aged 12 and 13 who are left orphans after finding both their mother and father dead at home just months apart

• Robbie, 12, and Logan Clinton, 13, lost their mother Shelley on March 24
• Then tragically on July 27, the boys could not wake their father Mike from sleep 

Two brothers aged 12 and 13 are tragically now orphans after finding their mother and father dead at home just months apart.

Brothers Robbie, 12, and Logan Clinton, 13, lost their mother Shelley, 51, on March 24. The children came home with their father Mike to find she had died. 

The sudden and unexpected death left the boys, and Shelley’s older son Jack, devastated as they tried to pick up the pieces and move on living without her.

But on July 27 tragedy struck again when both Robbie and Logan came home after a sleepover and noticed their father wasn’t out of bed yet. After going into his bedroom the boys found their Mike, 41, in bed and ‘couldn’t wake him up’.

Robbie and Logan are now being looked after by their 19-year-old cousin, Caitlin, who has devoted herself to keeping a roof over their head. 

The family of Mike and Shelley are still awaiting their cause of death.

Brothers Robbie, 12, and Logan Clinton, 13, lost their mother Shelley, 51, on March 24, 2023. The children came home with their father Mike to find she had died (all pictured together)

On July 27, 2023, tragedy struck again when both Robbie (right) and Logan (left) came home after a sleepover and noticed their father wasn’t out of bed yet

Mike’s older sister, Liz Carney, said her brother died just one day before his and Shelley’s wedding anniversary, and three years after losing his own parents. 

Liz said: ‘The boys had just come back from a sleepover and noticed he wasn’t up yet, so they went upstairs and found him in bed. They couldn’t wake him up.

‘I got a call from Caitlin [niece] and she told me Mike had died, I didn’t know what to say. I thought she was calling with arrangements about their wedding anniversary and doing something for him.

‘I was speaking to Mike the night before, he was telling me he was playing football with the other dads and he had a bit of a bang, but he really felt it. I persuaded him to go to the doctors but he promised me he was fine and he just needed to go for a check up and ECG.’

Liz described her brother, who was a huge Liverpool FC fan, as being ‘full of life’ and a ‘proper family man’. He was born in Walton before later moving to Runcorn with his family.

After he met his wife, Shelley, he moved to Darlington in County Durham where he worked as a driving instructor.

Liz said: ‘I know everyone says it but he was really full of life, he was a good friend and people thought the world of him. People respected him and he was really loved, everyone up there [in Darlington] called him Uncle Mike.

‘He became a fully qualified driving instructor and his client list was amazing. He taught his nieces to drive and adored his boys as he was a proper family man, he was very protective of his family.

‘We had plans for the boys to come back down here and we were going to take them on a tour of Anfield because he and the boys were big LFC fans. We had so any plans.’

Pictured are Logan, Caitlin and Robbie at a charity football match in memory of their dad

After going into his bedroom the boys found their Mike (pictured), 41, in bed and ‘couldn’t wake him up’

Liz said: ‘We’re so proud of her [Caitlin], one of the first things she said is that she was going to look after those boys. She was the same with Mike after Shelley died and was always making sure he was okay.

‘She was really close with them both and saw Mike as her second dad and Shelley as her second mum.’

A GoFundMe page has now been created by Hurworth Albion Football Club to raise funds for the boys and Caitlin to make sure they have support. The page has already raised almost £18k, with Liz saying the family have been ‘overwhelmed with generosity’.

She said: ‘It’s really overwhelming to see the names of so many people we know, and hundreds more that we don’t.’

The family have now shared details of Mike’s funeral, which will take place on Friday, September 8, at 2pm, at Darlington Crematorium on Carmel Road. People are being asked to wear something red or a Liverpool top for the service.

To donate to the GoFundMe page click here.

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