[Red Moon]

My Darnell's suicide hell

THE mother of House rapper Darnell Swallow last night admitted she feared her only son would KILL himself after he was booted out of the US for drug offences.

The Ipswich-born albino—one of the favourites to win BB9—was forced to return to the UK after being convicted in the States.

But mum Bernadette Mathis, 43, said she was terrified the deportation hell would prove to much for Darnell and he'd commit suicide.

"I was seriously worried he would get to the UK and just jump off a bridge," said Bernadette. "He didn't have anywhere to stay and didn't know anyone.

"I just didn't think that he was going to make it."

Darnell, 26, was kicked out of the US in disgrace in 2006, leaving behind his mum and two sisters, Sharice, 19, and Patrice, 17, to return to the country he had left as a six-year-old.

Gangster

But despite his mum's concerns, he has made a new life for himself in Ipswich.

But Mrs Mathis, who lives in St Louis, Missouri, slammed the US authorities for "over-reacting" by deporting her boy, insisting he was not a "gangster".

She raged: "They treated him like he was Bin Laden. Yes, he did wrong but deporting him was still overkill.

"It doesn't matter what happens to me, he can never come over. My daughter just had a baby, he'll probably never see it."

She said Darnell was originally arrested for possession of marijuana in North Dakota but got into trouble again when he failed to complete a 200-hour community sentence after moving to Minneapolis.

"How do you go from getting 200 hours community service, which is a slap on the wrist, to being deported for life?" she asked. "The only reason that happened was because he was a British citizen and because he had turned 18 and his green card had expired.

"He's not a gangster—he only got community service. Not that drugs aren't bad, but they acted like he was done for attempted murder."

Darnell had only been back to Ipswich a couple of times since his mum met and married her first husband, a US serviceman, and the family moved to Italy for four years before being posted back to the US.

They first settled in North Dakota—where Darnell was later arrested on drugs offences—before moving to St Louis.

In the house Darnell has told housemates about his chequered past.

He admitted: "Damn, I've a past that none of you know. I've been to jail." Bernadette said she has been filled with pride watching her son's progress in the BB house over the internet.

She beamed: "It's cool that he's in the house but it's kind of hard when people say nasty things about your kid.

"He's going good and I'm proud of him. His sisters are tickled pink but they get annoyed too when people say nasty things about their brother. However, he just keeps on getting stronger."

She also spoke of Darnell's fighting spirit—a character trait she believes will help him in the house—which she said he has had throughout his life.

Bernadette explained how he spent his first few months in Ipswich Hospital after being born prematurely.

"He was a little-bitty baby and was in hospital for a couple of months but they got him through."

She also said Darnell had no intention of going on Big Brother when he was plucked out of obscurity to appear on the show.

He was actually going to the BB studios to support a friend who desperately wanted to be on the Channel 4 hit and was spotted in the crowd because of his unusual looks and 6ft stature.

Karate

Other fans of Darnell include his half-brother, ex-Spurs and England midfielder Jason Dozzell and one of Ipswich's brightest karate stars, Leonie Kersey.

Leonie, 25, revealed that she only took up the sport after her big pal Darnell started taking classes.

Now she's a former European champ and runner-up and a well-known karate teacher with a third-dan black belt.

She said: "Darnell would go to karate and his mum would baby-sit for me. After a while, I thought I'd give it a try too. He later gave it up and I became a karate instructor.

"He did have a lot on his mind when he came to the UK recently but to be fair, Darnell has dealt with it really well.

"He's so focussed—Darnell has come over here with a clean slate and is going to make something of himself.

"I was quite nervous about Big Brother to start with because of how they can single people out. I was worried it would happen to Darnel because he's an albino, but it hasn't. He seems to just want everyone to be happy and be friends.

"Hopefully he'll do really well. We're all behind him."

source:News of the World