Transgender teen Leelah Alcorn's distraught best friend didn't attend was her funeral after a furious phonecall from the girl's Christian parents following her death, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Abby Jones supported Leelah through her struggles and was one of the first people she came out to as trans - but has been unable to pay her last respects after her mother reportedly accused Abby over the phone of sharing pictures of Leelah wearing a dress online.

The photograph, a selfie showing Leelah, 17, in a black and white dress, was shared worldwide alongside a note explaining her suicide, which she lined up to be published after her death on December 27.

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Best friends: Abby Jones, left, met Leelah Alcorn, right, while the two worked as caricature artists at an amusement park. Leelah confided in her about her struggle with her gender identity

Accusation: The parents of Leelah Alcorn, pictured, the transgender teen who killed herself last month, accused her best friend of posting her writings - and this picture of her in a dress - online

It was a public rejection of her identity as 'Joshua' - her given name, which Carla and Don Alcorn continue to use when speaking about their 'son'.

The image helped propel her to international fame as her story was shared - culminating Sunday night in Leelah having a Golden Globe dedicated to her memory by the cast of Transparent - a TV series which helped bring trans issues to the mainstream.

As a result of the accusations Abby, also 17, was left out of arrangements for Leelah's funeral, according to her parents. The ceremony was moved to an undisclosed location at the last minute.

Leelah was meant to be buried at the Northeast Church of Christ in Cincinnati, but trans activists who wanted to pay their respects to Leelah found a note on the door saying it had been moved to a small, private service.

The family held the ceremony on the morning of Friday January 2 - and Abby had no idea until after it had finished, leaving her with no formal way to say goodbye to her friend. A minister at the church later explained that 'threats' forced the move - though he wouldn't say what they were.

Abby's mother, Danielle Pieper-Jones, told DailyMail.com: 'Her mom called and blamed her for everything that got posted online even though Leelah's page was public.

Phonecall: Abby Jones's mother told DailyMail.com that her daughter received a furious phonecall from Leelah's mom Carla, right, after her suicide became public. Pictured left is her father, Don

Struggle: Leelah wrote how her parents reacted 'extremely negatively' when she came out

'My daughter just wanted to say goodbye to her best friend. They did not allow her to go to the funeral.'

‘It was obvious after the call - Carla had no right to call and harass my daughter.'

Abby's father, Brian, said his daughter was distraught over the snub.

He said: 'Leelah was her friend – and I was upset because I felt that [the funeral] was a way for her to at least start to move on.’

'Abby wanted to go to the funeral – but it happened in private and there was no mention of it beforehand.'

He suggested the family may neglected to invite Abby because they were so caught up in the media scrutiny of Leelah's death and note - which unequivocally blamed them for the suicide.

He said: 'They were embarrassed – which anybody would be. They lost their child – I can’t imagine how much that hurts. I understand that – they wanted to get it done and move on with their lives.'

Shared with the world: Leelah's parents though that Abby was behind her 'suicide note' post on Tumblr, above, which caught the attention of people around the world

Appreciation: Leelah's message - and her selfie - reaches an enormous audience, prompting supporters to create artworks such as the above. Her parents were furious when the images were shared

Dedication: The cast of Transparent - which won a Golden Globe for best TV series - dedicated the award to Leelah

In the note, posted to Leelah's Tumblr account before her death, she said that her life 'isn't worth living... because I'm transgender'.

Leelah then recounts how her mother reacted 'extremely negatively' when first told her daughter was transgender.

She remembered being told: 'that it was a phase, that I would never truly be a girl, that God doesn’t make mistakes, that I am wrong.'

She then begged other parents never to do the same thing. She wrote: 'Even if you are Christian or are against transgender people don’t ever say that to someone, especially your kid.

'That won’t do anything but make them hate them self [sic]. That’s exactly what it did to me.'

The note, and all Leelah's other posts, have now been deleted after her parents told Tumblr staff to take them down.

Leelah also wrote a second post, which mentioned Abby by name. She said: 'Abby: Thank you for dealing with my pathetic problems, all I did was make your life harder and I’m sorry.'

To her parents, she wrote: 'Mom and Dad: F**k you. You can’t just control other people like that. That’s messed up.'

Abby and Leelah, who live 20 miles apart met at work, where they were both caricaturists at the Kings Island amusement park outside Leelah's hometown of Kings Mill, Ohio.

They would spend time together after work - and eventually Abby got so close to Leelah that she revealed to her she was transgender and had always wanted to live as a girl, Cincinnati.com reported.

Around the world: Leelah's suicide note was read by thousands - and the teenager's plea to spread understanding was taken up by celebrities such as Mia Farrow

Famous backers: British comedian Stephen Fry, who often champions LGBT issues, also wrote about Leelah

She said her friend, who was taken to Christian therapists in an effort to convince her to live as a male, was often upset about her life.

Abby said: 'She would get really down, there was just no talking her out of it.

'She always said, "Nothing is going to get better, I am never going to transition successfully, I am never going to be the pretty girl I want to be."'

But the suicide still came as a shock to her. In another interview, with the Washington Post, she said that on Christmas day she spoke with Leelah, who seemed upbeat and was looking forward to the year ahead.

Abby said: 'She was talking about her New Year’s resolutions... It was a really light-hearted conversation. And then on Sunday, when I heard what happened, I was just in shock.'

But she has since taken heart at the huge outpouring of sympathy and support for Leelah, expressed through online petitions, celebrity support and vigils across the world.

Brian Jones said: 'We live in a very conservative part of the country. But all of this wonderful stuff has happened because of [Leelah's death] - and word has got out to a much larger audience than I thought possible.'

'But I still want to ask her family: 'Will there at least be a marker for Leelah so Abby can go there and pay her respects?"'

Brian and Carla Alcorn could not be reached for comment.

Vigil: Hundreds gathered at vigils across Ohio and beyond in solidarity with Leelah. Above is one such event in Cleveland



