Father kills himself live on the internet
Goaded by trolls, third victim takes life on same site
A FATHER has killed himself live on the internet after being goaded by cruel trolls – becoming the third person to broadcast their death on the same website.
The 43-year-old builder from Cardiff hanged himself on Paltalk, a controversial chat site where users can stream video to strangers.
The victim, who had not been named last night, set up a webcam and beamed his suicide to other users around the world as online bullies taunted him.
The trolls encouraged him to go through with it, saying: ‘Why don’t you just do it? Your life isn’t worth it.’
The shocking case yesterday prompted campaigners to call for better protection for vulnerable adults online.
It is understood the man originally started using Paltalk because he was lonely and depressed and wanted to make new friends. The US-based website allows users talk to others via video, text or voice chats. But fellow members said it wasn’t long before he was being ‘bullied mercilessly’. A friend he met online, who was not named, told a Sunday newspaper: ‘These chatrooms need to be shut down.
‘This is the third person to die. He would still be alive if it wasn’t for the vicious people who drove him to his death.
‘He was a very funny guy. He was a character. He would do charades and impressions of people. He was just a lovely, fun, good person, such a gentle soul. What happened is so incredibly sad,’ the friend added.
Another friend told how the victim moved to different chatrooms to escape bullies but they would follow him and continue the abuse. When he opened up about being ‘desperate’ after splitting with his partner, they would tell him to kill himself.
The friend said: ‘You could see they were making him the next target to push to suicide. That’s what they do. They pick on someone who is weak and make a game out of it. He was driven to his death.’
She added: ‘The vile people that use this chatroom used to tell him to kill himself. Since he died, they’ve been laughing about it, saying things like, “He was a loser, he deserved it”.’
It is believed the alarm may not have been raised with staff at Paltalk while the suicide was taking place. However, users did eventually get a message to the police, who found the man’s body
‘They pick on weak and make a game’
in his flat on Wednesday.
The tragedy comes seven months after south London plasterer Gregory Tomkins, 39, killed himself on Paltalk on Christmas Day. And in 2007, 42year-old electrician Kevin Whitrick, from Wellington in Shropshire, died on the site as dozens of users watched.
Paltalk could not be reached for comment yesterday.
For confidential support, call the Samaritans on Freephone: 116123 or text: 087 2609090. See samaritans.org.