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A father-of-two hanged himself live over the internet in Britain’s first ‘cyber suicide’.
Kevin Whitrick, 42, took his life after being goaded by dozens of chatroom users from across the world who initially believed he was play acting.
But as they watched in horror, Mr Whitrick climbed onto a chair, smashed through a ceiling and then hanged himself with a piece of rope.
Kevin Neil Whitrick, 42, was found dead by police in Wellington, after being alerted by a web user who is thought to have watched in horror as the man harmed himself
Last night it emerged that Mr Whitrick had been suffering from depression after being badly injured in a car crash last year.
Friends said that the breakdown of his marriage with wife, Paula – with whom he had 12-year-old twins – and the recent death of his father had also been causing him some distress.
Mr Whitrick told users of web-chat site PalTalk what he was going to do two hours before he killed himself on Wednesday night.
He was logged on with around 50 other users to a special “insult” chatroom where people “have a go at each other”.
Today distraught users of the site said that they felt sick and had previously thought the web broadcast was a hoax.
They confirmed Mr Whitrick told friends in the internet chat room of his plans to kill himself but, thinking he was joking, they egged him on telling him to make sure the his webcam was on.
Mr Whitrick, using the user-name Shyboy-17-1, switched on his webcam and went ahead with his grisly plan.
One anonymous user said: “He tied a rope around an uncovered ceiling joist and stood on the chair as he tied the rope around his neck.
“Some of us chatroom users, talking to Kevin over text chat, microphones and video tried to convince him to step down, but others egged him on telling him to get on with it.
“We just couldn’t believe he was doing it – it was surreal.
“One chatter said: ‘F***ing do it, get on with it, get it round your neck. For F***’s sake he can’t even do this properly’.”
Another user who did not wish to be named said: “When Kevin stepped off the chair and was left dangling, the mood in the chatroom changed and people began to realise what they had just seen.
“We started asking if anyone knew where he lived and saying they should contact the police.
“I think someone contacted the police in their local area but sadly no one could get to him in time.”
Shortly after, moderators on the site closed the feed from Kevin’s webcam.
Mr Whitrick had been living in his flat, a converted house, after splitting from his wife Paula two years ago.
The couple, who married in 1988, had 12-year-old twins Lewis and Melissa who live with their mother in a three-bedroom, semi-detached home close by.
They are said to have visited their dad, who worked at family firm RMW electrical services in Shrewsbury, at weekends. His older brother Malcolm Whitrick is an associate director at Shrewsbury Town Football Club.
Its worth noting, that Kevin Whitrick was well built, 42, but with a username Shyboy-17-1. Quite ironic then, that he was nothing close to being shy in taking his life. No matter what our build or mental strength, we are all capable of losing something so precious.
I desperately feel sorry for his family.
@emmalush wrote:
A father-of-two hanged himself live over the internet in Britain’s first ‘cyber suicide’.
But as they watched in horror, Mr Whitrick climbed onto a chair, smashed through a ceiling and then hanged himself with a piece of rope.
One anonymous user said: “He tied a rope around an uncovered ceiling joist and stood on the chair as he tied the rope around his neck.
I desperately feel sorry for his family.
Particularly as they won’t get his deposit back from the landlord … as it will have to be used to repair the ceiling !!!
glad i left paltalk then…………………… 8)
Sad.
Loving pats new avator though,,,,
@sharongooner wrote:
Sad.
Loving pats new avator though,,,,
:wink: shazza……………………read the story in todays paper. sprised we aint as a few public hangings in ere yet……………………….. :-k :-
@forumhostpb wrote:
@emmalush wrote:
A father-of-two hanged himself live over the internet in Britain’s first ‘cyber suicide’.
But as they watched in horror, Mr Whitrick climbed onto a chair, smashed through a ceiling and then hanged himself with a piece of rope.
One anonymous user said: “He tied a rope around an uncovered ceiling joist and stood on the chair as he tied the rope around his neck.
I desperately feel sorry for his family.
Particularly as they won’t get his deposit back from the landlord … as it will have to be used to repair the ceiling !!!
shame on you PB i hope that no one you know or love ever gets desperate enough to commit suicide!!!
you know what i dont believe the people on this site sometimes!!! …….may he rest in peace
Shame on me???? Not a chance – shame on him. He couldn’t just quietly go off and do himself in with the minimum of fuss and bother could he?? Oh no …. he had to smash up his flat and do it in front of a camera so that the entire world could watch him killing himself.
No thought of the effect that it would have on those who watched.
No thought of the effect on his (ex) family.
No thought of somebody having to reapir the damage he caused.
No thought of the cost to the emergency services attending when they could have been helping somebody else.This was the grossest form of exhibitionism possible so I really don’t believe he deserves any sympathy at all.
Have to agree with Mr PB and i f00king hate when that happens
People who commit suicide yes i feel for them even tho to me is a cowards way out of there troubles but before every one as a go its what i fink and i have a opinion
But to do it on the net for all and sundry to see :shock: :shock: Now that’s a bit strange
Most do it on there own away from the world
But hey he got his 15 Min’s of fame out of it :roll:
@forumhostpb wrote:
Shame on me???? Not a chance – shame on him. He couldn’t just quietly go off and do himself in with the minimum of fuss and bother could he?? Oh no …. he had to smash up his flat and do it in front of a camera so that the entire world could watch him killing himself.
No thought of the effect that it would have on those who watched.
No thought of the effect on his (ex) family.
No thought of somebody having to reapir the damage he caused.
No thought of the cost to the emergency services attending when they could have been helping somebody else.This was the grossest form of exhibitionism possible so I really don’t believe he deserves any sympathy at all.
strange isnt it how we dont understand mental illness? if someone had a broken leg or somthing and said they were in a lot of pain we would understand that.
Mental illness is a horrible thing, it can destroy the most sane of people, turning their world upside down, turning genius into madness , turning joy into sorrow.
It is a dark world depression and mental illness, the phrase pull yourself together doesnt work. There is a big difference between being fed up and depressed.
This man made a cry for help, he knew what he was going to do, his world was a dark place for him, and I believe he was telling people for a couple of hours before this is what he was going to do.
What he failed to realise was that message boards and chat rooms are basically for fun ,for people to unwind and be who they are not, so how dare he think in his darkness that there may be someone out there, just one voice if you like that would help him.
Yes he did it for all to see, yes he threatened to do it for some 2 hours before…….I dread to think what this man was thinking or what state he was in lost out there somewhere…….
yes serves him right no sympathy for him??? that is your free will to think what you will, me? i will stay true to myself and retain some compassion for my fellow human beings.
Well said Cath………………..
People dont know how it feels to be that desperate and in despair that you think its the only solution to your problems………..
Do you know that the heart of compassion has left most people today and its left to the very few that really want to believe that they can help other people through their darkest moments……
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