Suicide of Kevin Whitrick
Kevin Whitrick is believed to be the first British person to have commited a "cyber suicide" on an internet chat site. Kevin, and engineer, died in March 2007 aged 42.
In March 2007, Kevin was in a chatroom he created on the site "paltalk" and was joined by around 50 other users in the room he had created. He revealed his suicide plan to the audience in the room, most of whom thought it was a hoax. Reports from within the room say that Kevin "Switched on his webcam, stood on a chair, smashed through his ceiling to expose a joist, tied a rope around his neck and hanged himself." Some people in the chat room egged him on while others tried desperately to find his address. A number of members in the room contacted the Police, who attended the scene within minutes. Unfortunately, Kevin Whitrick was pronounced dead at 11:15pm GMT.
His death came to a shock to his friends and family. Kevin was said to be "A loving father and family man. He was the life and soul of the party and an extremely considerate and kind person. He will be so sadly missed by us all"
Kevins interest in computers led to him being a respected person on the ToCA series of games, who have all paid respects to him on their respective forums.
Kevin Whitrick's case is very similar to another suicide - that of Brandon Vedas, 21, from Phoenix, Arizona in 2003 by overdosing on a mix of alcohol and prescription medication.