Kevin Whitrick

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Kevin Whitrick
Born 17 August 1964(1964-08-17)
Cross House, Shrewsbury
Died 21 March 2007 (aged 42)
Wellington, Telford, Shropshire, UK
Occupation Engineer
Spouse Paula

Kevin Neil Whitrick (August 17, 1964 - March 21, 2007) was a British citizen and an electrical engineer.[1] He is believed to be the first and only British person to have committed a cyber suicide live via a webcam on an internet chat site.[2]

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Marriage and children

At the time of his death, he was survived by his former wife, Paula, and 12-year-old twins.

[edit] Suicide

On the day of his death, Kevin Whitrick was in a chatroom on Paltalk and was joined by about 50 other users in a special "insult" chatroom where people "have a go at each other".[3] He punched a hole in his ceiling and placed a rope around a joist and around his neck, then stepped off a chair. Some people thought this was a prank, until his face started turning blue. Some people in the chat room egged him on while others tried desperately to find his address. A member in the room contacted the police, who arrived at the scene within minutes. Kevin Whitrick was pronounced dead at 11:15 p.m. GMT.[1]

[edit] Aftermath

The death has been widely reported in the press and is notable due to the fear of it inspiring other suicides, [4] the possibility of the webcam footage being made available on the internet,[5] and discussions over the culpability of web users who encouraged the man.

The police detectives traced about 100 chatroom users to question them about their role in the cyber suicide. [6] The Crown Prosecution Service has stated that none of the chatroom users will face criminal charges.[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Bale, Joanna (2007-03-24). Get on with it, said net audience as man hanged himself on webcam. Times Online. Times Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
  2. ^ Inquest held after webcam death. BBC News (2007-03-30). Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
  3. ^ Chatroom users 'egged on father to kill himself live on webcam'. This is London. Associated Newspapers Ltd (2007-03-21). Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
  4. ^ Live hanging shown on web - Alberta suicide-prevention groups brace for copycat deaths
  5. ^ Keep online suicide footage offline: police
  6. ^ Ungoed-Thomas, Jon (2007-03-26). Police consider charging chatroom users for inciting cyber suicide. The Australian. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
  7. ^ No charges over 'suicide' on web. BBC News (2007-05-26). Retrieved on 2007-05-27.

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Whitrick, Kevin Neil
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Shyboy-17-1
SHORT DESCRIPTION Electrical Engineer
DATE OF BIRTH 17 August 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH Cross Houses Shrewsbury
DATE OF DEATH 21 March 2007
PLACE OF DEATH Wellington, Shropshire, England, United Kingdom