Live Webcam Suicide

Kevin Whitrick



Kevin Whitrick (1965 – 2007-03-23) was a British citizen and an electrical engineer. 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.

His death came as a shock to his friends and family. Whitrick 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".[3] Whitrick's interest in computers led to him being a respected person on the TOCA Touring Car series of games, who have all paid respects to him on their respective forums.

He set up a webcam, climbed on a chair, smashed a hole in a ceiling, tied a rope around a joist and his neck — and stepped off. Some thought it was a hoax until his face went blue.

Horrified Mark Griffiths, who watched him die, said: “Kevin was on the screen shouting, ‘I’ve had it, you think I am full of s***, not this time’.

“Some people were egging him. One guy shouted down his microphone, ‘F***ing do it, get on with it, get it round your neck. For f***’s sake. He can’t even do this properly’.

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

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