INTERNET FORUM USERS ENCOURAGED WOMAN TO KILL HERSELF !!!!!!

[Daanyeer]

Woman in web suicide pact with a stranger was encouraged to kill herself by internet forum users
By Daily Mail Reporter
22nd September 2010



Tory MP calls for action against suicide internet forums
Couple had gassed themselves after meeting on the web
Father tells of 'lovely lad' with no history of depression



A woman who died in a suicide pact with a stranger she met online received advice and encouragement on internet forums in the days leading up to her death.

Joanne Lee, 34, and truck driver Steve Lumb, 35, were found dead in a Vauxhall Astra parked alongside an area of overgrown wasteland on an industrial estate in Braintree, Essex on Monday.
They had gassed themselves after meeting just hours earlier after making contact on the internet.
Firefighters had to wear gas-tight suits to remove the bodies from the car and up to 40 emergency services personnel worked to make the area safe.



The pair first made contact on an internet suicide forum. Mr Lumb then drove 200 miles to Braintree to meet Ms Lee.
She is understood to have posted a message pleading for a partner to end her life with and told of her repeated failed bids to kill herself.
Miss Lee, who had an eating disorder, wrote on the forum: 'I haven't the strength to do this alone. I'm not a cop, a cannibal or a murderer, just desperate. I ... want to do it ASAP.
'You should... be willing to pick me up when it is time to (kill myself).

'If you are "very" serious, please email me'.
Cyber 'friends' responded by giving her tips on how to successfully kill herself and expressed their sorrow that she had failed to end her life.

Mr Lumb is believed to have then contacted Miss Lee under his username.

On Sunday afternoon he wrote a 'goodbye' message on an internet forum revealing his plans to kill himself.

He wrote: 'I'm just saying goodbye... take care everyone'.

Miss Lee lived alone in Great Notley, near Braintree, where she is believed to have carried out several botched suicide attempts.

The bodies were found in the fume-filled car, which had notes placed on the windows warning of the toxic material inside.
A source close to the investigation said: 'We believe they met a few hours before this tragedy.'
The bodies were found on Monday morning by a warehouse worker behind two rows of offices. However sources said it is possible the car had been parked on the site over the weekend, when the area is largely deserted.

Essex Police are treating the deaths as unexplained and the vehicle has been taken to a secure compound.
Miss Lee's parents, Jill and Brian, said they had no clue what their daughter was planning and described her as 'lovely' and 'very caring'.
Her mother, Jill Chappell, said: 'We have no idea what happened.

'Police have taken away her computer but we have no idea what websites she was using or that she was on any kind of websites.

She added that she had no 'nice' photos of her daughter as 'she didn't like having her photo taken'.
The family yesterday made an emotional visit to the industrial estate to lay flowers at the scene.

Mr Lumb's father Melvyn, who shared a home with his son, said he has no idea who the woman was: 'Police suggested it might be someone he met through the internet. He spent quite a lot of time on the computer.'
Enlarge 'There was no depression and he never talked about taking his own life. He was a lovely lad.'

He added: 'I thought the world of him. I couldn't have had a better son.

'He used it quite a bit, he played computer games.

'He liked a beer and football, normal lad. It is a complete shock, I never expected anything like this. It is the last thing I would have expected.

'He was easy going. He seemed happy. There didn't seem anything wrong. He lost his mother two-and-a-half years ago. I thought he had got over that, everything seemed all right.'

Commenting on a possible suicide pact, he added: 'It is just too early. I haven't had time to think about that.'

The tragic case raises serious questions about the monitoring of websites where users openly discuss suicide. Miss Lee's MP today called on the Government to campaign against suicide websites.

Brooks Newmark, Conservative MP for Braintree, Essex, said: 'We need to do far more to deal with these suicide websites which unfortunately lead to tragedies like this.

'It’s not a question of more regulation but of better regulation and also figuring out how we can close down websites such as these.

'Suicide pacts such as these are a trend that has come over from America on the internet - it’s a viral communication in a very negative sense.

'Having internet sites out there explaining how to commit suicide ... is wrong.
'We as a Government need to think of mechanisms within the European Union to try to close them down. It’s difficult to control the internet but we need to try.'

Catherine Johnstone, Chief Executive of Samaritans, said that offering advice on how to commit suicide is illegal.

She said: 'The internet can be a place to find friendship and like-minded people to chat to, but sometimes it can also be harmful, as seen in these tragic suicides.

'A distressed person can meet another person online and, instead of finding help and support, they end up encouraging each other to do something they might not have done alone.

'It is illegal to encourage or assist people to take their own lives - be it on the internet or in any other space - but it is unclear how this recently-amended legislation will be applied and policed.

'We at Samaritans know that sometimes people can feel as though life just doesn't seem worth living and it can become impossible for them to imagine their situation getting any better.

'We must remind people though that terrible times can and do pass.'

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman confirmed that anyone who promotes or encourages suicide on a website could face prosecution.

She added that even if no suicide attempts take place as a result of the information, author could still be found guilty of an offence.

The law was amended last year to deal with cases such as these. It reads: 'Under section 2(1) of the Suicide Act 1961 (as amended by section 59 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009) it is an offence to do an act capable of encouraging or assisting the suicide or attempted suicide of another person with the intention to so encourage or assist.

'The person committing the offence need not know the other person or even be able to identify them.'
For confidential support call the Samaritans: 08457 90 90 90


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z10GmEq3vh

[Nomand]

i dont understand why anyone would want to kill themselves.

[udun]

I thought you were talking about Basra man I remember her talking about killing herself and some of the people were saying go ahead and do it this style, that style, ....

[Lord Diplock]

They must have been VERY depressed to committed suicide together, sad but it is very common these days.