Coroner launches probe into 'internet suicide cult' after SEVEN youngsters in one town hang themselves

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Last Thursday: Natasha Randall, close friend of earlier victim Liam Clarke, hanged herself in her bedroom. Using the tag 'sxiwildchild', she spent hours on her Bebo webpage

Phillip Walters, the coroner for the town of Bridgend where seven young people have hanged themselves in a year, fears the teenage sites such as Bebo play a part in the spate of mystery deaths.

Mr Walter said he is "desperately concerned" about the chain of young suicides - and of the connection to teenage social network sites such as Bebo and MySpace.

The coroner said: "I shall be looking at these networking sites myself to see if there is a link between them and the growing number of youngsters committing suicide.

"But in the meantime I want to warn youngsters about the possible dangers these websites can pose.

"I would also like to warn parents to be actively on the alert for signs of their children being influenced by others on these sites.

"We never seem to get to the bottom of these deaths and no-one seems to be able to explain them.

"It is of great concern that some of them seem to be happening for no apparent reason."

Mr Walters has already held hearings into four of the young suicides - Dale Crole, 18, David Dilling, 19, Thomas Davies, 20, and Zachery Barnes, 17.

Concern: Coroner Phillip Walters fears teenage sites played a part in the mystery deaths

He opened inquests on the other three - Liam Clarke, 20, Gareth Morgan, 27, and Natasha Randall, 17 - to await full police investigations into their deaths.

The small town of Bridgend has been rocked by this string of copycat suicides

Local people fear the hangings are linked to a chilling internet cult which has become "a cool thing to do" in the town.

Within 24 hours of the latest death last week, two friends of the teenage girl had also attempted suicide.

On Tuesday police took computer equipment from 17-year-old Natasha Randall's home in Bridgend, South Wales.

Detectives confirmed they are investigating a possible suicide chain – the seven dead are all linked in some way although they did not all know each other.

Several of them posted personal profiles on the social networking internet site Bebo.

Since their deaths friends have set up memorial sites where they can post messages and obtain a "virtual brick" in a "remembrance wall".

The deaths have raised new worries about the influence of the internet on young people.

January 5, 2008: Gareth Morgan, who knew Clarke, found hanged in bedroom

The police have private concerns that youngsters may consider it fashionable to have an internet memorial site and are killing themselves for reasons of prestige.

Natasha's hanging was the seventh in Bridgend in a year.

The first to die was 18-year-old Dale Crole, who hanged himself and was found in a disused warehouse in January 2007.

The following month Dale's school friend David Dilling, 19, was found hanged near his village home.

Two days before David's funeral, another school friend, Thomas Davies, 20, hanged himself from a tree.

A friend of Thomas, Zachary Barnes, 17, was found hanged from a washing line a few months later.

Liam Clarke, 20, a close friend of Dale Crole and a schoolmate of Thomas Davies, was the fifth victim.

December 2007: Liam Clarke, a friend of Crole's, found hanged in a park

He hanged himself in a park two days after Christmas.

Earlier this month, Gareth Morgan, 27 – who regularly drank with Liam – was found hanging in his bedroom.

Police and paramedics were called to Natasha's home in Bridgend, at 6pm last Thursday but she was already dead.

Natasha, who was in her first year studying Care and Childhood Studies course at Bridgend College, spent hours every day on her computer using the name "sxiildchild".

Suspicions of a possible to link to the internet grew after it emerged that Natasha knew Liam Clarke.

On her internet profile she had posted a message reading: 'RIP Clarky boy!! gonna miss ya! always remember the gd times! love ya x'.

Last night it emerged that Liam also knew several of the other victims.

August 2007: Zachary Barnes, a friend of Davies' family, hanged with washing line

His father Kevin Clarke, 46, a heavy goods vehicle driver, said: "We just don't know what all this is about, it is very strange that there have been so many suicides in Bridgend and that they all seem to know one another.

"We don't know if it is some weird cult or copycat suicides or if they have had some bizarre pact to kill themselves.

"We had no idea Liam was thinking of this, so we are in the dark about everything."

A taskforce has been set up in the town involving police, the NHS trust, schools and the council to draw up an action plan to stop the deaths.

Social networking sites such as Bebo, MySpace and Facebook have previously been linked to a series of incidents including episodes of grooming underage girls, online bullying and identity fraud.

There have been numerous calls for increased monitoring of the networking phenomenon.

February 2007: Thomas Davies, found hanged from a tree two days before Dilling's funeral

The internet has also played a role in an increasing number of suicides, on specific sites dedicated to methods as well as chat rooms where the subject is discussed.

Melanie Davies, whose son Thomas killed himself in February following the deaths of his friends Dale and David said: "It's like a craze – a stupid sort of fad.

"They all seem to be copying each other by wanting to die.

"Thomas would spend about three hours a night on the computer, talking to his friends.

"Like most parents, I have no idea how to get on these sites or what other kids are talking about.

"But I would warn other parents to beware and to keep a close eye on their children.

"I have lost my son and it is the worst nightmare."

David Dilling's mother Teresa Claypole, 43, said she had "no indication whatsoever" that her son intended to kill himself.

February 2007: David Dilling, best friend of role, found hanged

She said yesterday: "David missed Dale so much. I often think of the two of them up in heaven meeting again."

Zachary Barnes's mother Mandy, 38, said: "Nobody can get over this – we can't believe it's Zach.

"It doesn't fit with the way he was. For him to take his perfect life, that's agonising devastation."

The two friends of Natasha Randall who attempted suicide have recovered.

Four years ago two girls in South Wales arranged a suicide pact after becoming friends via a chatroom.

Last summer a village in Northern Ireland was devastated by three teenage suicides.

Rumours of a pact involving up to a dozen students swept Craigavon in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, when two boys hanged themselves after attending the funeral of a third.

January 2007: David Crole, found hanged in disused warehouse

Bridgend MP Madeleine Moon told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "This is not just happening in the town of Bridgend, it is happening across a 15-mile radius.

"This is a small community. People know each other. Family links are very easily made and friendships are very easily made because most people tend to socialise in the evening in the town of Bridgend.

"What worries me is that when you start entering a virtual world, as these young people are doing on this Bebo site, you lose the reality of loss, the actual consequences of what you are talking about and the horrible reality of death - in particular, the consequences on family and friends and the whole lack of a future for these young people, which is absolutely tragic."

Ms Moon said she was troubled by suggestions that the suicides may have been motivated in part by the youngsters' ambition to feature on internet memorial pages.

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Suicide capital of Britain?: The South Wales town of Bridgend

"It is absolutely bizarre to think that a memorial wall gives you a reason for ending your life, cutting yourself off from a real future that would involve friends, family, marriage, building a home, building a career - all these real things that stretched in front of these young people - all for the ephemera of something on an internet wall," she said.

"It absolutely defies belief."

Ms Moon urged any young person considering suicide or anyone upset by the rash of deaths in Bridgend to contact the Samaritans.

THE VICTIMS

They appeared to be linked by little more than their home town and a network of friends.

But within little more than a year, the six young men and one young woman, had all killed themselves.

1. DALE CROLE, 18, from Porthcawl, near Bridgend.

He had only recently moved in with his father after being released from a young offenders' institution, but the pair were said to have a volatile relationship.

Dale was unemployed, smoked cannabis and drank heavily.

He was last seen by his family on September 25, 2006.

His badly decomposed body was found on January 5, 2007, after he hanged himself in a disused warehouse at a local beach funfair.

2. DAVID DILLING, 19, from Pyle, a village near Bridgend.

David was the best friend of Dale Crole.

Known to friends as Dai, he told the inquest into his friend's death that the pair regularly spent time together at the warehouse where Dale's body was found.

The teenager was said to be very upset by his friend's death.

He hanged himself near his home in the village, in February, 2007.

3. THOMAS DAVIES, 20 from North Cornelly, Bridgend.

He was a school friend of the first two victims, but was particularly shocked by David Dilling's death.

Thomas had already bought a suit for David's funeral, but hanged himself from a tree on February 25 – just two days before the service.

His mother Melanie,38, said he spent three hours a night on the Bebo website talking to friends and described his death as a copycat suicide, a "craze".

4. ZACHARY BARNES, 17, of Wildmill, Bridgend.

Was a friend of Thomas Davies' family.

He left school to spend ten months working with animals at The Amelia Trust Farm, near Barry, and intended to become a fitness instructor.

His parents Paul, 49, and Mandy, 38, have described the teenager as "fantastic, so loving and caring" and a "big personality".

His body was found in August, 2007, hanged from a washing line at a block of flats.

5. LIAM CLARKE, 20, from Bridgend, was a close friend of Dale Crole.

He worked as a sales assistant, and enjoyed playing football and pool.

On his blog, the tattooed teenager posted a number of pictures of himself in combat gear and holding an air rifle, describing himself as "interested in having fun and gettin rect".

He hanged himself in a park on December 27, 2007.

6. GARETH MORGAN, 27, from Bridgend, was a friend of Liam Clarke and a father of one.

His mother Lynda, 48, said he showed no signs of depression before his death and had been drinking with friends the night before.

Gareth's daughter Maison, eight, lives with his former partner.

7. NATASHA RANDALL, 17, was also friends with Liam Clarke.

She lived with her father, Kelvin and stepmother Katrina in Blaengarw, Bridgend.

She studied Care and Childhood Studies at Bridgend College.

Known as Tasha. Natasha spent hours on her Bebo webpage using the name "sxiwildchild".

Last Thursday, she hanged herself in her bedroom while her parents were downstairs.

 

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