Teenage Suicide Internet Link

Mother urges parents to monitor computer use

Police in south Wales are investigating the possibility of an internet "suicide chain" after the apparent copycat deaths of seven young people over the past year.

The latest victim, Natasha Randall, 17, was found dead at her family home in Blaengarw, near Bridgend last week. Two other teenage girls who knew her attempted to harm themselves the following day. Last night, one of them was still on a life support machine in hospital, while the second girl was discharged from hospital.

Police believe that all the victims may be linked, even if they had not met offline.

South Wales police seized Natasha's computer and officers said they were attempting to trace any internet communication between the victims by email or through social networking websites.

Superintendent Tim Jones, divisional commander of Bridgend police, said: "The investigation will seek to establish the full circumstances surrounding these tragic circumstances and clearly communication between friends and associates is an important consideration.

"There is a growing trend for young people to communicate through telephone text messaging and also over the internet whether it's email or within chat room forums."

He said police were tracing friends and associates of the girls while officers were also visiting local parents

Over the past year six young men have killed themselves in the area, several of whom had posted profiles on the social networking website Bebo. Following their deaths other youngsters set up memorial sites where friends post messages and contribute a "virtual brick" to a "remembrance wall". Postings on the page for Natasha included messages reading: "RIP chick", "Sleep Tight Princess" and "Sweetdreams Angel."

Before her death, Natasha, a first year student at Bridgend college, had also posted messages dedicated to people who had killed themselves. One message, dedicated to Liam Clarke, 20, who was found dead in a Bridgend Park on December 27, read: "Tasha Randall says: "RIP Clarky boy!! gonna miss ya! always remember the gd times! love ya x "Me too!""

Clarke, friends with another victim, Thomas Davies, 20, who killed himself just two days after the funeral of a third young man, David Dilling, 19, who also killed himself.

Yesterday, Davies' mother Melanie warned parents to keep a close eye on their children's internet use. She said: "I think the problem is they do not know how to speak like adults about serious issues like this. They can speak to each other on the computer but do not know how to express their emotions in other ways."

"Thomas would spend about three hours a night on the computer, talking to his friends. The thing is that most parents don't understand what they are doing or what they are talking about.

"He did go on Bebo and apparently he had a page on there. He must have discussed his other friends dying on there because it had upset him. Like most parents, I have no idea how to get on these sites or what other kids are talking about."

Police are also linking the deaths of Dale Crole, 18, of nearby Porthcawl, and Zachary Barnes, 17, of Bridgend, with the other deaths. Two weeks ago Gareth Morgan, 27, was found dead in his bedroom at his home in Bridgend.

Last summer, Bridgend coroner Philip Walters said he was "desperately concerned" about the number of suicides among young men in the region.

Original Source - The Guardian Online

Authors - Martin Hodgson

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