Cybersuicide Viewers Will Not Be Prosecuted

By Christopher Nickson
May 29, 2007

Those who witnessed Britain's first cybersuicide won't be liable for charges, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Online witnesses to Britain’s first web suicide have finally been told that they won’t face prosecution, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced. In March, Kevin Whitrick committed suicide on webcam. The 42-year-old electrical engineer reportedly hosted a room called Kels Friendly Chat on paltalk.com, and also frequented an “insult” chatroom. After announcing the intention to kill himself, he switched on his webcam and hung himself.  Several who saw the act believed it was a hoax, some tried to persuade him to stop, and others encouraged him. Only one person called emergency services, and by the time they arrived, it was too late. A divorced father-of-two, Whitrick had been suffering from depression, which was exacerbated by an auto crash last year. After reviewing evidence, the CPS has concluded that the remarks made in the chatroom as Whitrick killed himself couldn’t be construed as a criminal offence. “We examined all the evidence passed to us by the police and have concluded that none of the comments made in the chatroom amounted to a criminal offence,” said a spokesman. “As a result, there is insufficient evidence to prosecute any person for any criminal offence arising out of Mr Whitrick's death.” Police had traced and interviewed about 100 chatroom users to ask them about their roles in the suicide. Whitrick is survived by his former wife and twin daughters.