Police investigating what is believed to be Britain's first suicide broadcast over the internet are appealing for people to stop spreading images of the incident.
Kevin Whitrick hanged himself in front of his computer and webcam while logged into an 'insult' chatroom on the paltalk.com website last week.
Detective Sergeant Mark Bellamy of Shropshire police has requested images and footage of the grisly event but also asked that the public spread of this material be stopped.
"We are keen to get hold of these devastating images as part of our inquiries and people should not be afraid that they have got them," he said.
"[But] I would urge people not to spread these images any further. Mr Whitrick had a young family and they are absolutely distraught by the images."
The 42-year-old father-of-two had been depressed by the collapse of his marriage, the death of his father and injuries sustained in a car accident when he announced his intention to commit suicide online.
Some of the 50 people logged onto the site at the time tried to convince Mr Whitrick to change his mind, but others encouraged him.
One anonymous user said: "He tied a rope around an uncovered ceiling joist and stood on the chair as he tied the rope around his neck.
"Some of us chatroom users, talking to Kevin over text chat, microphones and video tried to convince him to step down, but others egged him on telling him to get on with it.
"One chatter said: 'F**king do it, get on with it, get it round your neck. For f**k's sake, he can't even do this properly'."
Chat room members managed to alert local emergency services, who broke down the door of Mr Whitrick's house in an attempt to rescue him, but he was declared dead at the scene.
Front page
RSS Feed