UK regulators have sought to shut down a website that allows people to advertise themselves as “suicide buddies” and is believed to be involved in 130 British deaths.
The website hosts “members-only” forums where users can search for someone to join them in this devastating act (some travel abroad to do so).
There are also forums on the site where commenters offer instructions on how to die by suicide and encourage others to do the same.
A 28-year-old man from the Midlands committed suicide alongside a woman he had met on the website who lived in Scotland. Another woman who killed herself after using the forum was found dead “lying next to a complete stranger”.
A BBC investigation found that more than 700 Britons have posted on the website and that users from around the world have posted more than 500 comments.
Under the Online Safety Act, any online content related to the promotion of suicide and self-harm is illegal, and watchdog Ofcom must take action to remove it.
Melanie Dawes, chief executive of online regulator Ofcom, said the site had been contacted and told the content was “illegal”.
“They initially stopped being available to UK users but have now made it available again,” he said, adding that it is “quite difficult” to take firm action as the website is based in the US.
He The BBC spoke with several grieving Britons whose loved ones had visited the website before their suicide.
One of them is Angela Stevens, whose 28-year-old son Brett took his own life in December 2019 along with a woman he had met on the website.
He had travelled from his home in the Midlands to Scotland to meet her, and the couple rented an Airbnb, where they eventually died.
Ms Stevens has spent the years since her son’s horrific death researching the pro-suicide website and compares it to a shady dating app.
“It’s a very dangerous place,” he told the BBC.
“Where else would you go to find a partner to kill yourself with? It’s absolutely disgusting.”
Around 5,000 people take their own lives each year in the UK, with men aged between 50 and 54 being the most vulnerable group.
Another woman affected is Helen Kite, whose sister Linda posted on the site in 2023 looking for a partner.
Linda met a man she connected with through her position at a hotel in Romford, east London.
They consumed a toxic chemical and died together in July 2023. Her body is said to have been found “next to the body of a complete stranger.”
Sadly, Ms Kite’s other sister, Sarah, was so traumatised by Linda’s death that she visited the same website, ingested the same toxic substance as her sister and died in September 2023.
The investigation also found that vulnerable people who visit the website are targeted by predators who encourage suicidal behaviour.
A 31-year-old man, Craig McInally, was found to have provided “advice and assistance” to suicidal young women, including offering suicide “practice” to a 25-year-old woman.
The mother of one of the women McInally attacked said: “It’s like something out of a horror movie, out of this world.
“I couldn’t believe a website like this existed. These are sick minds.”
The investigation uncovered two cases where US men met a suicidal British woman on the website and travelled to meet her in the UK.
In one case, a Minnesota man claimed he was “asleep” when the 21-year-old woman he had flown to meet… ingested a toxic chemical and died on the 11th day after staying in a hotel with him.
The BBC found two cases where US men met a British woman on the forum and flew to meet her and take part in her suicide.
The man called emergency services when he realized what he had done.
He was arrested and questioned by police, but was released without charge and allowed to fly home.
In a second case, a Florida man is believed to have arranged to meet four people, including a Briton, and is said to have given one of them a gun.
The man also admitted flying to London to meet a young British woman at a hotel.
Under the new Internet Safety Act, which comes into force later this year, websites that encourage self-harm and suicide are illegal.
Under the new legislation, Ofcom will be responsible for policing such harmful online content.
However, it remains unclear how exactly the organization will do this.
In a statement to the BBC, a government spokesperson said it was committed to the new law and “determined to take action to stop this online harm”.
“We want to implement these new protections as soon as possible.”