MAN COMMITS SUICIDE ON CHATROOM WEBCAM!

[Niels Bohr 72]

Man commits suicide on chatroom webcam

Humphrey Cheung

March 23, 2007 12:49

A Shropshire father apparently committed suicide on the internet as other people watched on a website chatroom. Police today named the man as 42-year-old Kevin Neil Whitrick.

Mr Whitrick was discovered at an address in Orleton Court, at the junction of Orleton Lane and Hollies Road in Wellington, after shocked web users phoned police as he started to self harm in front of his webcam on Wednesday night.

Internet users, who were chatting to Mr Whitrick, watched in horror as the drama unfolded.

This afternoon Mr Whitrick’s family paid tribute to him through a family statement.

It said: “Kevin was a loving father and family man. He was always the life and soul of the party and an extremely considerate and kind person and loved by many. He will be so sadly missed by us all.

“Unfortunately Kevin had a serious car accident in 2006 and he never fully recovered back to full health.”

Police in Telford were alerted to the incident by officers at West Midlands Police and, despite attempts to resuscitate Mr Whitrick, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detective Chief Inspector Jon Groves, who is leading the investigation, said: “Our inquiries to date have revealed Mr Whitrick was using a chatroom with a number of other people at the time of his death.

“We are liaising with the internet service provider at this time to contact other users who were online at the time of this incident and who may have information that could assist our inquiries.

“We are continuing to treat this death as unexplained and I would ask anyone who believes they may have information that could help our investigation to contact police in Telford on 08457 444888.

“We are also working to ensure witness support facilities are available to those who may have been affected by what they saw.”

A post mortem was due to be carried out today to establish Mr Whitrick’s cause of death.

Michael Gwynne, Telford & Wrekin coroner, has been informed and an inquest is expected to be opened next week.

Claire Rowland, West Mercia Police spokeswoman, said: “Our family liaison officers have been speaking to the family and they are very distressed. An officer is with them at the moment.”

Mr Whitrick worked for the family firm, RMW Electrical Services, based at Sweetlake Business Village, Longden Road, Shrewsbury.

His brother Malcolm is an associate director at Shrewsbury Town Football Club.

John Howarth, Shrewsbury Town secretary, said the club was sorry to hear of the events and passed on their condolences to the family.

Neighbours of Mr Whitrick and his estranged wife Paula spoke of their shock.

Keith Hughes, 65, said he had lived opposite Mr Whitrick, his wife and their two children, since the family moved to Rea Drive, in Dothill, about 14 years ago.

Mr Hughes said: “Kevin was a nice man, he did work for me at the house because he was an electrician by trade. He used to come and see his children, he loved them, it’s a big shock.”

Mrs Whitrick’s next door neighbour, who declined to be named, said the couple had separated two to three years ago,.

A man at the Rea Drive property, which was being guarded by police today, said Mrs Whitrick was unavailable to comment on the tragedy.

Another neighbour, Linda Fenton, 39, said: “It’s tragic, I can’t believe it. It’s a terrible shame.”

Mrs Fenton said she saw police cars on Wednesday night at about 11.40pm.

“At first I thought there had been a murder but this is just as bad,” she said. “I have lived here all my life and nothing like this has ever happened before.”

A member of staff from Atwal Jubilee Stores, which is opposite the flat where Mr Whitrick was found, said: “I’m shocked. He was a really nice guy. He would always chat to me and was a bit of a comedian. He was a really nice guy, I’m just so shocked.”

Another neighbour said: “He was a quiet guy, he kept himself to himself.”

The flat where Mr Whitrick’s body was found is part of a two-storey property made up of four flats.

[KarenCee 3]

Nothing really surprises me anymore. *sigh*

[Yaads 0]

So sad

[JohnK 0]

Anybody that pulls a stunt like that is just an attention #######.

[Jasman0717 9]

#######

[eap620 0]

What a horrible thing it is to kill yourself! And then to bring others in to watch you...pretty ridiculous

[Lizzy 0]

Aww thats really sadI would not say he is an Attention #######, Its a bit far out for that. I would say also i feel sorry for the people watching, when he first started to hurt himself i would of called the police right then.

He seemed like a very troubled man whom saw nothing to live for

Bless his heart.

[JohnK 0]

I have plenty of sympathy for those people who feel like there is nothing to live for and see suicide as the only solution. However, to subject innocent bystanders to the horror of watching you do it is extremely selfish and mean spirited. I feel no sympathy for that kind of person.

[Lizzy 0]

I have plenty of sympathy for those people who feel like there is nothing to live for and see suicide as the only solution. However, to subject innocent bystanders to the horror of watching you do it is extremely selfish and mean spirited. I feel no sympathy for that kind of person.

I see your point also.

[notrepetiteashley 0]

That's awful.

If it were attention he truly wanted, he would not have killed himself. He would have "tried" to kill himself. This guy died. End of attention, or I should say, knowledge of attention.

Also, any of those people could have stopped watching him at any moment with the click of a button.

Ew.

[Peikko 1,575]

Selfish and mean spirited?

What an odd thing to say, the man was obviously not thinking normally or he wouldn't have committed suicide. There is nothing normal about committing suicide, there is no normal, acceptable way to do it.

[JohnK 0]

Many a therapist would tell you that suicide is one of the most selfish acts a person can commit. Many people do it as a selfish act knowing that the people around them that are affected by it will never get over it and may feel guilty about it the rest of their lives.

[bostonparis 0]

Many a therapist would tell you that suicide is one of the most selfish acts a person can commit. Many people do it as a selfish act knowing that the people around them that are affected by it will never get over it and may feel guilty about it the rest of their lives.

And many people do it because they think there is no other way, and they have so much internal pain that they can see nothing else. And I don't think a GOOD therapist would tell someone that it's the most selfish act a person can commit. I think a GOOD therapist would try and help their patient without judging.

[Nagishkaw 510]

It was selfish because he wanted an audience to his death.

[notrepetiteashley 0]

As a therapist-to-be I feel I must chime in with what I've learned in school, for what it's worth. And that is: suicide is the ultimate selfish act and a good therapist will try to help their patient see why that is and how their death would affect those around them, thus bringing them back to the now and hopefully getting them to realise why they should live (family, friends, etc.) It's not a cruel technique at all and it's not judging. I know the word "selfish" seems harsh, but when you examine it, how is suicide not selfish? You are giving up on your life when you must know it will hurt so many others. GRANTED, some people do not have the capacity to know it will hurt others, and that's where the word selfish does not apply.

Since this man had possible brain damage from a car accident, his behaviour may have completely changed, as can often happen when people are in car crashes. It's really sad to see.