{"id":9,"date":"2007-03-24T20:43:19","date_gmt":"2007-03-24T20:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/wordpress\/sicence-technology\/get-on-with-it-said-net-audience-as-man-hanged-himself-on-webcam\/"},"modified":"2007-03-24T20:43:19","modified_gmt":"2007-03-24T20:43:19","slug":"get-on-with-it-said-net-audience-as-man-hanged-himself-on-webcam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/sicence-technology\/get-on-with-it-said-net-audience-as-man-hanged-himself-on-webcam\/","title":{"rendered":"Get on with it, said net audience as man hanged himself on webcam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joanna Bale <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Kevin Whitrick logged on to an internet chat room and announced that he was going to commit suicide. He then switched on his webcam, stood on a chair, smashed through his ceiling to expose a joist, tied a rope around his neck and hanged himself.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Several visitors to the site thought that it was a hoax and egged him on, but one dialled 999. By the time police arrived at his flat, he was dead. The case is believed to be the first of its kind in Britain.<\/p>\n

Friends of the 42-year-old electrical engineer said that he had become lonely and depressed since splitting from his wife and had started drinking heavily. He had also suffered serious injuries in a car accident last year and was distraught at the loss of his father, who had died from a heart attack.<\/p>\n

Mr Whitrick is believed to have set up a chat room, Kels Friendly Chat, at paltalk.com and was logged on with about 50 other users to an \u201cinsult\u201d chat room where people \u201chave a go at each other\u201d.<\/p>\n

Visitors to the site said that they thought he was joking when he told them of his suicide plan. One said: \u201cHe tied a rope around an uncovered ceiling joist and stood on the chair as he tied the rope around his neck. Some of us chat-room users, talking to Kevin over text chat, microphones and video, tried to convince him to stop, but others egged him on, telling him to get on with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just couldn\u2019t believe he was doing it \u2013 it was surreal. One chatter said, \u2018F***ing do it, get on with it, get it round your neck. For f***\u2019s sake, he can\u2019t even do this properly.\u2019 \u201d Another visitor to the site who did not wish to be named said: \u201cWhen Kevin stepped off the chair and was left dangling, the mood in the chat room changed and people began to realise what they had seen. I think someone contacted the police, but sadly no one could get to him in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moderators then closed the feed from his webcam.<\/p>\n

Mr Whitrick lived alone in a small flat on an estate in Wellington, near Telford, Shropshire. His former wife, Paula, and their 12-year-old twins live in less than a mile away.<\/p>\n

Police said that an internet surfer alerted them to the suicide on late Wednesday. Officers broke into Mr Whitrick\u2019s flat but, despite attempts to revive him, he was declared dead just after 11.15pm. There were tributes to him in the chat room yesterday under the heading \u201cRIP Kevin\u201d. One, from icemaiden 71, said: \u201cI\u2019m a mate of his and I\u2019m shocked.\u201d But another posting said: \u201cI\u2019m on the phone to the News of the World. I\u2019m going to make a buck on this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Whitrick\u2019s former wife said in a statement: \u201cKevin was a loving father and family man. He was the life and soul of the party and an extremely considerate and kind person. He will be so sadly missed by us all.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately Kevin had a serious car accident in 2006 and he never fully recovered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Whitrick was the brother of Mal Whitrick, an associate director and sponsor of Shrewsbury Town Football Club. They worked together at the family firm, RMW electrical services. Mal Whitrick was understood to be returning from holiday in India yesterday. Sharon Atwal, who works in a corner shop opposite Mr Whitrick\u2019s flat, described him as \u201csubdued\u201d when she saw him on the night he died. She said: \u201cEvery night he\u2019d take eight cans of Boddingtons bitter from the fridge and restock it with the cans from the shelf. He always seemed quite cheerful. On Wednesday night, though, he didn\u2019t seem himself and it was the first night that he did not restock the fridge. It was as if he knew he wouldn\u2019t be coming back.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe always struck me as very happy. He was friendly and had two perfect kids. I cannot believe he has done this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police said that they were investigating. A postmortem examination was carried out yesterday.<\/p>\n

The case appears to echo that of Brandon Vedas, 21, from Phoenix, Arizona, who committed suicide online in 2003 by overdosing on a mix of alcohol and prescription medication. Some people in the chat room egged him on while others tried desperately to find his address.<\/p>\n

Paltalk is the world\u2019s largest online video chat community with more than four million members visiting chat rooms that allow them to see, hear and text each other.<\/p>\n