UK News
Chloe Macdermott researched suicide methods on a forum and purchased lethal substances online in the US
PA Media
Sunday December 31, 2023, 4:55 p.m. GMT
Google and Amazon must act after a British woman made a suicide pact with two people she met online and bought the poison that killed them online, a coroner said.
Chloe Macdermott, 43, died on May 23, 2021 after purchasing a deadly substance from the US on Amazon. She had struggled with her mental health for several years before she began searching for ways to end her life on an online forum, an inquest at the coroner's court in west London was told this month.
Two days before her death, she “concluded a union” with two people with whom she planned suicide. She contacted them a day later while her husband was away and “it was agreed to act that night”. She took the substance around midnight and died as a result the next morning.
Coroner Paul Rogers determined it was a suicide and issued a Future Death Prevention Report to Google and Amazon, saying he believed they had the power to prevent another similar tragedy.
The report was also sent to the Ministers for Home Affairs, Health and Culture and to the National Lead on Suicide Prevention at the National Police Chiefs' Council.
Rogers said it was concerning that the forum used by Macdermott and similar forums “promote suicide, assist it by providing information about methods of suicide, advise suicide by providing information about it, and thereby potentially facilitate the commission of a crime,” according to the United Kingdom”.
He said: “[The forum, whose name was redacted] enables the exchange and viewing of material in its open chat rooms, promoting, supporting, advising and mediating suicide through the provision and exchange of information and methods.
“There are no age or other restrictions preventing access to children, vulnerable teenagers and vulnerable adults. There is no prominent signage about organizations that offer suicide prevention help. Posts are created by users containing details of suicide methods without any effective management to remove such harmful content.”
The availability of the poison online and the ability of Britons to have it shipped from the US “without effective border and/or customs controls” also raise concerns, Rogers said.
All organizations to which the coroner has written must respond within 56 days. They must outline what actions they will take to prevent future deaths and set a timetable for doing so. If no action is proposed, they must explain why.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on the freephone number 116 123 or by email at [email protected] or [email protected]. In the U.S., you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, chat at 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline can be reached on 13 11 14. Further international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
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