Biggs suicide: teen commits live webcam suicide (video)

What will you do if you see a man trying to commit suicide? Will you step in and prevent him from taking his life? Will you call the police? Many probably would if it happened right in front of them. But what if it was happening online, through live streaming web cam video? Would you still do the same? First of all, would you even believe that the suicide attempt is real and not just another online hoax? These are just some of the questions that continually cross my mind as I reflect on the latest disturbing news from the internet. A college student committed suicide by taking a drug overdose in front of a live webcam as some computer users egged him on, while others tried to talk him out of it, and another messaged OMG in horror when it became clear it was no joke.

The young man was Abraham Biggs, a college student who suffered from what his family said was bipolar disorder, or manic depression. He announced his plans to kill himself at a website
for bodybuilders, authorities said, but some users told investigators later they did not take him seriously as he had threatened suicide on the site before. Many even thought it was a hoax, another cruel joke like thousands many of us have seen on the internet. But this time, it was no longer a joke. Abraham Biggs was really going to take his life. At this point, investigators later revealed, rather than getting sympathy from his online audience some even encouraged him to do it, others tried to talk him out of it, and some discussed whether he was taking a dose big enough to kill himself. As thousands watched, Abraham Biggs swallowed an overdose of his prescription drugs and lay unconscious for hours afterward, with the camera still running and streaming the event worldwide. A computer user who claimed to have watched said that after swallowing some pills, Biggs went to sleep and appeared to be breathing for a few hours while others cracked jokes. it was only much later that someone reported the incident to the police but it was too late. As police entered the room, twelve hours later, the audience's reaction was filled with internet shorthand: "OMFG," one wrote, meaning "Oh, my f__ God." Others, either not knowing what they were seeing, or not caring, wrote "lol," which means "laughing out loud."

Why didn't anybody notify the police earlier? Why wasn't the site's moderator informed? I understand that it may have seemed like a joke at first but why did it take 12 hours for anybody to do something? But then again, who am I to say that I would have done otherwise. With all the hoaxes we see in cyberspace nowadays even I, probably, would have thought that it was another bogus stunt.

While condolences poured into Biggs' MySpace page, where the mostly unsmiling teen is seen posing in a series of pictures with various young women, his family is grieving, painfully taking the loss of their young loved one's life. Lawyers, on the other hand, are reviewing current state laws to see if the website can be held liable.

There is nothing we can do now but grieve for Abraham Biggs. Though his suicide was one of the sorriest events ever captured live on webcam, I hope it has taught many of us a lesson. We should not take any suicide attempt for granted. Any similar incident in the future should be reported to the site's moderator and the police.

Rest in peace, Abraham Biggs. May you have wonderful journey.

Postscript: An online video purportedly about the incident has surfaced on the internet yesterday. However, its authenticity could not be verified. The video was later removed.

Investigators said they know of a case in which a Florida man shot himself in the head in front of an online audience, though they didn't know how much viewers saw. In Britain last year, a man hanged himself while chatting online.

Abraham Biggs teen webcam suicide news video

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