Police concluded blackmail was “the predominant contributing factor" in the suicide. Photo / 123RF
WARNING: This story is about suicide and may be distressing
A teen who had dreams of becoming a policeman took his own life just hours after he was sexually extorted online.
Now the 18-year-old’s death has triggered renewed warnings for young people and their parents to be wary of the harm that can be caused online.
“I reiterate that his death illustrates one of the severest potential consequences of what is extremely harmful, premeditated, and technically organised digital behaviour perpetrated by individuals for financial gain,” Coroner Heather McKenzie said in a decision released today.
In her findings, the coroner said the teen lived at home with his family and was a healthy young man with no medical issues or mental health concerns.
However, in 2023 he had surgery, which resulted in him spending a lot more time inside.
During that time, he met a person on Facebook who called herself Laura Wilson, from Timaru, and wanted to exchange intimate images.
He had no way of knowing he was talking to a scammer in West Africa who then threatened to share the teen’s videos with all his contacts if he didn’t pay $5000.
The extortion left the teen feeling so panicked that he took his own life just hours later.
Police have not been able to locate the person responsible for the Facebook account but believe they have also been in contact with other young people.
According to the inquest findings, the teen connected with Wilson one day in 2023. About a week later they started chatting and the conversation progressed quickly to the point Wilson suggested a video call and the exchange of intimate images.
They conversed for several hours but the teen showed some reluctance in sharing images, saying he wasn’t into that sort of thing and would have to know her first.
But, Wilson persisted.
Later that evening the pair eventually exchanged intimate images.
Then, according to the coroner, the nature of their chat dramatically changed.
Wilson started threatening the teen, saying the images would be shared with his contacts, telling him he had committed a crime, and listing the supposed consequences.
Wilson appeared to put a video of their communications on You Tube and told him she’d done so, but it was not yet live on the platform.
She then told the teen he needed to pay $5000, which would be given to an organisation that helps starving children.
He told Wilson he had no money, then panicked and told his mother what had happened.
The coroner said the teen was “extremely distressed” to the point he threw up in his bedroom. He told his mother he had found out Wilson was a minor and was worried he would get a criminal record.
His mother said things were not that bad and to ignore them, but the teen said he was ashamed and couldn’t face school and his friends in the coming week.
He told her he needed time to himself.
According to the inquest findings, she left him for about 10 to 20 minutes and tried to find Wilson’s Facebook account online.
When she returned, he was gone so she asked his sibling to help look for him.
His sibling found him injured and emergency services were called. He was taken to hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
The coroner said police have completed their investigation into the teen’s death.
They identified an individual during the investigation and concluded the person was criminally liable for blackmailing the teen.
In their view, the blackmail was “the predominant contributing factor in his suicide”.
However, police didn’t have enough admissible evidence to extradite and charge the individual.
The coroner said an analysis of the person’s account revealed a pattern of harm involving multiple social media accounts, and activity traced to West Africa.
Police said the offending account’s visible interactions suggested contact with multiple young people.
Police characterised the interaction with the teen as a ”short, sharp attempt at getting blackmail material," as opposed to a romance scam, and believe it fits with the “MO for other overseas sextortion cases”.
Detective Inspector Stuart Mills, police manager of intercept and technology operations, told NZME there were still no further lines of inquiry.
“Despite extensive efforts, including co-operation with international partners and technical attribution, jurisdictional and data retention limitations prevented further progress.”
He urged victims of sextortion or any kind of online blackmail to report the matter to police as soon as possible.
Mills said police had seen instances of children as young as 9 targeted by sextortion, “although this type of offending doesn’t discriminate; we have also seen victims as old as 76″.
Coroner McKenzie referenced 2024 Police Association data which showed police were dealing with an average of 10 cases of sextortion a week, 88% of the victims were male, and most victims (43%) were aged 16 to 20.
In considering whether recommendations were appropriate, she referenced a police media release outlining how to spot offending, advice for victims, parents and caregivers.
The coroner also acknowledged the steps the teen’s mother took to look after and reassure him, as well as the trauma she and his sibling suffered.
“I extend my deepest condolences to his family for their loss in these very challenging circumstances.”
HOW TO SPOT OFFENDING EARLY
FOR VICTIMS
FOR PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS
WHERE TO REPORT OFFENDING
POLICE: Call 105 (non-Emergency) or 111 (Emergency)
NETSAFE: Text ‘Netsafe’ to 4282. Email: help@netsafe.org.nz, Call toll free on 0508 NETSAFE (0508 638 723). Online report form at netsafe.org.nz/report. The helpline is open from 8am – 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 5pm on weekends.
Al Williams is an Open Justice reporter for the New Zealand Herald, based in Christchurch. He has worked in daily and community titles in New Zealand and overseas for the last 16 years. Most recently he was editor of the Hauraki-Coromandel Post, based in Whangamatā. He was previously deputy editor of the Cook Islands News.