A grieving father has condemned a notorious suicide forum that he says 'got a kick out of' his son's death. David Parfett's son Tom, 22, died in October 2021 after taking a poison tablet in a hotel in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey. As Tom documented his final moments on the forum, users egged him on instead of calling for help.
Father's Heartbreaking Account
David told Metro: 'It was just the sickest thing ever reading those comments. No one thought to call an ambulance or help him in any way. They were getting a kick out of my son dying.' The website, which disguised itself as a support group, has been investigated by Ofcom, which fined the operators £950,000 yesterday. The forum was 'hiding in plain sight', even ranking high on Google search results.
Tom's Struggle with Mental Health
Tom, an academically brilliant A* student, had just moved to St Andrews to study philosophy. Throughout his childhood, he struggled with anxiety over schoolwork, which led to low moods and involvement with child mental health services. David described him as 'a lovely kid to be around' with 'a wicked laugh and a brilliant sense of humour'. However, moving away from home during Covid-19 lockdowns proved challenging. Isolation and anxiety to succeed academically caused Tom to 'fall into a big black hole'. He revealed suicidal thoughts to his father but insisted he would never act on them.
The Fatal Purchase
Two months before his death, Tom was sectioned for a night in Scotland. Despite appearing to improve, he bought poison from a website for around £50. David said: 'He valued my son's life at around £40. No one stopped it, it came like a package on Amazon.' The forum normalized suicide, creating an echo chamber where discussing and detailing suicide was commonplace. David himself had to remind himself that the content was not normal.
Wider Investigation and Fines
The National Crime Agency identified 272 people who bought items from the website between April 2021 and April 2023; 88 of them died. Kenneth Law, a former chef, has been charged with 14 counts of assisting suicide in Canada. Although a package with Law's details was found near Tom's body, Surrey Police found no evidence of communication between them. The website has been linked to 133 deaths worldwide and featured in multiple coroners' reports. It became the first website investigated by Ofcom under the Online Safety Act, resulting in a £950,000 fine. Ofcom is now investigating nearly 100 sites and has issued 17 fines against seven companies, totaling nearly £5 million.
Families Demand More Action
Families of victims demand a public inquiry. David said: 'Ofcom itself has been clear that £950,000 is the full extent of what it can do under the Online Safety Act in this case, and that the forum remains operational. We are not going to pretend that this is the end of the story.' Adele Walton, whose sister Aimee died after engaging with the forum, said: 'My sister is dead. Tom Parfett is dead. At least 133 other families in this country are living with the same loss. Today's fine doesn't bring any of them back.' A government spokesperson said: 'Every family devastated by suicide deserves to know that online services are being held to account... That is why we back Ofcom in using the full extent of its powers under the Online Safety Act.'
