The family of a 23-year-old Leeds man who sadly took his own life after accessing forums that encourage suicide have started a petition in a bid to get “justice” for him.
Joe Nihill died on April 4 after months of struggling with mental health problems.
Despite going to the hospital for help, Joe found himself on suicide forums online where people “encouraged” others to commit suicide and even discussed methods.
Melanie Saville, Joe’s sister-in-law, said the family thought his mental health was getting better as he was getting help.
She said his death has "completely broken" them especially Joe's mother who lost her parents and his father a couple of years before.
Melanie, a mother of two, said: “I’ve known Joe for ten years. He was only 23, he was always outgoing, happy, the life and soul of the party. He was just happy and caring. He had a couple of bereavements in his life but he always pulled himself back up and he always put his family first.
“In January, he became depressed 24/7 over losing both grandparents and his dad but something pushed him to this.
“He came across suicide forums, I guess he was already suicidal and these pages encouraged him. I found his post on the website asking how to do it and people were telling him what he needs to do.
“How anyone can sit there and do that [encourage others to end their lives] I don’t know, it’s awful. Knowing someone is going to take their life and the people are encouraging them, don’t actually take their own.
“They’re preying on the vulnerable people and waiting for the next one to come along.”
Joe’s family has been left devastated and heartbroken after his death - but Melanie says they are determined to get justice for him. Their petition to tackle the dark websites has so far received over 800 signatures.
“It’s awful, I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through this," she added.
“Our aim is to try and prevent the sale of potentially harmful substances, especially those promoted on suicide forums. We also aim to help prevent suicide forums from being easily available especially to vulnerable people.
“Joe requested that we carried on fighting for him and one of his wishes was that we help stop these websites.
“We will keep fighting for him to help others.”
