A man who admitted assisting suicide by selling a substance online for £100 to four people has been described by police as a “predator” preying on the vulnerable at the lowest time of their lives.
Miles Cross, 33, from Wrexham, was jailed at Mold Crown Court after admitting four counts of assisting or encouraging suicide.
Assistance Chief Constable Gareth Evans, of North Wales Police, said: “I think it’s important to say that two people have passed away linked to this investigation, and so I would want to be really clear that North Wales Police recognise the dreadful impact this has had on their families and their friends and highlight the seriousness of Cross’s actions.
“It’s unique to North Wales Police in terms of our experiences, in terms of somebody who has no connection to people with suicidal ideation, using that vulnerability to specifically target them, especially for financial gain, to then go on to supply them with a lethal substance and encourage them to use it and probably what’s also unique is the digital element of that.”
Cross had set up a business via an internet discussion forum and interacted under a pseudonym, which allowed people to order the substance directly from him and pay £100 via his bank account.
The chemical was then sent through the post and led to two people taking their own lives.
North Wales Police first came to investigate after a referral from Thames Valley Police, which was investigating a suicide in their own force area.
The person who had died had used a lethal substance, which, following financial inquiries, they linked to Cross, who was the supplier and lived in north Wales.
Mr Evans said: “Obviously, we then put a team on to investigate it, and the initial concern was to try and establish how many packs that Cross had distributed, and therefore how many people might be at risk around the country with it, with the primary objective being to try and locate anybody who bought something and try and get to them before they had before they used it.
“Our financial inquiries and our online inquiries and comparing how much of a substance, that we’re not going to name, Cross has bought, compared to how much he had left, led us to believe that he distributed four packages as part of his offending, charging people £100 each for them through connecting with them online.
“He then directed them via a QR code onto a forum that’s based in the United States and then went on to sort of encourage them to go further with their suicidal thoughts.”
Mr Evans said the police, working with the National Crime Agency and Ofcom, managed to make the specific forum used by Cross in the US one not easily accessible from the UK.
He said one victim, who bought the substance from Cross but did not take her own life, felt preyed up by him.
He added: “For me, it’s a stark message of how serious his offending was, but it also is a message of hope, really, and that she didn’t use the substance that he’d supplied and has gone on to survive and, therefore, we’d really want to put a message out as well that anybody reading or listening to anything around this case, we would encourage them strongly to access the specialist support through organisations like Samaritans and not to go down a line of using online forums where they might come across predators like Cross who are seeking to exploit their vulnerability.”
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branchIf you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
