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US teen commits suicide as others watch via webcam
Sat, Nov 22, 2008
AFP

MIAMI, Nov 22, 2008 (AFP) - A Florida teenager apparently committed suicide with a lethal cocktail of pills in front of his webcam as others watched it live on the Internet, authorities and local media said Saturday.

Abraham Biggs, 19, of Pembroke Pines, near Miami, took a mix of three drugs Wednesday while he was online with other young people, Broward county authorities said.

They told AFP it was not clear who may have watched the young man die.

Biggs "died in front of his webcam and it was broadcast, but I cannot give more information. We have an investigation in place," said Sergeant John Gazzano of the Broward County Police.

The suicide video first appeared live on Justin.tv, then was posted to other sites such as YouTube.com, The Miami Herald reported. Both have since removed the clip.

"It's unimaginable," Abraham Biggs Sr., the youngster's father was quoted as saying Friday outside his home. "I did everything I could. I'm sorry it wasn't enough."

The father, a math professor at Broward College, said he last spoke to his son early Wednesday about a new GPS system, the Herald reported. The son then asked when the father would be home from work.

The Broward County Medical Examiner's Office said the 19-year-old had ingested a deadly combination of benzodiazepine, a depressant used to treat insomnia, and opiates, according to the Miami newspaper.

He had a prescription for some of the drugs, the Herald said.

Natasha Mazzolino, a close friend, said Biggs "was the most awesome person" she had ever met, according to the Herald report.

But he struggled with feelings of inadequacy and was upset with his relationship with his girlfriend and his parents' 2004 divorce, the paper quoted Mazzolino as saying.

 

 
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