Monday 2 September 2024 – 16:28
A BBC investigation has uncovered that more than 700 people in the UK have used a pro-suicide website to seek out someone to die with. The site, which has a members-only section called the “partners thread,” connects users looking for a suicide partner.
The investigation linked several double suicides to this thread. It also found that predators have used the site to target vulnerable women.
One tragic case involved 28-year-old Brett Stevens, who, in December 2019, traveled from the Midlands to Scotland to meet a woman he connected with on the site. The pair rented an Airbnb and took their lives together.
Brett’s mother, Angela Stevens, has spent years researching the site since her son’s death. She describes the “partners thread” as a dangerous place, likening it to a dark version of a dating app. “It’s just absolutely vile,” she says, pointing out how the thread not only encourages suicide but also offers instructions on how to do it.
