Suicide, Internet | featured news

Eight days after allegedly being sexually battered while passed out at a party, and then humiliated by online photos of the assault, 15-year-old Audrie Pott posted on Facebook that her life was ruined, "worst day ever," and hanged herself....

Reddit co-founder Aaron Swartz's request for a plea deal was turned down by federal prosecutors just two days before he committed suicide as he faced 30 years in jail for stealing academic papers, his lawyer has revealed.

A co-founder of Reddit and activist who fought to make online content free to the public has been found dead, authorities confirmed Saturday, prompting an outpouring of grief from prominent voices on the intersection of free speech and the Web.

Prosecutors said Melchert-Dinkel, of Faribault, Minn., was obsessed with suicide and hanging and sought out potential victims on the Internet. When he found them, prosecutors said, he posed as a female nurse, feigned compassion and offered step-by-step instructions on how they could kill themselves.

A Rutgers University student apparently committed suicide after an internet broadcast showed him in a sexual encounter, New Jersey authorities said.