Abraham Biggs Jr., 19, a young college student from Florida killed himself
by taking a drug overdose in front of a live webcam. He broadcasted his final
hours via Justin.tv, a website which allows users to broadcast live, to other
content-sharing sites.
After it was clear that Abraham Biggs Jr. is no joking, some
users contacted the Web site to notify the police but by the time police
arrived a the scene, the young student was dead.
According to the media reports, Abraham Biggs Jr. has
suffered from bipolar disorder and he used a combination of opiates and
benzodiazepine to kill himself. The drugs were prescribed for his condition.
The Broward County Medical Examiner reported that some
viewers responded to Biggs' suicide threat by encouraging him, while others
tried to convince him to change his mind. The Broward County Medical Examiner
ruled the death of Abraham Biggs Jr. as a suicide.
"We have ruled it a suicide. Part of the terminal event
was recorded on a website and there was streaming video," said Dr. Steve
Cina, deputy chief medical examiner of Broward County.
Asked to comment on the incident, Justin.tv CEO Michael
Seibel said that what happened is indeed a regretful thing and pleaded for the
respect of the privacy of the broadcaster and his family. He then explained the
website's policies of discouraging the distribution of distressing content, as
the video of Biggs suicide was removed according to the terms of service.
According to AP, Biggs’s family was outraged that no one
acted sooner to save him. "They got hits, they got viewers, nothing happened for
hours," said his sister, Rosalind Bigg.
According to various media reports, the users thought
initially that the broadcast was a hoax, but they started to worry when he lied
motionless on his bed.
Apparently, Abraham Biggs Jr. announce his suicidal
intentions in a note posted on its website six days ago.
The Miami Herald newspaper noted in that another suicide in Broward County was broadcasted live on the
Internet a few years ago.
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