An American teenager killed himself and broadcasted the scene live to the shock of the entire world. Even more shocking was the fact that he had announced his intention on his blog and, although many people knew about it, nobody did anything to prevent the tragedy. In fact, he was actually encouraged by Justin.tv viewers and Bodybuilding.com forum members.

The teen who probably became the first person who committed suicide online was Abraham K. Biggs, 19, of Pembroke Pines, Florida. He chose to put an end to his life by taking an overdose of opiates and benzodiazepine. The pills had been prescribed for his bipolar disorder, a disease which mixes depression and mania.

The teenager’s family is still under shock. His father, Abraham Biggs Sr, said that it is "unimaginable" that neither the operators of the website nor any of its viewers did anything to prevent the tragedy. After taking the anti-depressives, the 19-year-old remained comatose online for hours before succumbing.

''We were very good friends,'' Mr Biggs said of his son.

"It's wrong that it was allowed to happen.''

The boy’s mother said that the illness has finally claimed her son’s life. The teen was a student and wanted to become a paramedic. He was studying at the Broward College where his father is a maths professor.

''My son, Abraham Biggs Jr, was well-loved and cared for. However, the mental illness of bipolarity and depression got the better part of him,'' the mother wrote on MySpace.

Police arrived at the scene of the suicide approximately 12 hours after the teen made clear his intentions of putting and end to his life. The student first said on his blog that he hated himself and did not want to live anymore. He made the announcement on a Web site for bodybuilders and from there he posted a link to Justin.tv, a site that allows users to broadcast live videos from their webcams.

According to a person who claimed to have witnessed the suicide online, the teen went to sleep and continued breathing for hours after taking the pills. The other users who were watching the suicide live were cracking jokes about it. There were some people who tried to talk Biggs out of it, but it wasn’t enough. Some users said they did not take it seriously because Biggs had threatened to kill himself before.