Woman's Facebook Suicide Threat Fell on Deaf Ears

Simone Back kills self, and none of her 1,000 friends took action
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 5, 2011 5:11 PM CST
Woman's Facebook Suicide Threat Fell on Deaf Ears
Photo illustration.   (Shutterstock)

A British woman updated her Facebook status on Christmas Day to read, "Took all my pills be dead soon bye bye everyone." It set off a debate among some of her 1,000-plus Facebook friends about whether she was serious, but nobody took the step of actually finding out, reports the Daily Mail. The following day, someone sent a text to her mother saying "get help," but by then it was too late to save 42-year-old Simone Back.

"It is upsetting to think nobody did anything for my daughter," says Jennifer Langridge. A Facebook spokesperson said the site was "deeply saddened" to hear of the news and noted that UK users can use Facebook's help center to get in touch with a "Samaritans" group to report suicide threats, notes the Huffington Post. American users are encouraged to call law enforcement after a direct threat. Click here for more.
(More Facebook stories.)

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