Teen Deaths Prompt Police Alert Over 'Choking Game'

The deaths of two teenage girls have prompted Chicago police to issue a warning about the "choking game"—asphyxiating oneself to gain a feeling of euphoria. Within just 2 weeks, the parents of Rebekah Toia, 15, and Angelena Ohanessian, 14, came home to find their children hanged. "I found her hanging, not hanging in the air," Barbara Toia tells the Chicago Tribune. "She was on tippy toes."

Instructions for "Passout," the "Fainting Game," and "Good Kids' High," as the "choking game" is also known, are available online, allowing the dangerous diversion to spread further. Barbara Toia is now trying to spread awareness about the choking game to other parents: "Hopefully my daughter's death is for a purpose," she said. The Chicago Tribune provides a helpful list of warning signs.
(More choking stories.)