Tag: suicide

Murder suspect who killed himself in jail, linked to disappearance of TV anchor, was ‘possible serial killer’: sheriff

An EMT who died by suicide in his jail cell and was named a person of interest in the disappearance of a TV anchor was found responsible for the 2006 killing of a Wisconsin woman, according to authorities, who suspect he may have been a serial killer.

Christopher Revak, who killed himself in 2009 inside a Missouri jail cell, would be charged with the murder of 21-year-old Deidre Harm if he were still alive, according to a letter posted on Facebook from Wood County District Attorney Jonathan Barnett.

“I consider this case closed,” Barnett wrote.

“I believe I had enough to charge and, if Mr. Revak were still alive, win at trial,” he said in the memorandum.

Harm, a single mother in Wisconsin Rapids, disappeared on June 10, 2006, after going out to a bar with her friends.

Revak, a former EMT and Wisconsin native, had been visiting family in the area when the young mother vanished, authorities said.

Her remains were found five months later in a wooded area five miles away from the bars downtown.

“This may provide some closure for many, but won’t bring Deidre back,” the Wood County Sheriff’s Office and Wisconsin Rapids Police said in a joint statement.

“Our thoughts and prayers will always be with Deidre’s family.”

Revak died by suicide in his jail cell in July 2009, only one day after being charged with second-degree murder for the death of mom of three Rene Williams.

Williams, 26, was last seen in a Missouri watering hole where she worked as a bartender. Revak had also been in the bar that evening, FOX 9 reported.

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Married Congressman Allegedly Had Affair with Aide Before She Died by Lighting Herself on Fire — Police Block Media Inquiries

Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales has been accused of carrying on an extramarital affair with his senior aide, Regina Santos-Aviles, who tragically died after dousing herself in gasoline and setting herself on fire last month.

Gonzales, 43, a married father of six representing Texas’s 23rd Congressional District, which stretches from San Antonio through Uvalde to El Paso, hired Santos-Aviles, 35, as his regional district director in 2021.

According to a report from the Daily Mail, local police are stonewalling the release of critical evidence, including the 911 call, surveillance video, and police records.

Sources told the outlet that the affair began shortly after her hiring and continued “for some time.”

Santos-Aviles, a married mother of an eight-year-old son who was separated from her husband Adrian Aviles, was often seen by Gonzales’s side, including during high-profile events like Elon Musk’s 2023 tour of the Mexico border in Eagle Pass.

The tragic incident occurred on September 13, when Santos-Aviles poured gasoline over herself in the backyard of her Uvalde home and was engulfed in flames. She was airlifted to a San Antonio hospital but succumbed to her injuries the next day.

Home surveillance cameras installed by her estranged husband captured the horrifying moment, and the footage has reportedly been handed over to the Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab for analysis.

Investigators have ruled it a self-immolation, with no evidence suggesting anyone else was involved.

However, the Uvalde Police Department has refused to release key records, petitioning the state Attorney General to keep them sealed, which the Daily Mail noted is an unusual move. The secrecy has sparked speculation about political favors being done for Gonzalez.

Santos-Aviles’s mother, Nora Gonzales (no relation to the congressman), told the San Antonio Express-News that her daughter’s final words were “I don’t want to die,” describing the incident as a tragic accident.

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Member of Satanic “764” Cult Charged After 13-Year-Old Girl Found Hanging in Parking Lot

An investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and German authorities led to charges Wednesday against a man accused of convincing a 13-year-old to hang herself in Washington State on behalf of a cult-like group, according to multiple reports.

German prosecutors charged an unnamed defendant dubbed “White Tiger” with hundreds of crimes, including the teen’s murder, for an alleged campaign of online abuse and sexual predation that victimized more than 30 children, CBS News reported. Authorities linked the man to “764,” a Satanic online movement that the FBI says is driven by a nihilistic hatred of society.

The teenage victim’s body was found in Gig Harbor, Washington, in January 2022 after she had hung herself with an extension cord on a black chain link fence in a grocery store parking lot, The Washington Post reported. After police sought the FBI’s help, investigators found that online predators associated with 764 allegedly groomed her into the suicide, which she livestreamed on Instagram via her phone. The individuals allegedly suggested in online messages that she take off her clothes because it would make the spectacle “hotter.”

The child victim told her parents she was a transgender boy at age ten and later became anorexic and depressed, FBI agents learned, according to The Washington Post. German prosecutors allege that “White Tiger” began building an online relationship with her while manipulating her and numerous other children into self-harm, starting when the suspect was 16, CBS News reported.

Threats against children from 764 have risen in recent years as the cultists lure vulnerable minors into private group chats and coax them into self-harm or degrading sexual acts, according to the FBI. Similar groups may go by different names but unite around 764’s methods, and adherents work together to evade bans from tech platforms, the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported.

Investigators traced the digital footprint of “White Tiger” and allegedly found other victims on multiple social media platforms who he had convinced to cut themselves, as well as a photo of him cross-dressing in women’s clothes, according to The Washington Post. He allegedly shared the child abuse content with other followers of 764 to boost his reputation in the criminal network.

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Popular hair-loss pill linked to depression and suicide

A new analysis by a public health expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has found that finasteride, a widely used treatment for hair loss, has been associated with depression and suicide for more than twenty years. Despite these long-standing concerns, neither regulators nor the drug’s manufacturer took meaningful action. Drawing on adverse event reports and health records from several countries, the review identifies a consistent pattern of psychiatric side effects linked to the drug. Even with growing evidence, both Merck and the FDA failed to launch necessary safety investigations. The author is now urging major reforms to the way medications are approved and monitored for long-term risks.

For more than two decades, finasteride has been prescribed to millions of men seeking to slow or reverse hair loss. Behind its cosmetic appeal, however, evidence has continued to emerge suggesting serious mental health consequences, including depression, anxiety, and in some cases, suicide.

Prof. Mayer Brezis of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem argues that both the medical community and regulators have repeatedly failed to protect the public by overlooking signs of psychiatric harm associated with the drug.

His review analyzed data from eight large studies published between 2017 and 2023. The findings show a clear trend: people who used finasteride were far more likely to experience mood disorders and suicidal thoughts than those who did not. This pattern appeared consistently across various national databases, including the FDA’s adverse event system and healthcare records from Sweden, Canada, and Israel.

“The evidence is no longer anecdotal,” said Prof. Brezis, a professor emeritus of medicine and public health. “We now see consistent patterns across diverse populations. And the consequences may have been tragic.”

The report estimates that hundreds of thousands of users may have suffered from finasteride-related depression, and that hundreds — possibly more — may have died by suicide. Originally approved by the FDA in 1997 for male pattern baldness, the drug has remained popular for its perceived safety and effectiveness, particularly among younger men. Critics say, however, that its risks were downplayed or ignored.

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Social Contagion: Suicide Rates Among Gen Z Have Spiked Over Past Decade

Suicide rates among Gen Z adults have unnaturally increased in the U.S. over the past ten years according to new figures.

Axios Notes that there has been a 16.4 percent increase in suicides among the demographic between 2014-2024.

The locations where the rise is most prominent, the report notes are in the South and the Midwest, with black and Hispanic men, accounting for a huge 85 percent of the increase.

A Stateline analysis of data also shows that Georgia experienced the largest increase in suicide rates over the past decade, among 18 to 27-year-olds, with the state’s suicide rate in the age group increasing by a massive 64.9 percent.

North Carolina and Texas both saw a 41 percent increase in suicide rates, while Alabama had a 39 percent spike, and Ohio a 37 percent increase. 

Alaska recorded the highest suicide rate among Gen Z, standing at 49 percent per 100,000 people, an increase of more than a third since 2014.

Suicide became the second-highest cause of death among young Hispanics over these years, surpassing homicide. And for young Asians, suicide became the number one cause of death.

Stateline notes that while men are far more likely to take their own lives, the rate for suicide among women has shot up “from about one-fifth of the rate for men to one-fourth in 2024.”

The report quotes American University professor Dave Marcotte, who notes that suicide rates among all age groups had been steadily falling for decades before beginning to rise in again in 2000.

Interestingly, while suicide rates for middle-aged people soon began to fall again, the rates among young people have just continued to increase.

Marcotte explained, “There’s likely no one magic answer to this. Future job prospects for this generation are not what they were for older generations. Today’s generation is not guaranteed a position in society that’s better than their parents. That’s one hypothesis.”

Psychology professor at San Diego State University Jean Twenge suggests that the huge uptake of social media is a likely factor, with those born after 1995 having become adults when smartphones became ubiquitous.

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Psilocybin therapy linked to reduced suicidal thoughts in people with psychiatric disorders

A new study published in Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology provides evidence that psilocybin therapy may reduce suicidal ideation in adults with psychiatric conditions. The findings come from a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials and suggest that the psychedelic compound, when paired with psychological support, may have a modest but measurable impact on decreasing thoughts of suicide. Although suicide attempts and deaths were not observed in these trials, the results point to the possibility that psilocybin could play a role in mental health treatment strategies aimed at reducing suicide risk.

Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in certain mushrooms, sometimes called “magic mushrooms.” It affects the brain by stimulating serotonin receptors, particularly one known to play a role in mood regulation and emotional processing. When administered in controlled clinical settings alongside therapy, psilocybin has been shown to help relieve symptoms of depression, anxiety, and some forms of addiction.

Interest in psilocybin as a therapeutic agent has grown rapidly in recent years, especially for people who do not respond to standard treatments like antidepressants or talk therapy. Some smaller studies have suggested that psilocybin therapy might also reduce suicidal ideation, a symptom common in many psychiatric conditions.

Given suicide’s widespread toll on public health, researchers wanted to evaluate whether these early signs held up across multiple trials. To do this, they examined all available randomized controlled trials that reported on suicide-related outcomes in people undergoing psilocybin therapy.

“I was inspired to investigate the usage of psilocybin therapy to help treat my patients who suffer from treatment resistant depression. As I was reading the latest clinical trials at the time, there were some reports of increasing suicidal ideation. Increasing suicidal ideation would be a risk in this vulnerable population. When I was reviewing the literature, there was not much synthesized evidence which inspired me to pursue this study,” explained study author Stanley Wong, a general psychiatry resident at the University of Toronto.

To assess the potential impact of psilocybin therapy on suicidal ideation and behaviors, the research team carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis. A systematic review collects and evaluates all relevant studies on a specific topic using a structured and transparent process. A meta-analysis goes a step further by statistically combining results from multiple studies to estimate an overall effect. This method is often used in medicine to determine how well a treatment works by comparing evidence across different settings, sample sizes, and trial designs.

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Texas Congressional Staffer ‘Doused Herself in Gasoline’ and Lit Herself on Fire

According to a new report, the Texas GOP congressional staffer who died earlier this month after she caught on fire in her home doused herself in gasoline and set her body on fire.

After reviewing surveillance video, authorities determined Regina Santos-Aviles was in her backyard alone when she caught fire on September 13.

Santos-Aviles was alive when first responders arrived at her home late in the evening on September 13; however, she passed away the next morning.

Firefighters also had to put out burning gas cans, according to the report obtained by Uvalde Leader-News.

Texas officials did not disclose whether Santos-Aviles deliberately set herself on fire; however, her family insists it was an accident.

“Her last words were, ‘I don’t want to die,’” a family member previously told KSAT.

The 35-year-old worked for US Rep. Tony Gonzales as a congressional staffer.

The official cause of death is still pending.

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Would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh guilty on all charges, tries to stab himself in neck when verdict read

Ryan Routh has been found guilty on all charges in the assassination attempt of President Donald Trump. The decision was reached after two and a half hours of deliberation by a Florida jury. As the verdict was being read, Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen. 

Fox News reported that when the verdict was being read, Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen. The assassination attempt took place when Trump was out golfing in Florida last September, only a few weeks after a bullet had hit his ear when he was speaking to a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania.

According to NBC News, Routh is facing life in prison when he is sentenced. The trial had lasted for around two weeks under the direction of US District Judge Aileen Cannon. Routh served as his own attorney in the case and delivered a closing argument claiming that there was no crime committed because he never fired a shot. 

Routh was found guilty of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and assaulting a federal officer.

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Lawsuit: Children of LGTBQ+ Advocate Sen. Ron Wyden Allegedly Drove Assistant to Suicide with Homophobic Taunts

A lawsuit alleges that the children of U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) harassed their mother’s personal assistant with homophobic taunts and “sexually explicit” comments, driving him to suicide.

Details of the lawsuit, reported by the New York Post, present a stark contrast to the record of Sen. Wyden, who has been a longtime advocate in Congress in support of gay, lesbian, and transgender issues.

For two years, ending in 2024, thirty-five-year-old Brandon O’Brien worked for Nancy Bass Wyden, the senator’s wife and owner of Strand Bookstore in Manhattan.

O’Brien’s tasks included driving the couple’s young children to school in New York City and watching them at Disney World, according to the Post.

The lawsuit was filed by O’Brien’s husband, Thomas Maltezos, against Bass Wyden and her company, Bass Real Estate LLC, in Manhattan’s Superior Court.

It alleges the disturbing behavior by the couple’s kids began about three months after O’Brien took the job in 2022, when the couple’s ten-year-old daughter “exposed herself” to the assistant and made explicit comments as she asked him about his “intimate” life.

Maltezos alleges in the suit that the mom did nothing about the incident.

Additionally, Wydens’ teenage son berated O’Brien with homophobic slurs such as “faggot” and “zest kitten,” the suit claims. The boy also allegedly threatened that his football team would “rape” the assistant.

The son’s behavior was so out of control that his mom once had to “mace” her son, but inadvertently maced O’Brien in the process, according to court papers.

Calling the lawsuit “baseless and deeply misguided,” lawyers for Bass Wyden have sought to have Maltezos’ lawsuit dismissed, court records show. They contend it is a cover for O’Brien’s own “serious misconduct,” allegedly a “pattern of theft” from the household.

When O’Brien finally quit in frustration a year ago, Bass Wyden, 64, filed a report with the NYPD the next day, “accusing him of stealing $650,000 in credit card and other thefts, authorities said.”

That began a pattern of harassment by the prominent businesswoman who allegedly spread “false rumors” about him, the suit alleges.

O’Brien committed suicide in late May, seven months after he left the job. Authorities dropped the theft case after the suicide. Lawyers for Maltezos argued the accusation was false.

“The allegations against the senator’s wife are shocking, disturbing, and cruel — no person should ever be subject to this level of harassment, much less in the workplace,” Maltezos’ attorneys said in a statement.

Sen. Ron Wyden, 76, was elected to Congress in 1981, and he married Bass Wyden in 2005. “The couple has three kids in addition to Ron Wyden’s two adult children from his first marriage,” according to the Post.

The Post reported that “the senator and his wife have a home in Portland,” but Bass Wyden’s social media shows she visits New York to attend to the business her family founded 98 years ago.

Sen. Wyden, a progressive Democrat, has been a frequent critic of President Donald Trump over immigration, the Epstein case, and DOGE staffing cuts.

Ironically, considering the lawsuit and his children’s alleged homophobic statements, in late 1995, Wyden became the first U.S. Senate candidate to publicly support same sex marriage.

He also introduced a bill in June calling for sanctions on foreign countries that violate “human rights of LGBTQI+ communities” around the world.

He most recently garnered widespread television coverage battling with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. at an oversight hearing this month.

During the hearing Wyden claimed that “every day” Kennedy has been in office, he has taken action that “endangers the health and welfare of American families.”

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OpenAI to Implement Age Verification System for ChatGPT as AI Mental Health Crisis Deepens

OpenAI has announced plans to develop an automated age-prediction system to determine whether ChatGPT users are over or under 18, following a lawsuit related to a teen’s suicide. The teen’s parents claim that Sam Altman’s AI chatbot served as the boy’s “suicide coach.”

Ars Technica reports that in the wake of a lawsuit involving a 16-year-old boy who tragically died by suicide after engaging in extensive conversations with ChatGPT, OpenAI has announced its intention to implement an age verification system for its popular AI chatbot. The company aims to automatically direct younger users to a restricted version of the service, prioritizing safety over privacy and freedom for teens.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged the potential privacy compromise for adults in a blog post but believes it is a necessary trade-off to ensure the well-being of younger users. The company plans to route users under 18 to a modified ChatGPT experience that blocks graphic sexual content and includes other age-appropriate restrictions. When uncertain about a user’s age, the system will default to the restricted experience, requiring adults to verify their age to access full functionality.

Developing an effective age-prediction system is a complex technical challenge for OpenAI. The company has not specified the technology it intends to use or provided a timeline for deployment. Recent academic research has shown both possibilities and limitations for age detection based on text analysis. While some studies have achieved high accuracy rates under controlled conditions, performance drops significantly when attempting to classify specific age groups or when users actively try to deceive the system.

In addition to the age-prediction system, OpenAI plans to launch parental controls by the end of September. These features will allow parents to link their accounts with their teenagers’ accounts, disable specific functions, set usage blackout hours, and receive notifications when the system detects acute distress in their teen’s interactions. However, the company notes that in rare emergency situations where parents cannot be reached, they may involve law enforcement as a next step.

The push for enhanced safety measures follows OpenAI’s acknowledgment that ChatGPT’s safety protocols can break down during lengthy conversations, potentially failing to intervene or notify anyone when vulnerable users engage in harmful interactions. The tragic case of Adam Raine, the 16-year-old who died by suicide, highlighted the system’s shortcomings when it mentioned suicide 1,275 times in conversations with the teen without taking appropriate action.

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