UK: Teen kills self after being lured and tortured by girl he met on Facebook

Liverpool: An inquest at the Teesside Coroner’s Court in UK has heard that an 18-year-old teenager who committed suicide early this year, was told to do so by his girlfriend who he had met on Facebook.

According to a report in the Mirror, Mitchell Bowie was found dead by his brother at his family home on July 31, 2016. Thereafter, a suicide case was registered.

Months after his death, his family said that they believed that he was murdered and that his Facebook girlfriend was a 'fake' one. They told the inquest that it was just an online phenomena called 'catfish' where a person lures someone into a relationship by adopting a fictional online persona.

The inquest was told that Bowie was seeing a girl from Liverpool whom he hadn't met in person.

The deceased's family also told the inquest that his girlfriend always made excuses when he used to ask her to meet him. They also said that their son's alleged girlfriend had also threatened him by saying that she 'knew people in Manchester' who were going to 'stab him'.

The victim's sister, in her statement, said that her brother's girlfriend had started stalking him and had also told him to kill himself.

"She always made excuses not to meet him. She also rang the house phone constantly. When he finished her, she started torturing him," Bowie's brother said.

When asked about whether her son was scared for his life, Bowie's mother said, "Yes, I do."

Speaking on the investigation that was carried out after Bowie's death, his sister said, "police have never taken a detailed examination of who she (her brother's girlfriend) is or what she is." The case is currently undergoing a trial at the court.