Mother Of Webcam Suicide Man Shares Pain

(CBS/ AP)  The mother and sister of a teenager who killed himself in front of a Webcam last month are questioning the morals of online viewers who witnessed the suicide and called for greater supervision of Internet communities.

"It was a big part of his life, it was his community. This is where he reached out," the teen's mother, Doreen Biggs, told CBS' The Early Show in an exclusive interview.

Only after police arrived to find 19-year-old Abraham Biggs dead in his father's bed did the Web feed stop Wednesday - 12 hours after the 19-year-old Broward College student first declared on a Web site that he hated himself and planned to die.

"I'm hurt, I'm angry that so many people could actually watch this and not think that it's there responsibility - not do anything about it - he was calling out for help," Doreen Biggs said.

"We do have a moral and social responsibility to each other," she said.

Biggs announced his plans to kill himself over a Web site for bodybuilders, authorities said. He posted a link from there to Justin.tv, a site that allows users to broadcast live videos from their Webcams.

A computer user who claimed to have watched said that after swallowing some pills, Biggs went to sleep and appeared to be breathing for a few hours while others cracked jokes.

Abraham's sister Rosalind Biggs Fanning agreed with her mother and said she was upset that the Web site's moderators didn't respond to her brother's pleas for help.

"All we can do is sit there and watch?" Rosalind said.

She added that there needs to be a standardized method for getting people who are online and in distress help.

After hours of inaction, eventually someone notified the moderator of the bodybuilding site, who traced Biggs' location and called police, Crane said. The drama unfolded live on the Web site which allows viewers to post comments alongside the video images.

As police entered the room, the audience's reaction was filled with Internet shorthand: "OMFG," one wrote, meaning "Oh, my God." Others, either not knowing what they were seeing, or not caring, wrote "lol," which means "laughing out loud," and "hahahah."

It is unclear how many people watched it happen. The Web site would not say how many people were watching the broadcast. The site as a whole had 672,000 unique visitors in October, according to Nielsen.

Biggs was not the first person to commit suicide with a Webcam rolling. But the drawn-out drama - and the reaction of those watching - was seen as an extreme example of young people's penchant for sharing intimate details about themselves over the Internet.

[neenga]

"Judging by the skinny male attracted to bodybuilders, it is very possible that Biggs was a latent homos*exual, and was having severe problems coming to terms with it, otherwise what kind of attention from bodybuilders would he be "crying out" for?"

I wonder if his mental state was a result of steroid use.

[neenga]

"not think that it''s there responsibility "

Editors? Hello?

[vcofreason]

"I''m hurt, I''m angry that so many people could actually watch this and not think that it''s there responsibility -"
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Does ANYONE know how to spell anymore? THERE responsibility? Ummmm, try THEIR. Unreal. I don''t know if it''s the mother''s fault or CBS but the typos I find online are startling.

I do not blame one person watching. Too many fake people on the internet. I wouldn''t have believed it was real either and for the family to blame others is pathetic.

[concorde5]

A lot of video content on the web is fake so I can see how the viewers didn''t believe this young man''s suicide was real.

I watched part of the video and I could see the comments people were posting. There was a lot of debate as to whether or not this was real. People thought it was a hoax until this young man had laid motionless for a long time.

Only when the police arrived did viewers know that it was in fact real. So let''s not be so quick to judge.

He was a disturbed young man as many young people are. I seriously considered suicide myself at his age. Luckily my emotions and hormones straightened out and I don''t have those thoughts anymore.

Having said that my heart goes out to the family because I know first hand what it is like to lose a loved one at such a young age.

[thecatsmeow5]

My thoughts and prayers go to the family of this young man. People need to be more sensitive.

[mellie1957]

I''m very sorry for this family & don''t blame them for Abraham''s death. It''s not easy parenting a troubled teen. I do have contempt for those that watched & egged him on. Someone watching that web cam should have reported this to the authorities sooner.

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by onlythereal-

Belief in fairy tales, with all of the unnatural prohibitions advocated by the twisters thereof, are the most likely cause of the problem.

Yes, we do come from apes, and when we die, that is it. Not even the star of your fairy tales was able to remain alive and on earth after death. That is a 1000 batting average for death.

My taxes are not to be used to promote your fables in school, you have your own churches for that, those who wish can go there. Maybe they would be "cool" if they were not so hypocritical.

[brianbwb-2009]

"Biggs announced his plans to kill himself over a Web site for bodybuilders, authorities said."

Judging by the skinny male attracted to bodybuilders, it is very possible that Biggs was a latent homos*exual, and was having severe problems coming to terms with it, otherwise what kind of attention from bodybuilders would he be "crying out" for?

[clathrate]

All of the people who watched should be hanged.

I am just so disgusted with our society anymore. Kids are taught nothing by their equally selfish, narcissistic parents. I hate to see what this brood of vipers is going to do with their children...hell, they''ll probably just dump them off at the nearest shelter and go back to IMing all their g*ddamned Facebook buddies.

[rsmik]

What kind of rabble-rousing report is this? The boy died in his home. Was it the same home his mother and sister occupied? Where were they if he was so disturbed and needed so much help? It''s so easy to blame strangers, isn''t it? That always helps with the lawsuit.