Strangers' internet suicide pact leaves two families devastated

BEWILDERED father Melvyn Lumb is struggling to come to terms with the death of his only son in a suicide internet pact with a woman he had never previously met.

Hours before driving hundreds of miles to apparently fulfil the plan to kill themselves, Stephen Lumb had seemed perfectly normal at the modest, terrace house he and his father had shared for many years in Sowerby Bridge, near Halifax.

The truck driver liked playing computer games but his father insisted his computer use was never secretive and showed no sign of ulterior motives.

Mr Lumb, whose wife Elizabeth, 59, died two-and-a-half-years ago, said: “He was not on computers hours on end. The police have taken his laptop.

“There was no indication whatsoever that anything was wrong. We were talking in the kitchen on Sunday morning. He just said to me he was going out.

“He said he was going to have a bath and a bit of dinner and get ready for work. He was going to work at 4am on Monday. He said he was going to Norfolk or Suffolk and said he would be away for a week.”

Brushing away the tears, he said: “It’s taking some getting over. I just don’t know how I am going to get my life back on track. I loved him so much and I will miss him every day for the rest of my life.

“He was just an average son who liked a laugh and a joke. I just don’t know how to explain it. He showed no signs of being unhappy. Everything was normal.”

The death of Joanne Lee, who was in contact with Stephen Lumb over the internet, was also a shock to her parents, Brian and Jill Chappell who said they had no idea she had been using suicide websites and were “devastated”.

The 34-year-old, of Great Notley, Essex, was found dead with Mr Lumb in his car on Monday morning after they apparently inhaled a poisonous gas, thought to have been hydrogen sulphide. Post-mortem examinations are being carried out.

Mrs Lee, 64, said: “She was a lovely daughter and very caring.’

Described as “‘reclusive” by neighbours, Miss Lee suffered from low self-esteem, depression and an eating disorder.

In a statement, her parents said: “Finding normal social interaction difficult, she found her friends through various social networking sites.

“In more recent times, we thought that her condition was improving. She seemed more content than she had been for a long time. She seemed happy.

“It was devastating for family and friends to discover that she had delved into the darker side of the internet. We were not aware of any connection with Steve Lumb or any involvement in suicide websites.

“We are a close and loving family and our loss is devastating. Our thoughts go out to the family of Mr Lumb.”

The deaths have sparked warnings of the dangers the internet.

Charity Samaritans said it was working with providers of social networking sites to try to ensure suicidal people got access to help if they searched the internet.

Samaritans chief executive Catherine Johnstone said: “The internet can be a place to find friendship and like-minded people to chat to, but sometimes it can also be harmful.

“A distressed person can meet another person online and, instead of finding help and support, they end up encouraging each other to do something they might not have done alone.”

She added: “What we are doing is making sure that Samaritans’ website is one of the search engine results when a person looks for suicide-related information online, so that the option is there for them to seek help.

“We are also working with social networking sites, such as Facebook, to help them and their users offer support to people in distress.”