26 February 2024 , 07:04
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A teenager ended his own life after being blackmailed over nude photographs, an inquest heard.
Dinal De Alwis, 16, had hopes of studying at University of Cambridge and had just started sixth form when he was contacted by someone on social media app Snapchat, apparently from Nigeria. Dinal was sent two photos of himself – and told they would be sent to "all his online followers" unless he paid £100, the hearing was told.
The student left his family home, near Croydon, south London, and recorded a brief video saying he planned to kill himself. Grieving dad Kaushallya De Alwis mourned the "golden boy", of whom he still talks in the present tense. Recalling the day Dinal disappeared, Mr De Alwis said: "He messaged my wife and I to say he loved us, and he told his two brothers that he loves them, and said they need to 'look after mum and dad'."
Police and the National Crime Agency admitted to Dinal's parents that they were unable to trace the blackmailer – but said that he appeared to have been operating from Nigeria.
The 16-year-old boy, who liked to play rugby, ended his life, an inquest heard
The bright student aspired to read economics at University of Cambridge (Justgiving)South London Coroner's Court heard that the blackmailer – who is also thought to have had other victims – wrote: "So you think blocking me can stop me? What do you want me to do – you want me to send to all of your followers? Why can't you just pay me? £100?"
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Dinal, who had begun studying for the International Baccalaureate in sixth form and was top of the school in English and economics, had desires to attend University of Cambridge to read economics. However, the contact with the blackmailer happened in October 2022, weeks into Dinal's sixth form programme.
Once blackmailed, Dinal, a keen rugby player, responded that he had assumed the pictures had already been distributed. The boy slipped out of the house at 2am and recorded a brief video of himself walking down a suburban street. Little more than an hour later, his body was found. The inquest ruled Dinal's death a suicide.
Mr De Alwis wept as he told the coroner: "Dinal was the most caring son. He was bright. He got straight A*s in all of his subjects at GCSEs and was top of the school for English and economics.
"We come from Sri Lanka, so we were so proud to hear he was so good at English. He was brave. He played for the football and rugby teams at Whitgift School. He never asked for anything from us. He was always happy with what he had. His loss is the biggest possible loss. It is so incredibly painful. The fact that he ended his life in this way... the world is so cruel."
Mr De Alwis added: "He didn't show any sort of unhappiness. I think he wanted to avoid any shame from the images going public. I wish he had spoken to us.
"He had always been so open in the past. But I think that when things are happening online, live, it feels like there is no time. He did nothing wrong." Mr De Alwis said he thought a girl may have taken the pictures while with Dinal, and that they ended up in the wrong hands.
But he was also aware blackmailers have been known to pose as attractive girls online, sending erotic pictures and demanding naked "selfies" in return, before demanding cash to keep them private. Mr De Alwis told Daily Mail: 'Dinal had had some girlfriends, he'd been very open with me. I'd warned him to be careful. The grieving is never ending. I'm very worried about my younger son – he's big time into all this social media, and young people underestimate the dangers around them."
A Snapchat spokesperson said: "Any sexual exploitation of young people is abhorrent and our hearts go out to the family and friends of the victim in this case. We work in multiple ways to detect and prevent this type of abuse and work with police to support investigations
"We have extra protections for under 18s including a special reporting category if someone is threatening to share sexual content. Our Family Centre also allows parents to see who their teens are talking to."
The Samaritans is available 24/7 if you need to talk. You can contact them for free by calling 116 123, email [email protected] or head to the website to find your nearest branch. You matter.
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