Gas suicide craze kills four
A POISON gas suicide craze which has been promoted on the internet is sweeping Hollywood.
The latest victim was a young woman in the hills above Los Angeles, who killed herself in her car. On the window was a poster that read: "Danger! Chemicals Inside! Call 911."
Police had seen this before -- and they knew the danger was real to the neighbourhood. Had the chemical cloud escaped from the car with people nearby, many others could have died.
Equally troubling was the fact that directions for the chemical suicide method, first publicised in Japan, were obtained from an easily accessible website through which Ana Gutierrez formed a suicide pact with a stranger who backed out at the last minute.
Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman Ed Winter said: "That was our third or fourth one in 12 to 15 months." He said suicidal people use a mixture of chemicals to create a toxic brew that is incredibly lethal. "One big breath, and boom. That's it," Mr Winter said.
hnews@herald.ie
- By Linda Deutsch
