almitywife
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not a diving incident but a reminder to us about the power of the internet
this is swansea - news, entertainment, jobs, homes and cars
A Suicidal man took his own life after being bombarded with hundreds of emails urging him to do it.Deep-sea diving expert Steven Carmichael-Timson gassed himself in his garden shed.
He had secretly visited a number of internet suicide sites before taking his own life.
An inquest into the 49-year-old's death heard how his diving business had been ruined by an email smear campaign against him.
Carmarthenshire coroner John Owen said: "He killed himself while the balance of his mind was disturbed by messages he had received on his computer, including those from a suicide website encouraging him to kill himself."
Mr Carmichael-Timson's widow, Karen, told the inquest how she discovered the terrible truth about her husband's death when she received a malicious email on the eve of his funeral.
She then found a total of 700 emails on her husband's computer, all offering advice on suicide and encouraging him to kill himself.
Mr Carmichael-Timson's problems began in January when he returned from a visit to Scapa Flow, off the north-east coast of Scotland.
While he had been away an attack on an online forum linked to his business spread malicious and unfounded rumours about him.
Mrs Carmichael-Timson told the inquest: "The content of the messages were vile and caused the destruction of his reputation, and consequently the business he had built."
She said at least 4,000 people had viewed the malicious rumours and the information had been spread to other websites.
She said that after the destruction of his business, her husband's moods fluctuated between "depression and rage".
She was unaware at the time, however, that he was looking at suicide websites.
On February 9, Mr Carmichael-Timson, of Clos Glas, Whitemill, Carmarthen, received an email that "expressed delight in the destruction of his business and threatened him with bankruptcy".
He then contacted a suicide site, telling users that he intended to kill himself and asking for advice.
Just over three weeks later, on March 2, he took his own life. Mrs Carmichael-Timson said: "I firmly believe he would have found the strength to rebuild his life if he had found a different sort of suicide support."
After the inquest she spoke of her anguish and devastation at the way her husband had been driven to suicide.
She said she had printed out and passed on all the emails to the police who were examining them to see whether there was a case to prosecute.
"If these had been handwritten and sent through the post, the people responsible would have been brought before a court," she said. "But these emails came from all over, one was from Germany, which makes things much more difficult."
Mr Carmichael-Timson had been renowned for his research into Second World War wrecks, and was known as a wreck-hunter and underwater videographer. She said she felt he was on the brink of becoming even more successful after clinching a lucrative contract to train divers in the Red Sea, which was subsequently lost.
She said: "I have been left absolutely devastated by his death.
"Discovering those emails and learning the truth of what happened was sickening."
this is swansea - news, entertainment, jobs, homes and cars
A Suicidal man took his own life after being bombarded with hundreds of emails urging him to do it.Deep-sea diving expert Steven Carmichael-Timson gassed himself in his garden shed.
He had secretly visited a number of internet suicide sites before taking his own life.
An inquest into the 49-year-old's death heard how his diving business had been ruined by an email smear campaign against him.
Carmarthenshire coroner John Owen said: "He killed himself while the balance of his mind was disturbed by messages he had received on his computer, including those from a suicide website encouraging him to kill himself."
Mr Carmichael-Timson's widow, Karen, told the inquest how she discovered the terrible truth about her husband's death when she received a malicious email on the eve of his funeral.
She then found a total of 700 emails on her husband's computer, all offering advice on suicide and encouraging him to kill himself.
Mr Carmichael-Timson's problems began in January when he returned from a visit to Scapa Flow, off the north-east coast of Scotland.
While he had been away an attack on an online forum linked to his business spread malicious and unfounded rumours about him.
Mrs Carmichael-Timson told the inquest: "The content of the messages were vile and caused the destruction of his reputation, and consequently the business he had built."
She said at least 4,000 people had viewed the malicious rumours and the information had been spread to other websites.
She said that after the destruction of his business, her husband's moods fluctuated between "depression and rage".
She was unaware at the time, however, that he was looking at suicide websites.
On February 9, Mr Carmichael-Timson, of Clos Glas, Whitemill, Carmarthen, received an email that "expressed delight in the destruction of his business and threatened him with bankruptcy".
He then contacted a suicide site, telling users that he intended to kill himself and asking for advice.
Just over three weeks later, on March 2, he took his own life. Mrs Carmichael-Timson said: "I firmly believe he would have found the strength to rebuild his life if he had found a different sort of suicide support."
After the inquest she spoke of her anguish and devastation at the way her husband had been driven to suicide.
She said she had printed out and passed on all the emails to the police who were examining them to see whether there was a case to prosecute.
"If these had been handwritten and sent through the post, the people responsible would have been brought before a court," she said. "But these emails came from all over, one was from Germany, which makes things much more difficult."
Mr Carmichael-Timson had been renowned for his research into Second World War wrecks, and was known as a wreck-hunter and underwater videographer. She said she felt he was on the brink of becoming even more successful after clinching a lucrative contract to train divers in the Red Sea, which was subsequently lost.
She said: "I have been left absolutely devastated by his death.
"Discovering those emails and learning the truth of what happened was sickening."
