Leeds man jailed for 6 years for encouraging US citizen to commit suicide

A British man who admitted encouraging a "vulnerable" 21-year-old US citizen to kill himself while on a video call has been jailed for six years and four months.

Dylan Phelan, 21, from Morley, had been communicating with Travis Dyer, who was struggling with his mental health, for several months via the Discord online platform.

Leeds Crown Court was told Phelan, together with two other men based in the US, encouraged Dyer, who lived in Louisiana, to kill himself during a two-minute call which took place on 30 October 2024.

Judge Barry Cotter KC said Phelan had acted out of "morbid curiosity" and that Travis had needed "help and support but he got the very opposite of that from you".

The court was told Phelan, and the two other men, known only as Mads and Rob, were members of a private server on Discord called 'Recovery4all' where they shared thoughts about mental health issues.

Andrew Petterson, prosecuting, said: "The name 'Recovery4all' was ironic as the members did not seek to help others with their mental health struggles.

"The deceased shared his suicidal thoughts within the group and his plans to take his own life."

Petterson said there were individuals in that group who wanted Dyer to take his own life and encouraged him to do so.

The court was told the trio encouraged Dyer to spend all his money on drugs and alcohol so that he had no means of sustaining himself financially.

He was also encouraged to carve the initials of the men into his skin, with Phelan's name scratched onto his hip.

Petterson added: "This was a campaign of cruelty during which Travis Dyer was groomed into taking his own life."

The court was told Dyer had suffered a series of losses in his family, including losing his mother and young sister to drowning when he was a child.

His great-grandmother Vivian Mahoney, who followed proceedings from the US via a videolink, said in a victim statement: "Travis Dyer was a shy, smart and resilient young man who survived more tragedy than most endure in a century.

During the video call on 30 October, Petterson said Phelan, along with the others, could be heard encouraging Dyer to take his own life at various points.

After he did so, Phelan could be heard laughing in the background.

A post-mortem examination showed that Dyer had died from a gunshot wound.

The court heard that the next day another Discord user called Zachary Law, who was not part of the 'Recovery4all' group, received a message from Phelan saying that Dyer had taken his own life.

Law, who played no role in Dyer's death, then found other posts from Mads stating t