Anastasia Svetozarova and Maria Vinogradova, two half Russian sisters commit suicide in the latest suspected case of the Blue Whale suicide social media game preying on depressed teens.
Russia police are probing whether the suicide deaths of two teen half sisters was related in the latest incidence of so called the Blue Whale suicide game.
The sisters, since identified as Maria Vinogradova, 12, and Anastasia Svetozarova, 15, were found dead on a snowy pavement beneath their apartment block in Izhevsk.
Local media reported the two girls jumping to their suicide deaths from a tenth story rooftop.
The girls’ deaths follows Maria being ‘upset and depressed’ when the girls’ mother took her to a gynaecologist after she allegedly began a relationship with an underage boy called Dmitry.
The mother was ‘furious’ about her boyfriend, say reports.
Anastasia was also said by friends to be ‘depressed’.
Hundreds of Russian children and teenagers are feared to have taken their lives in recent years after being inspired by online mentors to complete 50 steps which culminates in suicide.
Blue Whale and other similar online death groups are said by police to prey on depressed young people.
Following the girls’ deaths, the UK’s mirror reported police now seeking to study the half sisters’ phones and computers for any traces that such suicide groups had sought to exploit their emotions or guide them towards taking their lives.
Isaiah Gonzalez Blue Whale challenge suicide: the online craze killing teens.
Anastasia Svetozarova and Maria Vinogradova: ‘Forgive me, please. I love you so much. ‘I know you will find somebody better than me.’
Seconds before she died, Maria posted a picture of her boyfriend and a message to him with smiles and hearts saying: ‘Forgive me, please. I love you so much. ‘I know you will find somebody better than me.’
Anastasia recorded a video in which she said: ‘Good bye to everyone! I love you all! This is true. Love you very very much.’
The deaths follow, Major-General Alexey Moshkov, head of anti-computer crime K department in the Russian Interior Ministry, having warned that in 2017 a total of 1,339 online suicide groups had been uncovered, with an audience of more than 12,000 users and over 200,000 posts.
Told Moshkov, ‘It would be enough just to come over to any school to see that children literally don’t get out of their mobile devices. The percentage of schoolchildren among social network users is extremely high. And various malefactors exploit that’.
He revealed 230 criminal cases have been opened and 19 masterminds – called ‘curators’ or ‘administrators’ – are so far detained.
These masterminds pick on vulnerable and unhappy young people on the web, and in the case of the deadly Blue Whale game, get them to complete tasks often involving self-harm and exhaustion.
What is the Blue Whale suicide game?
- The Blue Whale game is an online social media group which has hundreds of thousands of posts relating to the sick trend on Instagram
- Members have a 50 days to complete a series of grim tasks – including self-harming, watching horror films and sleep deprivation
- Those behind the twisted tasks reportedly instruct the teen players to commit suicide on the 50th day
