#Murray Dowey

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Libby Brooks

Published: Apr 29, 2024

Ros and Mark Dowey, whose son Murray took his life after being duped by criminals online, are calling for greater awareness and social media regulation

It was a relaxed evening at home in Dunblane, near Stirling, a few days before the turn of the year. The Dowey family – Ros, Mark and their three sons – were watching television when talk turned to plans for the new year. Murray, 16 years old and their middle boy, chatted about saving up for a holiday to Marbella he was planning with his friends that summer. At about half past nine, he went up to his bedroom. It was the last time his family saw him alive.

The next morning, Ros was preparing for a visit to friends in Glasgow. “I saw that Murray’s door was ajar with the light on,” she says. “I walked in and said ‘Are you up?’ and found him there.”

Mark was downstairs watching the football when he heard “this crazy, crazy screaming”. He shudders at the recollection. In the couple of hours since he had gone to bed, Muzz – as his family knew him – had taken his own life.

It took the police two weeks to gain access to Murray’s phone, and discover the truth – two weeks of “questioning every interaction”, says Ros, “trying to understand what we’d missed, how that happy boy who’d gone to bed that night was dead”. Neither Murray himself, nor anyone close to him, had ever expressed any concerns about his mental health.

Police Scotland told the Doweys there was evidence that, on the night he died, Murray was targeted by criminals involved in financially motivated sexual extortion – commonly known as “sextortion”.

[ Murray Dowey. ]

“He was duped into thinking he was talking to a young girl,” Ros explains, “and she had an intimate picture with her. As soon as shared his own, it became very clear it wasn’t a young girl he was speaking to, it was criminals who immediately started to extort him, asking for card details and threatening to share his picture with all his contacts.”

The effect on Murray would have been catastrophic, says his mother. “He was very private and hated being the centre of attention.” She describes the “frenzied panic” he must have felt: “That’s why they target teenagers, because they don’t have the life experience to understand it will pass.”

Murray was clever and street-smart, says his dad, not glued to his phone, and, if anything, slightly dismissive of social media. An open family, they had discussed the dangers of sharing photos and messaging strangers “and yet he still fell for it. It can happen to any child.”

Ros and Mark reflect on Murray’s self-containment and it is clear that they likewise do not relish public attention. But they have chosen to speak to the Guardian and one national television broadcaster. “We are doing it for Murray”, says Mark simply. “We want young people as far as your readership goes across the world to get the idea that this is insidious – it comes into your home.”

“We were six feet away when this was happening. He just needed to come through to our bedroom. So it’s about putting the phone down, walking away, saying to someone else, ‘This has happened, what the hell do I do?’ Murray didn’t do that and we lost him.”

They describe their “lovely boy” as bright, funny, sociable, passionate about his guitar and his football team, Stirling Albion. He loved hip-hop – Kid Cudi, Lil Yachty and Benzz were on his funeral playlist – and camping with his tight-knit group of pals up at the local reservoir.

His friends are devastated. Dunblane high school delayed their prelim exams when they returned to class in January after Murray’s death, and while the school immediately addressed the wider issue with pupils, Ros would like to see more concerted awareness-raising across the education sector.

“It can’t be a soft message and it needs to happen now. This is growing exponentially and young people are dying.”

International data bears this out. The FBI has recorded a tenfold increase in the number of cases since 2021 and more than a dozen related deaths. In August 2023, two Nigerian men were extradited to the US to face charges relating to online extortion and their part in the suicide of Michigan 17-year-old Jordan DeMay.

Earlier this month, police in New South Wales, Australia revealed a near-400% increase over the past two years as they announced that two different men had been charged in Nigeria over the alleged sexual extortion of a 16-year-old Australian boy who took his own life last year.

UK campaigners highlight Report Remove, an online tool for under-18s developed by the Internet Watch Foundation and Childline, which allows them to report anonymously any image or video, which will then be placed on a watchlist used by all the main social media players.

But these platforms must themselves make it easier for young people to get help, say Murray’s parents. Mark believes children’s contacts should be private by default, thus depriving scammers of the pressure point of sharing intimate details.

Ros believes regulation is key. “Social media platforms are making billions and have complete free rein to do what they want – some of which is causing young people to die – with no consequence.”

Police Scotland is understood to be working with authorities in Nigeria as their inquiries continue, and the other international prosecutions give the Doweys some hope of justice for their son.

Ros is unequivocal: “There has to be a really clear message to these perpetrators that you think you’re anonymous and thousands of miles away but these countries will come after you. Not only to punish them, but to deter others from thinking it’s easy cash and it doesn’t matter what happens to the victims.”

“I don’t want any other family to go through this,” she adds. “We were just a normal family … a completely normal, happy, loving family,” – and the horror and the pointlessness of Murray’s loss feel close by. “Then your life is absolutely shattered in the space of a few hours.”

==

Needs to be pointed out that when something disproportionately affects girls, the headline says, "girls." But when it disproportionately affects boys, the headline says, "children."

91% of victims of sextortion are boys 14-18.

[beardedmrbean]

Two brothers from Nigeria who targeted a 17-year-old in a sextortion scam have been sentenced to 17 years and six months in jail in the US.

The Ogoshi brothers, from Lagos, lured Jordan DeMay into sending them explicit images by pretending to be a girl his age - then blackmailed him.

He killed himself less than six hours after they started talking on Instagram.

It is the first successful prosecution of Nigerians for sextortion in the US, where it is a rapidly growing cyber-crime, often linked to Nigeria.

Jordan's mother, Jenn Buta, held pictures of her son in court and wept as she read a victim impact statement. "I am shattered to my core," she said.

She welcomed the ending of the trial, but said there was no good outcome from the tragic case.

Jordan DeMay was a popular schoolboy from Michigan.

Samuel Ogoshi, 24, and Samson Ogoshi, 21, sent him a friend request on Instagram pretending to be a pretty girl his age and then flirted with him.

Once they received explicit images from the teenager, they blackmailed him for hundreds of dollars, threatening to share the pictures online with his friends if he did not comply.

Jordan sent as much money as he could and warned the scammers that he would kill himself if they spread the images.

The criminals replied: “Good… Do that fast - or I'll make you do it.”

John DeMay told Marquette federal court in Michigan he still has nightmares after finding his son dead in his bedroom. He said his family was forced to move home to escape the memory.

If you've been affected by the issues in this story, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line

The brothers pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to sexually exploit teenage boys in Michigan and across the US.

Thirty-eight other US victims were also identified as being targeted by the men. 13 of them were minors.

The brothers sat in court in orange jumpsuits with handcuffs.

Their defence attorneys said the brothers' crimes were fuelled by drug abuse and the sextortion scam culture in Nigeria.

The judge said the crimes showed a "callous disregard for life", especially given they continued targeting other victims after learning that Jordan has died.

Both brothers apologised to Jordan's family.

"I'm sorry to the family. We made a bad decision to make money and I wish I could change that," Samson Ogoshi said.

In the first case of its kind, US police tracked the criminals to Lagos last summer and successfully extradited them for trial.

Another Nigerian man linked to Jordan’s death and other cases is fighting extradition.

Speaking to the BBC in May from Jordan's family home in the city of Marquette, Jordan's mother praised the police for their work tracking the sextortionists down.

But she said she had mixed feelings about the Ogoshis being behind bars.

"It's a relief that someone is being held accountable, but there's no good that's coming out of this situation for my family or for the individuals responsible's family," she said.

"I miss my son more than I can describe to you, but the mother of those men is probably missing her two sons as well now. She too is really just an innocent bystander of sextortion crime," said Jenn Buta.

Researchers and law enforcement agencies point to Nigeria as a hotspot for this type of crime.

In April, two Nigerian men were arrested after a schoolboy from Australia killed himself. Two other men are on trial in Lagos after the suicides of a 15-year-old boy in the US and a 14-year-old in Canada.

Nigerian authorities are also working with police in Scotland to investigate the case of 16-year-old Murray Dowey, who killed himself in December.

In January, US cyber-company Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) highlighted a web of Nigerian TikTok, YouTube and Scribd accounts sharing tips and scripts for sextortion. Many of the discussions and videos are in Nigerian Pidgin dialect.

Nigeria cyber-security professor Adedeji Oyenuga from Lagos State University says he hopes the news of Nigerians being sentenced will filter through to criminals and put them off.

"The Ogoshis case has already sent a bad signal. I am hearing from street level that it is having an effect and it might not stop criminals turning to these crimes, but it will likely reduce the numbers," he said.

There had been an increase in the number of local victims too and Professor Oyenuga says Nigerian police have had some success in tackling the criminals.

It is not the first time that some of Nigeria’s young, tech-savvy population has embraced a new wave of cyber-crime.

The term "Yahoo Boys" is used to describe a portion of the population that use cyber-crime to earn a living. It comes from the early 2000s wave of Nigerian Prince scam emails which spread through the Yahoo email service.

Dr Tombari Sibe, from cyber-security firm Digital Footprints Nigeria, says cyber-fraud such as sextortion has become normalised among young people in the country, but he hopes that news of the Ogoshis' sentencing spreads fast.

"They see cybercrime as a bloodless crime, with potentially lucrative financial rewards. This case needs to be given sufficient coverage to show these young people that sextortion can lead to loss of life and long prison sentences," he said.

[blairemclaren]

Murray Dowey Death - bgddtdry Obituary : Murray Dowey Has Died

Murray Dowey Death - Obituary, Funeral, Cause Of Death Canadian hockey legend Murray Dowey dies at age 95.....click link to learn more

Murray Dowey Death – Obituary, Funeral, Cause Of Death Canadian hockey legend Murray Dowey dies at age 95. Through a social media announcement, DeadDeath learned on May 30, 2021, about the death of Murray Dowey who has died. In the mourning spirit of this death, families, friends, and associates of the deceased share their sad news across social media timelines. It is really a difficult time for…

[goalhofer]

R.I.P. Murray Dowey.

[takeapicphotos-blog]

In 1971, the Flyers were inducted into the Canadian Armed Forces Sports Hall of Fame and in 2008 they were inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame. The RCAF Flyers team members • Squadron Leader Dr. Sandy Watson – Manager • Sergeant Frank Boucher – Coach • Corporal George McFaul – Trainer and equipment manager • Flying Officer Hubert Brooks • Leading Aircraftman Murray Dowey • Flying Officer Frank Dunster • Leading Aircraftman Roy Forbes • Sergeant Andy Gilpin • Aircraftman First Class Orval “Red” Gravelle • Corporal Patsy Guzzo • Mr. Wally Halder – highest scorer during the Olympic Games • Aircraftman First Class Ted Hibberd • Corporal Ross King • Aircraftman Second Class André Laperrière • Flight Sergeant Louis Lecompte • Aircraftman First Class Pete Leichnitz • Mr. George Mara – Team captain • Leading Aircraftman Ab Renaud • Flying Officer Reg Schroeter • Corporal Irving Taylor #ohhof #ygk #hockey #puck #kingstonmuseums #historic #kingston #hhof #olympics #therealmiracleonice #rcaf #flyers #airforce #ygkphotography #visitkingston #kingston_on #beautifuldestinations #getaway #discoveron #discover #explore #bestofontario #museum #military #Canadian #canada #greatwaterways #games (at Original Hockey Hall Of Fame) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrkbUY4g0DG/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=2c69sdhgqhe3