How online 'campaign of cruelty' led to a real-world death

Warning: This article contains distressing details relating to suicide and self-harm

When Dylan Phelan walked into a police station in West Yorkshire and confessed he had watched - and encouraged - another man to kill himself, it began a series of investigations that would uncover the disturbing truth which had brought tragedy to a family more than 4,500 miles away.

The victim, 21-year-old Travis Dyer, who lived in the US, had turned to online communities for support but instead was preyed upon in the most tragic way.

As the investigation was pieced together, what emerged was what the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) described as a "campaign of cruelty" against a young man who had endured "a very, very sad and hard life".

Prosecutors said that from his home in Morley in 2024, Phelan, along with two other men in the US known only as Rob and Mads, had connected with Dyer via Discord - an online platform popular with gaming communities.

Over months, the CPS said the group had mocked, taunted and encouraged Dyer to self-harm - including persuading him to carve their initials into his skin.

West Yorkshire Police found the men were part of a private Discord server set up to talk about mental health struggles.

Dyer, who lived in Louisiana, had lost several members of his close family and prosecutors said he was "extremely vulnerable".

Vivian Mahoney, his great-grandmother, said his "early life was defined by traumatic losses", losing his great-grandfather in an accident and his "loving mother and his baby sister died in a drowning accident just days later".

In a victim impact statement, she said "Travis was shattered, despondent and lonely" and had been taken in and raised by his grandparents.

Alex Johnson, senior specialist prosecutor in the CPS Special Crime Division, said Dyer had sought support online but was instead exploited.

"He was mocked and encouraged to drink excessive amounts of alcohol... there was no discussions about helping him," Johnson said.

West Yorkshire Police found the men had moved between several Discord servers, including one run by Zachary Law, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, who told detectives that Dyer spoke about his troubles.

The investigation found that by late 2024, the smaller private server had been created by Phelan, Dyer, Rob and Mads.

Officers discovered that it was here where the most serious conversations took place and where the fatal two-minute video call unfolded.

On 30 October, Law, who played no role in Dyer's death, woke up to messages saying that he had killed himself.

Law uncovered posts from Mads stating the group had encouraged the suicide, the CPS said.

He told police Phelan later contacted him and admitted that he had encouraged Dyer to take his own life.

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Almost five months after his death, Phelan confessed his role at Elland Road Police Station.

But prosecutors said it was not prompted by remorse.

Instead, Phelan had sent messages to an online female friend "bragging" about what had happened.

In one, he wrote: "He even put the gun down at one point because he couldn't do it and I told him to pick it back up. I recorded the whole thing."

The woman initially did not believe him. But after meeting in person, Phelan gave further details.

Horrified, she urged him to tell his mother. When he did not, she contacted his mum and revealed what had been said.

It was then they agreed he would go to the police.

Meanwhile, on the day of Dyer's death, Lt Billy Dupree of Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office was notified a report had been made to the Houma Police Department that a man named Travis Dyer had killed himself and it had been live-streamed online.

Police there had been alerted by another Discord user who, after hearing what had happened from Law, asked a friend in the US to contact authorities.

It was only known that Dyer worked at Chuck E Cheese in Houma and after inquiries at the restaurant, police went to his home and found his body in the porch.

Phelan, who was jailed for six years and four months, admitted he had become drawn to darker groups online.

Prosecutors said when Phelan was interviewed by West Yorkshire Police, he told them the "encouragement process went on for approximately a month" and claimed that Dyer had been "planning it with Mads".

He told officers he had "experienced a sense of excitement or anticipation" during the video call.

Johnson added: "A young vulnerable man has sadly lost his life and his family will have to live with those consequences forever."

Dyer's great-grandmother said her grandson had been the family's "final beacon of hope" after a "relentless sequence of tragedies".

She described him as a "shy, smart and resilient young man" who was "deeply adored and had a bright future waiting for him".

"His death has not only caused profound sadness; it has shattered the very foundation of our existence," she added.

A spokesperson for Discord said: "Real-world violence of any kind is devastating and content that encourages or glorifies this behavior has no place on Discord.

"Our safety systems combine advanced technology and human-led investigations, alongside user reports to identify accounts or spaces engaged in harmful activity.

"When we find that policies are violated, we take decisive action, including removing content, banning accounts, shutting down violative servers and proactively reporting violations to law enforcement where appropriate and in compliance with the law."

Prosecutors said Phelan "actively encouraged" Dyer's suicide "out of morbid curiosity and because he wanted to feel like he had control over the actions of another".

Johnson said the case was unprecedented - the first UK prosecution in which a victim of suicide encouragement was based in the US while the offender was in England.

However, he said the circumstances reflected a growing trend of people being urged to self harm or take their own lives through online groups.

"This is certainly a growth area for offending and it's a particular area of concern," he said.

"We're seeing more and more cases where offences are committed online, both by offenders in this country and where victims are in this country or in other countries."

But he warned online spaces were not beyond the law and offenders would not "get off with a slap on the wrist".

"This case demonstrates that this is real offending," he said. "Words and actions taken online can and do have real-life consequences.

"Anyone involved in this sort of offending online will not be safe from investigation and prosecution and they can expect to be sentenced firmly."

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