Livestreamed crime, murder and suicide have been becoming an incredibly disturbing trend in the last few years. In the last week of May, a California man, Angel Hernandez Grado, 28 tied up his girlfriend. He then sexually assaulted her, strangled her and beat her over the head with an axe.
Miraculously the young woman survived Grado’s brutal attack. Mr. Grado told his girlfriend that he would kill her if she called police, he left her in her apartment with two broken ribs, swelling on her face and bruises all over her body.
A Chase Ending In a Live Stream Suicide
Police, armed with a description of his vehicle located the white BMW X5 traveling on the I15. Grado stopped initially after a short chase before taking off again according to The New York Post. San Diego PD and the California Highway Patrol intercepted Mr. Gardo and gave chase, using spike strips to terminate the pursuit, flattening his tires and finally blocking him with a SWAT armored vehicle.
The New York Post reported,
“Grado, who had over 50,000 followers on Instagram, recorded his final moments on the site, holding a gun to his head as he prepared to pull the trigger.
He said he loved his son and urged him to take care of his family, according to the Latin Times.
“I love my boy. I tried my hardest but I f—- up,” he said, the Sun reported.”
Police Desperately Tried To Talk Him Down
Angel Hernandez Grado told his 50k Instagram viewers that he wanted his son to love cars and play baseball and soccer. SDPD and CHP Officers could be heard in the background desperately trying to talk Grado out of pulling the trigger once he place the gun to his head. He told the officers he loved his son.
“I am now weak. I just f—- hate my life, bro. I’m just tired of this f—- life, f— the police,” he added. “They got all my tires but f— the law. I’m above the law.”
“I’d rather f—- die than do another stay in jail.”
He pulled the trigger and was taken to an Orange County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According the UK News website The Sun, Livestreamed murders and suicides are spreading like wildfire online. It’s a highly disturbing trend. Here are a few examples from The Sun:
- Jared McLemore, 33, died from severe burns after torching himself outside a packed bar in Memphis, Tennessee, while live on Facebook
- James M. Jeffrey from Robertsdale, Alabama was in the middle of broadcasting when he pulled out a gun and shot himself in the head
- Turkish man Erdogan Ceren posted footage of his death in October 2016, writing: “No one believed when I said I will kill myself – so watch this.”
- Katelyn Nicole Davis filmed her suicide after alleging she was abused by a relative
- A pair of teen schoolgirls have been accused of brutally beating another girl to death, with the alleged murder was reportedly broadcast on Facebook
- In 2018, Prentis Robinson was celebrating his birthday when he filmed his own murder on Facebook Live
- Jared McLemore, 33, died after he set himself on fire in a Facebook Live stream before allegedly trying to burn his estranged girlfriend
Many are dismayed at the weak response this gruesome trend has garnered from silicon valley, with Facebook’s Guy Rosen, VP of Integrity saying,
“We will now apply a ‘one strike’ policy to Live in connection with a broader range of offences, From now on, anyone who violates our most serious policies will be restricted from using Live for set periods of time – for example 30 days – starting on their first offence.”
This does little for situations where the first video… is the user’s last.
