'Suicide Predator' Banned From Internet

A Minnesota man accused of seeking out suicidal people online and persuading them to kill themselves has been banned from using the Internet until his next court hearing. William Melchert-Dinkel—who allegedly posed as a female nurse in suicide-related chat rooms—has been charged with two counts of aiding suicides, but prosecutors say he boasted of coaxing dozens of people to commit suicide for the "thrill of the chase," the BBC reports.

Melchert-Dinkel, 47, offered victims fake compassion before giving them detailed advice on suicide methods and pretending to enter into a suicide pact with them, according to prosecutors. He faces up to 30 years in jail if convicted, although legal experts say a conviction may be difficult to obtain because most laws on assisting suicides pre-date the Internet age and because of the international nature of his alleged crimes: one of the two suicides he is charged in connection with was in Britain, and the other in Canada.
(More William Melchert-Dinkel stories.)