Father and younger daughter pushed to suicide by ‘UK’s most prolific catfisher’

A family has been devastated after a 12-year-old girl became the target of the ‘UK’s most prolific catfisher’, who proceeded to blackmail her.

Cimarron Thomas, 12, tragically took her own life after she was catfished by Northern Irish computer student Alexander McCartney, 26, back in May 2018. She has now been named for the first time after a court order protecting her identity was lifted.

The girl’s dad Ben, a US Army veteran, also committed suicide 18 months later, unable to cope with his grief of losing his daughter.

McCartney, from Newry, South Armagh, posed as a girl called Sarah when he made contact with Cimarron, who lived in Virginia, United States. After convincing the child to send him a topless photo, he revealed his true identity and demanded sexually depraved photos. He told Cimarron he would send her photo to her dad if she didn’t do as told.

McCartney, who is understood to have deliberately targeted girls who were gay or questioning their sexuality, has been convicted of manslaughter and could face life behind bars. He is due to be sentenced next week at the Belfast Crown Court.

Speaking to MailOnline, Cimarron’s uncle said: “He might as well have pulled the trigger himself and killed both my niece and brother. That man has torn the family apart. He should have been charged with murder and spend the rest of his life in prison.”

The court heard how McCartney, who admitted to 184 counts including blackmail and child sex abuse and used Snapchat to target more than 70 victims across the globe, was unmoved by Cimarron’s pleas for him to stop. When the girl was visibly distressed and crying, he told her to “dry her eyes” and perform a sex act with her nine-year-old sister.

Cimarron refused and said she would rather kill herself. McCartney then launched a countdown and told her: “Goodbye and good luck.”

The court was told Cimarron’s sister later heard a popping sound that she mistook for a balloon bursting. However, when she went into her parent’s bedroom, she saw her sister on the floor with their father’s gun beside her.

The family were unaware at that time that their daughter had been subjected to online blackmail and were clueless as to why she killed herself. Police didn’t uncover her conversation with McCartney on his computer until 2021.

In an impact statement read out in court, the girl’s grandfather, Dale, said the family’s lives would never be the same. Six years after the death of her daughter, Cimarron’s mother is understood to be suffering from PTSD and doesn’t speak about what took place.

“When the police from Northern Ireland asked to meet with her she just could not do it,” a family friend told the Mail, adding it was ‘too traumatic.’

A three-part BBC documentary about the tragedy is set to come to screens later this year.

For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.