Dylan Phelan, 21, from Morley in West Yorkshire, has been jailed for aiding the suicide of Travis Dyer in Louisiana, US, after goading the vulnerable young man via Discord on October 30, 2024
A man has been jailed for “grooming” a vulnerable person in the US to take their own life during a video call. Dylan Phelan, 21, from Morley in West Yorkshire admitted encouraging the suicide of Travis Dyer in Louisiana on October 30, 2024.
Phelan was jailed for six years and four months today. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) revealed that Phelan had been communicating with Mr Dyer, known to be vulnerable and struggling with mental health problems, for several months via the online platform Discord.
In March last year, Phelan attended Elland Road Police Station in Leeds alongside his parents and told officers that he had taken part in a video call, along with two other individuals based in the United States, during which Mr Dyer was prompted to take his life with a shotgun.
A police investigation revealed that the encouragement was not an isolated incident, and that in the months before his death, Mr Dyer was subjected to sustained and serious encouragement to self-harm by members of the online group.
Phelan admitted to police that he had “become attracted to the darker groups on Discord” and “acknowledged that his words were a factor in the suicide.”
Examination of his mobile phone also revealed possession of an indecent image of a child and other extreme pornography images. Phelan pleaded guilty to one charge of creating an indecent image of a child in November 2024 and three charges of possessing extreme pornography in March 2025.
Mr Dyer, aged 21, lived in Theriot, Louisiana, and had tragically lost his mother and younger sister in a crash a decade before his own death.
His great-grandmother Vivian Mahoney, who followed proceedings from the US via a videolink, said in a victim statement: “Travis Dyer was a shy, smart and resilient young man who survived more tragedy than most endure in a century.
“He was deeply adored and had a bright future ahead of him. That future was stolen.”
Mr Justice Cotter, sentencing at Leeds Crown Court, said Phelan was motivated by “morbid curiosity.”
Andrew Pettersen, prosecuting, said Phelan joined an online community on messaging app Discord, where people shared thoughts about their mental health, but this was not a support group.
In the run up to killing himself, Mr Dyer had carved Phelan’s name into his body, the court heard. And on October 20 2024, he was on a videocall with the defendant and two others, known as Mads and Rob, the court heard, when Mr Dyer took his own life.
Phelan encouraged him several times to pull the trigger, the court heard, and laughed when he finally did.
Phelan kept a recording of the suicide on his computer, months later telling a female acquaintance about what happened.
She was horrified and later told his mother, and last March Phelan went to Elland Road police station in Leeds and confessed to his involvement in Mr Dyer’s suicide.
Matthew Harding, defending, said Phelan has been assessed to have mental health impairment, having expressed his own detachment from reality.
Mr Harding, addressing the judge, said: “I invite you to accept his shame, regret, remorse, and considerably and genuinely felt.”
Mr Justice Cotter said Mr Dyer had been victim of a “campaign of cruelty during which (he) was groomed to take his own life”, including being encouraged to spend all his money on drink and drugs.
The judge said Mr Dyer hesitated before killing himself but the others persisted in encouraging him to go through with it.
Mr Dyer’s family said that Phelan did not act alone and “this group-think turned a digital space into a hunting ground”.
But they said an online friend in England raised the alarm once they heard about what happened, so the authorities in the US were alerted.
They said: “This proves that the digital world can be a place of light, making the defendant’s choice to use it for darkness even more egregious.”
Today at Leeds Crown Court, Phelan was sentenced to six years and four months’ imprisonment, and received a 10-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).
Alex Johnson, Senior Specialist Prosecutor in the CPS Special Crime Division, said: “This was a deeply disturbing case involving the sustained exploitation of a vulnerable young man through an online platform.
“Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of that offending. Those who use online spaces to encourage self-harm or suicide will be held to account. The anonymity of the internet does not place anyone beyond the reach of the law.
“Dylan Phelan did not simply witness these events – he deliberately and persistently encouraged Travis Dyer to take his own life, intending that he would do so. His actions were calculated, cruel, and had devastating consequences.
“Our thoughts remain with Travis Dyer’s family and friends. We hope today’s outcome provides them with a measure of justice.”
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