Cai Davies, 18, from Pontypridd, south Wales, took his own life after being targeted by sextortion scammers who threatened to share his intimate photos and videos with friends and on YouTube
A teenager took his own life after becoming the victim of a sextortion blackmail scam online connected to a large-scale operation in Africa, his inquest has heard. Cai Davies, from Pontypridd, ended his life aged just 18 after he had sent messages including intimate pictures and videos to someone he thought was a woman with romantic feelings for him.
But it turned out to be sick scammers operating from the Ivory Coast. Cai, who already suffered from serious mental health problems following the deaths of both his parents, took his own life after receiving threats from the blackmailers warning that the intimate photos and videos would be shared with his friends and uploaded to Youtube unless he handed over substantial amounts of money.
During an inquest at Pontypridd Coroners’ Court on Tuesday, the coroner highlighted a possible shortage of education across the UK about sextortion blackmail and said she would be writing to the UK and Welsh governments.
Cai’s brother Ethan Davies told the hearing through a pre-written statement that his brother faced other serious challenges beyond the sextortion blackmail scam which he believed may have also played a part in his death, reports Wales Online.
The hearing was told Cai, described in tributes as a proud member of the Cardiff City football family following his death on June 3 last year, turned to drugs after the deaths of his mother and father.
He was discovered by family in his bedroom on May 30 last year in a critical state before being rushed to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff where he was placed into intensive care having suffered severe brain damage.
A day later, Cai was transferred to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Pontyclun where he passed away on June 3 – four days after the sextortion scammers had informed him they had posted his intimate pictures online.
Cai, who was honoured by 19,000 Bluebirds fans applauding on the 18th minute during the first home game of last season against Peterborough United at the Cardiff City Stadium, was born at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in March 2007 and was one of three siblings.
His parents had both battled with drug addictions themselves and in early 2010, Cai was placed into care and adoption proceedings were subsequently initiated.
When he was four, his mum took her own life, struggling to cope with her children going into care and the thought of not being able to see them if they were adopted. After his mother’s death, Cai grew up with his two siblings at their grandparents’ house nearby.
In 2013, Cai suffered further loss when his dad died from sepsis. In a statement which was read to the inquest, Ethan Davies said Cai didn’t speak about the loss of his parents, couldn’t control his emotions, and said he struggled with ADHD and behavioural issues.
He painted a picture of him as being very friendly and approachable, someone who would strike up a conversation with anyone. He added that he was an avid fisherman, played football, and also played rugby for Rhydyfelin and Pontypridd.
The inquest heard that when Cai was around 12 years old, he frequently experienced low moods and began using cannabis and alcohol. As he grew older, his drug use escalated, regularly taking ketamine and cocaine up until his untimely death.
The court was informed that he had previously attempted an overdose in 2024 but had called an ambulance for himself and was subsequently placed under the care of CAMHS until he turned 18, at which point he was transferred to adult mental health services.
Ethan noted that his brother seemed to be struggling “more than usual” prior to his death. Following a disagreement at home, he was asked to leave on May 28.
Upon his return home on May 30, his brother told him he wasn’t allowed to be there, but he went up to his attic room regardless. At around 6pm, Cai’s family found his body in the room.
The inquest heard a statement from Rachel Denner, who was Cai’s former support worker at school. She said she received a Facebook message from Cai on May 29 along with a message request from someone named Melissa Calvert.
Cai had sent her messages asking whether she’d received a message from Melissa Calvert and whether she’d opened them. When she opened the message the following day, it contained an intimate picture and video.
DC Jack Cotton, a criminal investigator, informed the inquest that the name Melissa Calvert was likely a pseudonym and stated Cai had fallen victim to a sextortion blackmail scam orchestrated by a “large scale operation in the Ivory Coast”.
He suggested someone would’ve fabricated a bogus Facebook account, posing as a white woman from London of a similar age to Cai.
DC Cotton explained that although they hadn’t managed to recover all the messages, the conversation would’ve probably turned sexual swiftly and Cai would’ve subsequently sent intimate photos which were later used to extort him.
IP address details and phone numbers traced the account back to the Ivory Coast. On the evening of 29 May, the blackmailer threatened to leak videos of him if he didn’t pay them.
They warned Cai they would distribute the video to his family and friends and upload it on YouTube, adding that it would devastate his life.
Cai responded that he didn’t have the funds and told them he couldn’t send anything because he was in hospital with his grandmother. The blackmailer later claimed they had posted it but there was no proof it had actually been uploaded.
Their final interaction was at 9.30am on 30 May.
DC Cotton stated that if the phone had been located in the UK, they would’ve been able to initiate criminal proceedings, but they couldn’t identify who they were and couldn’t instigate any prosecution against them due to their location.
DC Cotton encouraged the public to remain vigilant about unsolicited messages on social media, particularly when conversations swiftly become sexual in nature and requests are made for intimate photographs.
Bringing the inquest to a close, coroner Rachel Knight noted that Cai had endured a “difficult and traumatic childhood”. She recorded his medical cause of death as hypoxic brain injury.
She concluded: “I find that it was more likely than not that personal stress in his life and becoming the victim of a sextortion scam more than minimally contributed to his death by suicide.”
Ms Knight expressed concern about insufficient public awareness regarding sextortion blackmail and announced she would be issuing a Regulation 28 report to the Minister for the Department of Culture Media and Sport and the education minister, along with their Welsh counterparts, questioning whether adequate public understanding exists about such scams.