Adele Zeynep Walton with mum Ozlem hold a photograph of Aimee.

© Philip Coburn

A deadly online forum linked to at least 164 deaths in the UK has been hit with a £950,000 fine — but for grieving families, the punishment comes heartbreakingly late. Bereaved relatives are now demanding criminal prosecutions, blasting communications regulator Ofcom for what they call an agonisingly slow response while more lives were lost.

At the centre of the tragedy is 21-year-old Aimee Walton — creative, talented and full of promise — whose life ended in devastating and deeply troubling circumstances.

Aimee was found dead in a hotel room in Slough, Berkshire, after spending the final 11 days of her life with a near-total stranger. The only person with her was an American man she had met online through the suicide forum now at the heart of a growing public outcry.

Her sister, Adele Walton, has since become a determined campaigner, fighting to expose the danger she says stole Aimee’s future.

Police later told the Walton family that Aimee had left hundreds of handwritten notes, scribbles and drawings scattered throughout the hotel room. Many revealed intense distress, with some directly addressed to the American man who had been with her.

“She had left hundreds of notes, scribbles, drawings,” Adele said. “All that sounded really angry, really upset, like she was really distressed.” Some notes contained desperate messages. “Why won’t you give me a pen? I need a pen, I need to write.”

The American man was arrested on suspicion of assisting suicide. He was later released, and no further action was taken.

But while investigations stalled, the forum remained active.

The death toll kept rising. When The Mirror joined forces with the Molly Rose Foundation to produce the documentary series Buy To Die in summer 2025, more than 99 UK citizens had died after being linked to the site. That number has now climbed to at least 164.

Speaking on behalf of Families and Survivors to Prevent Online Suicide Harms, Adele described years of anguish.

“Families like mine have been agonisingly waiting for action against the website that took our loved ones and at least 164 UK lives,” she said. “While we’ve waited, further lives have been lost and we’ve had to fight every step. We feel let down by the process and Ofcom’s slow response to this threat to life.”

Ofcom’s £950,000 penalty marks its first major enforcement action under the UK’s Online Safety Act. But campaigners insist a fine is not enough. “The continued existence of this site is a public health crisis,” Adele warned. “We now want to see criminal sanctions against the sinister actors who actively groom, encourage and instruct British people to take their lives.”

Aimee’s family says the loss remains impossible to comprehend.

She loved music and art. She adored Pharrell Williams and had even performed on stage with him.

For Buy To Die, her mother Ozlem Walton and Adele shared artwork discovered only after her death, alongside videos showing Aimee dancing and performing — vibrant, joyful and full of life. But during the pandemic, her mental health deteriorated.

Diagnosed with OCD as a teenager, she also struggled with depression and anxiety.

Aimee is not the only victim whose family is now demanding action. David Parfett’s son, Tom, live-blogged his own death on the same forum. Campaigners say Ofcom’s 13-month investigation cost precious time.

Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, called it “appalling” that grieving families had to push regulators into action. Ofcom’s investigation, completed in April 2026, found illegal instructional guides were repeatedly posted and often pinned or reposted by the forum’s provider.

Though the site operates outside the UK, Ofcom says it remains subject to British law. Suzanne Cater, Ofcom’s Director of Enforcement, called the case deeply disturbing.

“This is a significant fine on a suicide forum known for exploiting the most vulnerable in society,” she said.

“It’s caused unimaginable pain and suffering for bereaved families across the UK and beyond.”

Ofcom says the forum has made some changes to accessibility in the UK — but insists those measures are “not good enough.”

For families still grieving, the fight is far from over. They want accountability. They want justice.

And above all, they want no more names added to the growing death toll.

My sister went to hotel with stranger and swallowed poison - now more have died

23 minutes ago, bannork said:

vibrant, joyful and full of life. But during the pandemic, her mental health deteriorated.

Yes the 'pandemic' we are still waiting for any prosecutions what so ever related to that crime against humanity.

The mind boggles how people can get involved in this crap. If you must take your own life do it alone and give yourself your last bit of dignity.

2 hours ago, Rams86 said:

The mind boggles how people can get involved in this crap. If you must take your own life do it alone and give yourself your last bit of dignity.

A friend of mine killed himself 30 years ago, over an Easter weekend. He took some potassium cyanide from the lab and down it at home with Tequila. He was found 3 weeks later by his house mate. No note, nothing. There was no dignity in his lonely death.

Your ire should be the scumbag he flew from America to end this woman's life, the two incels who run the forum where this grooming went on. This isn't suicide; the victims are groomed to end their lives, in a sort of murder by proxy. Its analogous to the paedophile who grooms his victims. Their victims might think they are willing participants in a sexual act, but thats not the case.

What this article fails to mention is that the forum Aimee joined was frequented by Incels

The 2 Incels running these sites run 4 Forums; a Looksmaxxing (a sort of extreme male vanity site), an unemployment forum, the world's largets Incel forum and a Pro-Suicide forum. The latter is the only forum that permits women to join. Buzzfeed exposed "Marquis" and "Serge", who run these forums, in 2019. You can look up the article, which quotes some truely horrendous statements, referring to women as "femoids" or "foids" and celebrating their deaths.