Editing Death of Brandon Vedas

{{short description|2003 drug overdose death}}
{{use mdy dates |date=November 2020}}
{{infobox person
|name = Brandon Vedas
|birth_name = Brandon Carl Vedas
|birth_date = {{birth date|1981|4|21}}
|known = Overdose caught on webcam
|death_date = {{death date and age|2003|1|12|1981|4|21}}
|death_place = [[Phoenix, Arizona]], U.S.
|death_cause = Drug overdose
|occupation = {{hlist|Computer enthusiast|recreational drug user}}
}}
'''Brandon Carl Vedas''' (April 21, 1981 – January 12, 2003), also known by his nickname '''ripper''' on [[Internet Relay Chat|IRC]], was an American computer enthusiast, [[recreational drug use]]r and member of the Shroomery.org community who died of a multiple drug overdose while discussing what he was doing via chat and webcam. His death led to debate about the responsibilities and roles of [[online communities]] in life-threatening situations.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2724819.stm |title=Net grief for online 'suicide' |work=BBC News |date=4 February 2003 |accessdate=July 23, 2010 |archive-date=July 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120716064636/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2724819.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nyd">{{cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Helen |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2003/02/02/2003-02-02_he_takes_fatal_od_as_interne.html |title=He Takes Fatal OD As Internet Pals Watch: Chatroom vultures egged him to pop more Rx pills |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20100709214122/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2003/02/02/2003-02-02_he_takes_fatal_od_as_interne.html |archivedate=2010-07-09 |work=New York Daily News |date=February 2, 2003 |accessdate=July 23, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/azcentral/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=725033 |title=Obituary: Brandon Carl Vedas |work=[[The Arizona Republic]] |date=January 16, 2003 |access-date=November 5, 2020 |archive-date=January 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130210345/https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/azcentral/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=725033 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Craig |first=Olga |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1421554/Chatmates-watched-internet-suicide.html |title=Chatmates watched internet suicide |work=Telegraph.co.uk |date=February 9, 2003 |accessdate=December 17, 2008 |archive-date=October 10, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010211439/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1421554/Chatmates-watched-internet-suicide.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Overview ==

The video chat session began when Vedas logged into the IRC channel and announced "i got a grip of drugs", inviting other users to access his webcam feed and watch him take them.<ref name="nyd"/> While some of the substances were illicit, most of them had apparently been obtained through legitimate [[prescription drug|prescriptions]] for treatment of various illnesses from which Vedas was said to have suffered.<ref name="nyd"/>

Vedas then began consuming [[psilocybe cubensis|psilocybe mushrooms]], which had been stored in a prescription medication bottle. As the chat session progressed, one of the users in the channel, grphish, noted "that's a lot of klonopin"<ref name="nyd"/> and this is thought to be when Vedas consumed 8 [[milligram|mg]] of [[clonazepam]].{{citation needed|date=September 2022}} Vedas continued by showing the webcam viewers what would be one of four bottles of [[methadone]] that he would consume over the course of the session, and, after noting this on the channel, proceeded to consume an entire bottle (reportedly 80&nbsp;mg of methadone<ref name="nyd"/>). After a brief respite, Vedas then consumed 110&nbsp;mg of [[propranolol]] (Inderal), two [[Vicodin]] tablets, and 120&nbsp;mg [[temazepam]], which seem to have been taken in between descriptions given on the IRC channel.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

During this process, Vedas maintained that this was "usual weekend behavior" for him and that he had consumed similar quantities of the same substances on previous occasions.<ref name="nyd"/> "I told u I was hardcore" was one of the last things Vedas typed,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://egomania.nu/princessnatalie.com/4.html|title=Brandon Vedas aka Ripper Chat room Log |website=egomania.nu|access-date=2013-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127132021/http://egomania.nu/princessnatalie.com/4.html|archive-date=2013-01-27|url-status=dead}}</ref> and he was found dead by his mother the next day.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bering |first1=Jesse |title=Suicidal: Why We Kill Ourselves |date=23 October 2020 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-75555-7 |page=160 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c5IlEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Drug overdose]]
* [[Social media and suicide]]
* [[Suicide of Kevin Whitrick]]
* [[Suicide of Ronnie McNutt]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/*/http://www.brandonvedas.com Memorial site created by his brother]
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618053844/http://mirrored.flabber.nl/gozer.irc.webcam.OD/ripperlog.txt |date=June 18, 2009 |title=IRC log of incident (part 1) }}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031009052158/http://mirrored.flabber.nl/gozer.irc.webcam.OD/post-ripperlog.txt |date=October 9, 2003 |title=IRC log of incident (part 2) }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vedas, Brandon Carl}}
[[Category:1981 births]]
[[Category:2003 suicides]]
[[Category:Deaths by person in Arizona]]
[[Category:Drug-related suicides in Arizona]]
[[Category:Filmed deaths in the United States]]
[[Category:Filmed suicides]]
[[Category:People from Phoenix, Arizona]]
[[Category:Suicide and the Internet]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]