Emily Taylor, 17, Dies in Illinois After Using Snapchat to Buy Fentanyl-Laced Pills
Incident Details
Summary
Emily Taylor, 17, died March 5, 2021 after using Snapchat's direct messaging to buy pills she believed were Percocet. They were laced with fatal doses of fentanyl. She took the pill on March 3 in Illinois, lost consciousness, was resuscitated by paramedics, but removed from life support two days later. Her mother had been planning her high school graduation party in the days before her death. Her family joined the SMVLC lawsuit against Snap Inc.
Related Incidents
International car sale scam tied to Buck County used fake images and websites: Police
A man in Lower Southampton Township, New Jersey, was defrauded of $34,000 in an international car sale scam. The suspect, identified as Ion Cojocaru, used fake websites and artificial intelligence-generated images to convince the victim he was purchasing a 1969 Camaro. Cojocaru, believed to be living in Romania, is still posting similar fraudulent listings on Facebook. Police have issued an arrest warrant, and Interpol is assisting with the case.
Murray Dowey, 16, Dies by Suicide in December 2023 After Instagram Sextortion; Parents Sue Meta in Delaware
Murray Dowey, 16, of Dunblane, Scotland died by suicide in December 2023 after falling victim to a sextortion scheme on Instagram. Murray had joined Instagram at age 10, bypassing age filters. A stranger posing as a romantic interest solicited intimate images then threatened to share them unless he paid. His parents Rosalind and Mark Dowey joined a Delaware Superior Court lawsuit against Meta filed by the Social Media Victims Law Center. Internal Meta documents cited in the lawsuit showed the company had debated making teen accounts private by default for years but chose not to due to growth concerns. The suit alleged Instagram's recommendation algorithm actively connected teen users to predators.
Alexander Neville, 14, Dies After Buying Fentanyl-Laced Pill from Snapchat Dealer
14-year-old Alexander Neville died of fentanyl poisoning on June 23, 2020, in Aliso Viejo, California, after unknowingly ingesting fentanyl in a pill purchased from a dealer on Snapchat. His parents are the lead plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Snap Inc., Snapchat's parent company, alleging the platform is responsible for facilitating fentanyl overdose deaths. The lawsuit, which represents 63 families, contends that Snapchat's features enable drug dealers to operate with anonymity and promote illicit drugs to vulnerable teenagers.