Evil catfish Alex McCartney claimed second kill as victim's dad killed himself months later

WARNING DISCUSSES SUICIDE: Dubbed 'the world's worst catfish', Alexander McCartney posed as a young girl to befriend others on Snapchat - before blackmailing them with intimate photos they shared

A catfish who used intimate photos to blackmail young girls has a body count of two after a heartbroken dad took his own life following the suicide of his 12-year-old daughter.

Alexander McCartney was jailed for a minimum of 20 years after admitting 185 charges involving 70 children, though a court has previously heard that the real number of victims is much higher. The 26-year-old, from Northern Ireland, posed as a young girl to befriend other girls on Snapchat - before blackmailing them with intimate photos they shared.

He also threatened to share them with their families and online. Victims have been identified globally, including 12-year-old Cimarron Thomas from West Virginia, US.

In May 2018, young Cimarron took her own life after McCartney demanded for her to involve her younger sister in sex acts. Her devastated father, Ben Thomas, also killed himself eighteen months later. McCartney has since admitted to manslaughter in connection with Cimarron's death.

He was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 20 years at Belfast Crown Court after his extensive campaign of catfishing, blackmail, and sexual abuse – which police estimate involved around 3,500 children.

Cimarron Thomas, 12, was “terrified and distraught”, and begged McCartney to leave her alone but he told her he would start “spreading” the photos unless she gave him what he wanted. She messaged him saying “I will shoot myself…”

McCartney callously replied “Goodbye and good luck.” After the chat ended Cimarron’s younger sister found her sibling dead on the floor of their parent’s bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head and her father’s handgun nearby, the court heard.

McCartney also admitted 59 counts of blackmail, dozens of charges related to making and distributing indecent photographs and scores of charges of inciting children to engage in sexual activity. The offences cover a period from 2014 to 2019, with victims all over the world, including Australia, New Zealand and the US.

Once he had secured a picture from his victims, he would then reveal the "catfish" and blackmailed them into taking part in sex acts. McCartney would go to the notes section of his phone where he had a pre-prepared statement which he would cut and paste into the conversation.

The message would typically say: "Alright I used a fake camera snap app. I have your face pic and nudes. You are gonna do as i say for tonight and then ill leave after. But if you don't them I'm uploading everything online for everyone to see. Understand?"

He forced some children into abusing younger siblings or forced them to involve family pets and objects. The source said: "His depravity knew no bounds, he was abusing on an industrial scale."

During a previous hearing the prosecutor read out parts of a victim impact statement which had been provided to the court by the grandparents of Cimarron Thomas. The statement said: "Our lives will never be the same. We didn't get to see her graduate, walk down the aisle or have children. We have been robbed of those memories. Our lives have changed forever."

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Samaritans

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SANEline

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Mind

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