A British man who goaded a vulnerable young American to shoot himself has been jailed for six years and four months after a campaign of cruelty that played out over a video call.
Dylan Phelan, 21, from Morley in West Yorkshire, was on a video call with 21-year-old Travis Dyer when the latter took his own life. Phelan was part of an online group on the messaging app Discord where members shared thoughts about their mental health, but the group was far from a genuine support network. Prosecutors told Leeds Crown Court that the server, ironically named “Recovery4all,” was a space where members taunted and worsened the mental health of vulnerable individuals rather than helping them.
Phelan’s specific encouragement of Mr Dyer during the video call on 30 October 2024 was detailed in court. The victim was holding a shotgun and hesitated before taking his own life. Phelan repeatedly told him to “pull the trigger,” and after the act was committed, he laughed. Phelan was among three people on the call — the other two, referred to as “Mads” and “Rob,” were in the United States. Phelan kept a recording of the suicide on his computer. Months later, he told a female acquaintance about the events; horrified, she alerted his mother. Phelan then voluntarily attended Elland Road Police Station in Leeds on 27 March 2025 with his parents to report his involvement.
The online group and its dynamics
The private Discord server was designed to appear as a support space for mental health discussions, but its purpose was inverted. The group’s name, “Recovery4all,” was described in court as deeply ironic. Members did not aim to help each other; instead, they preyed on individuals like Travis Dyer, intensifying their despair. The encouragement of Mr Dyer’s suicide was not a single outburst but the culmination of a “campaign of cruelty” that had been ongoing for months. Mr Dyer had carved Phelan’s name into his body and had been encouraged to spend all his money on drink and drugs in the run-up to his death, leaving him financially unsustainable. The group’s “group-think,” as the victim’s family later put it, had turned the online space into a “hunting ground.”
Phelan admitted in a police interview that he had become “drawn to the darker groups” on Discord and accepted that his words were a factor in Mr Dyer’s death. The court heard that Phelan’s motivation was “morbid curiosity” and “self-gratification.” He wanted to feel in control of another person’s actions. In addition to encouraging suicide, Phelan pleaded guilty to making an indecent image of a child and possessing extreme pornography — offences unrelated to Mr Dyer’s death. He also received a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Judge’s sentencing remarks
Mr Justice Cotter, sentencing at Leeds Crown Court, said Mr Dyer had been the victim of a “campaign of cruelty” when he needed help and support. He told Phelan he had been motivated by “morbid curiosity.” The judge said: “You wanted to feel like you had control over the actions of another. You showed no respect for the life of Travis Dyer.” He urged anyone with information on the other people involved in the group to share this with US authorities, noting that one of them posed a particular danger to vulnerable people, having “boasted of being a sociopath and in being involved in a number of suicides.”
Mr Dyer, from Louisiana, had experienced several tragic losses in his family, including his mother and sister to drowning. His great-grandmother, Vivian Mahoney, called into court from the US and described him as a “shy, smart and resilient young man” whose future had been “stolen.” She said: “He was deeply adored and had a bright future ahead of him.” The victim’s family acknowledged that the female acquaintance who alerted Phelan’s mother showed the internet could simultaneously be a “place of light,” making Phelan’s actions “to use it for darkness even more egregious.”
Matthew Harding, defending, said Phelan had admitted being detached from reality and had a mental health impairment. He told the court: “I invite you to accept his shame, regret, remorse, and considerably and genuinely felt.”
Detective Inspector Dan Ridgeway of West Yorkshire Police said after the hearing: “This case highlights the dangers that certain individuals can pose on an international level in these online communities. Whether in person or online, if someone is making you feel unsafe or encouraging you to harm yourself or others then please report it. We must remember at the heart of this investigation is a 21-year-old man who sadly took his own life. I would urge anyone who is struggling with their own mental health to please seek professional support.”
Alex Johnson, a senior specialist prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Those who use online spaces to encourage self-harm or suicide will be held to account. The anonymity of the internet does not place anyone beyond the reach of the law. Dylan Phelan did not simply witness these events – he deliberately and persistently encouraged Travis Dyer to take his own life, intending that he would do so. His actions were calculated, cruel, and had devastating consequences.”
