A Yorkshire man who goaded a 21-year-old American to kill himself on a video call has been jailed for more than six years. Dylan Phelan, 21, of Leeds, was sentenced on Friday at Leeds crown court after pleading guilty to intentionally encouraging the suicide of Travis Dyer. Dyer, also 21, from Louisiana, took his own life with a shotgun during a call in October 2024 while Phelan and two other men watched.
The court heard that Phelan was one of three members of a private Discord server called “Recovery4all”, set up as a forum for mental health discussions. But the name was “ironic”, said prosecutor Andrew Petterson, describing how the trio instead waged “a campaign of cruelty during which Travis Dyer was groomed into taking his own life”. Dyer had sought support after a series of traumas, including the drowning deaths of his mother and sister, which had left his mental health fragile. Instead, Phelan and the others convinced him to carve their initials into his skin and spend his remaining money on drugs and alcohol.
“Dylan Phelan, 21, jailed for more than six years after encouraging Travis Dyer to take his own life on a video call.”
During the final call, which was recorded, Phelan can be heard urging Dyer to “pull the trigger” and laughing. Dyer’s body was only discovered after one of the other men told someone outside the group, prompting US police to be contacted. Phelan was brought into Elland police station by his parents, who had been informed by a woman with whom he had an online correspondence.
The judge, Barry Cotter, said Phelan had indulged his “morbid curiosity” at the expense of Dyer’s wellbeing, adding: “You showed no respect for the life of Travis Dyer. You wanted to feel like you had control over the actions of another.” Phelan also admitted three counts of possessing extreme pornographic images and one count of making an indecent image of a child.