Gardaí seek access to dead teen’s Facebook accounts

Gardaí have moved closer to securing deleted messages from the Facebook accounts of a teenager who may have been cyberbullied in the weeks before he died by suicide, the Dublin coroner has heard.

Darren Hughes-Gibson, 17, was found dead in the Stephenstown Industrial Estate in Balbriggan, north county Dublin, on August 23, 2012. His mother, Elaine Hughes, had reported him missing when he failed to return to their home at New Haven Bay in Balbriggan the previous night.

Ms Hughes believes threatening messages were made on Darren’s Facebook accounts in the weeks before he died, but were subsequently deleted. She has previously told Dublin Coroner’s Court she believes he was being bullied for being mixed race and hard of hearing. Text messages have been submitted to coroner Dr Brian Farrell, which he has described as “highly inappropriate” with a “threatening undertone”.

Updating Dr Farrell on the gardaí’s progress, Detective Inspector Kieran Holohan said the Garda Mutual Assistance section has completed the application for the messages and it is understood to be with the US authorities. “It has been sent to the Department of Justice and Equality for onward transmission to the US authorities, so I gather it is with them,” he said. As yet, gardaí have heard nothing back, DI Holohan confirmed.

The inquest into Darren’s death was opened in September 2013 and Ms Hughes raised her concerns on the first day. Gardaí have been attempting to secure the Facebook messages since then.

A fresh investigation into his death was launched after gardaí initially told Dr Farrell they had been liaising with the FBI on retrieving the messages, but Facebook was not co-operating. The company issued a statement saying it responds to “valid legal requests for information” and encourages “law enforcement agencies to follow” their guidelines to help take their cases forward. It is understood US authorities will need to be satisfied there is sufficient evidence of a crime before Facebook will be asked to hand over the messages.

Dr Farrell adjourned the inquest for further mention on June 26.