Amazon is sued for ‘selling suicide kits to teenagers’

Two families whose teenage children died by suicide using a chemical purchased on Amazon are suing the tech giant, accusing the company of knowingly selling a dangerous enabler.

Kristine Jonsson, 16, of Hilliard, Ohio, committed suicide on September 30, 2020, while Ethan McCarthy, 17, of Milton, West Virginia, committed suicide on January 7, 2021.

The families are not connected, but both contracted the same law firm in Brooklyn.

Both teens committed suicide using sodium nitrite — a chemical used to preserve food, but deadly in high doses — bought on Amazon.

The drug is promoted online in suicide forums and in books. A small amount dissolved in water is lethal and causes an unbearable death.

“Amazon is selling a product that is as deadly as cyanide,” said Carrie Goldberg and Naomi Leeds, two attorneys for the families who filed their cases in California court on Sept. 29.

They note that Amazon’s online recommendations suggest that customers who have purchased the chemical also purchase a scale to measure the correct dose, an anti-vomiting drug, and Amazon’s edition of a handbook on assisted suicide.

“This is different from selling rope, knives or other implements that can be used for death because there is no domestic use for [sodium nitrite] at the level of purity (98-99%) that it sells.’

An Amazon spokesperson told DailyMail.com: “Sodium nitrite is not intended for consumption and unfortunately, like many products, it can be abused.”

The Jonsson family said Kristine was a happy, healthy high school student and talented artist, who was “extremely intelligent and focused.”

She lived with her parents and two younger siblings, Daniel and Katherine, and enjoyed playing board games with the family.

But when the pandemic hit, she became withdrawn and depressed.

“The pandemic was extremely difficult for Kristine,” the court documents said.

“It started at a time in her life when she was just beginning to come into her own.

“By September 2020, she felt that the quarantine restrictions would never be lifted. In her diary she indicated that she felt listless and meaningless.

‘She said she didn’t feel any joy; even the things that had once given her pleasure, such as group conversations with her friends, were no longer enough.’

Her family had no idea that she was visiting suicide websites, weighing up different methods and compiling lists of pros and cons.

The 16-year-old opened an Amazon account and ordered the chemical for $28.67 – despite the company claiming that people under 18 can use the site “only with the involvement of a parent or guardian.”

Kristine then snuck out of the house in the middle of the night and drove her mother’s car to a pharmacy, where she killed herself.

Her parents found her suicide note in the morning and her body was found in the car.

The McCarthy family said Ethan (17) lived with his mother Nikki Maynard, a nurse who specializes in children with special needs, and his siblings Caleb and Emily.

“Life had been hectic because of Covid, but the family had a good Christmas and enjoyed the holidays together as a family with the children’s father, Nick McCarthy,” the lawsuit reads.

The family described Ethan as an outdoorsman and “very sociable,” who got good grades in school without appearing to be trying.

They said he was “the problem solver in the family, mediating fights between his siblings,” and had a passion for rock climbing, weightlifting, his dog Jasper and his four-year-old nephew.

Ethan’s mom noted on January 2, 2021 that she received an email receipt from Amazon for $28.54 for an unknown product that she had not purchased.

According to the suit, “She asked her kids if they’d ordered the product, sodium nitrite, from her account.

“They said they had no idea what it was and they didn’t order it. Caleb joked that maybe it was for a bomb.’

She contacted Amazon, who said it must have been an error and the product would not be delivered.

Still, the product arrived, along with other items she had ordered, and on January 7, 2021, she found her son dead in his bed.

Ethan’s computer had a deleted folder called “My Hopes and Dreams.”

Too traumatized to stay in the house, the family lived with Maynard’s mother until the house was sold and they left the state.

Both the McCarthy and Jonsson families suffered intense distress, which resulted in members of the families being prescribed drugs to cope and out of work for months.

Their lawsuit notes that the drug is considered “reportable” in the UK, meaning the purchase will set off alarms.

If Amazon had applied the standard of care it is required to use for its sodium nitrite sales in the UK, it would have determined that Kristine and Ethan, neither of whom had a history of purchasing meat preservatives, had made suspicious, reportable purchases of sodium nitrite. ,’ they say.

In addition, eBay banned the sale of sodium nitrite the year before Kristine’s death after learning it could be used for suicide.

By contrast, after receiving word that the sodium nitrite it was selling and delivering was killing children, Amazon made the informed decision, on the advice and advice of their lawyers, to continue selling a substance they know to be over and over. times sold for suicide,” the lawsuit states.

In January of this year, Congress wrote to Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, ​​expressing deep concern that Amazon is “providing minors and adults with ready access to sodium nitrite, a deadly chemical.”

Lawmakers said they found Amazon’s easy sales of sodium nitrite, coupled with the product’s prompt delivery, led to deaths.

Amazon has not responded to their letter, the complaint says.

Amazon has also been sued in Washington state by the same company, on behalf of the families of two others – 27-year-old Mikael Scott and 17-year-old Tyler Muhleman – who also used it to commit suicide.

The families are demanding unspecified damages from Amazon and the company that made the drug, Loudwolf.

Loudwolf has yet to respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment, but Amazon said they took the wellbeing of their customers seriously.

However, they insisted that they could not be held responsible for misuse of their products.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones personally affected by suicide,” an Amazon spokesperson told DailyMail.com.

Customer safety is a top priority at Amazon. We are committed to a safe shopping experience and require our sales partners to follow all applicable laws and regulations when listing items in our store.

Sodium nitrite is a legal and widely available product offered by retailers for preserving foods such as meat and fish, and for use in labs as a reagent.

‘Sodium nitrite is not intended for consumption and unfortunately, like many products, it can be abused.’

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling 9-8-8, or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME at 741741