Surrey Dad says deaths his son's can and must be stopped
Tom Parfett died in 2023 after ingesting poison he bought online
Last updated 18th Dec 2025
A father from Sunbury-on-Thames, whose son died after taking poison he bought over the internet, says action is needed now, to help prevent similar deaths.
Thomas Parfett, 22, used chatrooms and online forums to research suicide, and also looked up a type of poison before purchasing it online.
His dad, David, believes he was encouraged to take his own life.
"It just astonishes me that this still happens. So our sole focus is to use Tom's story to prevent future deaths."
However according to David, cases like Thomas' are far from rare
"That's actually the frustration at the moment. As recently as four weeks ago, I was introduced to yet another family who've lost their son to a very similar set of circumstances to Tom's death four years ago.
If you go back to when Tom died, there are 105 people - 104 plus Tom, who have died"
It's David's hope that by sharing Thomas' story, action may be taken to make these forums less accessible.
The inquest into Thomas' death has been adjourned pending a criminal investigation into whether he was encouraged to end his life.
David says the details surrounding his son's death are absolutely shocking
"It's a very dark place when you see people who are openly encouraging others to die. When Tom died, there were people not calling an ambulance, but instead actually celebrating."
He died on 28 October 2021.
Area coroner Darren Stewart told a hearing at Surrey Coroner's Court in Woking: "There are serious questions about how Mr Parfett came to get the poison.
"There's no control on its importation or indeed its acquiring online and that's wrong, particularly when there is evidence that this substance is being used by people to take their lives."
The National Crime Agency say they are investigating 109 deaths linked to the supply of poisonous substances through online platforms.
David says he wants to see two steps of action taken in order to stop deaths like Tom's happening again
"There's two quite clear actions that we've, as a campaign group have been asking for. The key action is that by removing access to particularly one forum, it will clean up a lot of the harm that we're seeing today."
David also told us he wants to see more action brought to those who are supplying people like his son with the means to take their own lives.
The inquest is set to resume following the trial of Kenneth Law in Canada, who's currently awaiting trial on 14 counts of first degree murder, after he was charged of selling a potentially lethal substance, to people intending to kill themselves.
That trial is due to take place in April
Help is availabe
If you, or someone you know is suffering with their mental health, or experiencing suicidal thoughts, you can speak to your GP. If someone's life is in danger - call 999 immediately.
You can also find help and advice from these services:
Samaritans – Call 116123
Mind - 0300 123 3393