A Quest For Justice – The Case of the Serial Suicide Killer (A PI Window Exclusive)

In and of itself, the story of Nadia Kajouji is at once heart rending and tragic. A lovely (and loving) 18 year old university student who through circumstances that are not important entered the dark world of suicide chat rooms and fell prey to a predator which I have come to call The Serial Suicide Killer.

Nadia Kajouji, Age 18

Posing as a young female nurse, this killer stalked society’s most vulnerable at their weakest point, and describing it as “the thrill of the chase” attempted to talk dozens of people into taking their lives as part of what was in reality a one-sided suicide pact.

While we cannot be sure as to the exact number of people William Melchert-Dinkel ultimately influenced or perhaps coerced would be a better word, into a premature grave, one thing is certain . . . his intent was to kill and do so while he watched through the victims’ own Internet camera.

The Serial Suicide Killer (William Melchert-Dinkel)

Tearing down any remaining vestiges of hope that marked the line between life and the darkness of death, this sadistic voyeur presently stands trial in Rice Count, Minnesota for two of his “known” victims, Nadia Kajouji and 32 year old Mark Drybrough from the UK.

Given the virtual nature of the world in which Melchert-Dinkel operates, just getting to trial has been a precipitous journey of uncertainty, plagued by tentative action on the part of the authorities trapped in the void between two disparate yet connected realities.

For those in the legal profession, this trial has all the makings of a landmark case that seeks to extend the reach of laws from the physical world into the vastness of the virtual world that we know as the Internet. For Nadia Kajouji’s mother Deborah Chevalier, all that matters is that she can never hold her daughter or talk with her and share the experiences that every mother and daughter enjoy as one grows from a little girl into an adult woman.

While this story without a doubt focuses on a number of polarizing issues, in which dearly held constitutional values surrounding freedom of speech and the right to die will draw considerable attention both within North America and from the world in general – after all the Internet knows no geographical border, at the end of the day a mother’s aching love for a lost daughter is what moves me the most. So when Deborah Chevalier first contacted me based on my coverage of the Serial Suicide Killer, there was never any doubt as to what this case is really about . . . justice and protecting those of us who are the most vulnerable – which at any point could be any one of us given the right circumstances.

Nadia’s vulnerability, which made her susceptible to Melchert-Dinkel’s seemingly empathetic oratory and ultimately led to her being pulled from the Ottawa River one early spring day in April 2008 close to 1 1/2 months after she was first reported missing, is also what made her special. It was her willingness to become vulnerable and open to others, as recounted in a story by Deborah Chevalier during our September 1st broadcast, that prompted her to clap for a student who she did not know as he approached the podium to accept his degree because no one else was clapping. She didn’t think that it was right for someone not to be recognized at such an important moment and did something about it.

Now her mother Deborah is trying to do right by her daughter.

With the trial of Melchert-Dinkel moving forward through the Minnesota courts, and based on my regular conversations with Deborah Chevalier, each Friday I will provide you with a mother’s view of the judicial process as well as explain the legalities of a case in which moral imperatives are at odds with legal precedence.

In the meantime here are the links to our past coverage, which provide a solid outline of how we have a arrived at this point in time:

PI Window Blog:

March 17th, 2011 –  Despite Melchert-Dinkel being found guilty, Nadia Kajouji’s mother finds little solace in verdict

March 17th, 2011 –  The Internet Predator Verdict Is In . . . GUILTY! Is this the Start of a New Internet Policing Era?

March 16th, 2011 –  The Verdict Is In! Melchert-Dinkel Is Guilty . . . For Now.

February 28th, 2011 –  Arguments surrounding the Melchert-Dinkel trial may be lengthy but the underlining focus is the assignment of blame

February 24th, 2011 –  Young girl’s YouTube video talking about Melchert-Dinkel Suicides and Death is troubling on so many levels

February 16th, 2011 –  Melchert-Dinkel Defense Attorney is Earning His Pay with Lothenbach Plea

February 6th, 2011 –  Melchert-Dinkel removes the wild card factor from trial by opting for judge over jury

January 23rd, 2011 –  A Plea for Justice in the Melchert-Dinkel Case?

January 11th, 2011 – Are the differences between a right to die choice and a victim of murder too subtle for the courts to differentiate between the two?

December 30th, 2010 – Don’t Say A Word: By Their Silence Are Psychiatrists, Police and the Newspapers Responsible for Helping to Create the Suicide Chat Rooms Frequented by Predators like Melchert-Dinkel?

December 18th, 2010 – “Did Advise and Encourage” Suicide (by Law Professor Susan Brenner)

November 30th, 2010 – Is Suicide Really Painless on the Internet . . .

November 26th, 2010 –  A “Shattered Family” – Melchert-Dinkel’s Forgotten Victims?

November 18th, 2010 – Is an insanity plea the only remaining option in Serial Suicide Killer’s efforts to avoid prison?

November 10th, 2010 – PI Window Breaking News Exclusive: Nadia Kajouji’s Mother’s Reaction to Judge’s Order a Mix of Relief and Urgency

November 9th, 2010 – PI News Special: Melchert-Dinkel Counseled and then Watched via Webcam as 16 Year Old Girl Cut Herself

November 5th, 2010 –  Melchert-Dinkel Insanity Plea Not Likely To Succeed (But Did He Counsel Children In Taking Their Own Lives?)

November 1st, 2010 – Canadian Crown Attorney Should Have Eaten His or Her Wheaties RE Serial Suicide Killer Prosecution

October 29th, 2010 – Trial of the Serial Suicide Killer not a question of freedom of speech or a person’s right to die, it is a question of intent!

September 5th, 2010 – Melchert-Dinkel’s Reference to “Legal Murder” Hints at the Existence of a Predator Network

September 5th, 2010 – The Constitution is not a Suicide Pact: The questions and perhaps answers regarding The Serial Suicide Killer’s First Amendment Rights can be found in a statement by Abraham Lincoln

September 2nd, 2010 – Serial Suicide Killer Melchert-Dinkel Boasts in Internet Exchange that He Has Found A Way to Commit “Legal Murder”

August 28th, 2010 – In A Mother’s Words: Nadia Kajouji’s Mother to Talk About Her Daughter and the Serial Killer Responsible For Her Death

August 26th, 2010 – PI News Flash: Cyberwar and the Emergence of the Borderless Predator

August 26th, 2010 – Cyber War and the Emergence of the Borderless Criminal: Why the Melchert-Dinkel Serial Killer Case Should Be a Slam Dunk . . . For the Prosecution

August 25th, 2010 – Is The Internet A Safe Haven For Serial Killers?

August 24th, 2010 – How Many More Nadia’s: The Serial Suicide Killer Finds A Loop Hole

August 21st, 2010 – Are First Amendment Rights Becoming The Ultimate Excuse For Bad Behavior?

PI Window Radio Coverage:

April 10th, 2011 –   A Matter of Choice or Murder: The Melchert-Dinkel Trial Begins (FUTURE SEGMENT)

March 19th, 2011 –  The Internet Predator Verdict Is In . . . GUILTY! Is this the Start of a New Internet Policing Era

December 15th, 2010 –  Cybercrime, Insanity Pleas and the Right to Die: A Guest Panel Discussion

October 13th, 2010 – True Profiler: Pat Brown Discusses The William Melchert-Dinkel Case

September 1st, 2010 – Is The Internet A Safe Haven For Serial Killers?

August 31st, 2010 – PI News Flash: Cyberwar and the Emergence of the Borderless Predator

August 25th, 2010 – How Many More Nadia’s: The Serial Suicide Killer Finds A Loop Hole

PI Inquisitive Eye TV Coverage:

August 25th, 2010, The Serial Suicide Killer

NOTE: we will be updating this page on a weekly basis so be sure to check back frequently.

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