’13 Reasons Why’ Inspired Suicide? The Netflix Series May Have Finally Caused A Suicide

Netflix released Season 1 of 13 Reasons Why on March 31, 2017, and health experts have warned the series would cause an increase in suicides ever since. In fact, the Inquisitr previously reported on a psychiatrist named Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz who believed the series should be removed from the Netflix library “immediately.” The psychiatrist proceeded to explain that there were 5,000 reasons why the series should be removed. Like many other mental health experts, Koplewicz believed 13 Reasons Why would cause an increase in suicide as it glorified it.

It may have finally happened

Whether or not the Netflix Original series glorifies suicide has been a highly controversial topic from the moment it was released. Some believe the series provides parents and guardians with a nice opportunity to sit down and talk to their children about suicide. Others believe it introduces children and teenagers to a subject they shouldn’t know anything about.

According to People, there is a very strong possibility the thing mental health experts have been warning about for months has finally become a reality. The media outlet reveals a man from Peru named Franco Alonso Lazo Medrano committed suicide and many now believe the 23-year-old may have taken cues from 13 Reasons Why.

13 Reasons Why inspired suicide?

Franco Alonso Lazo Medrano is reported to have jumped from his fourth floor apartment after shouting “I can’t stand a heartbreak.” According to People, the 23-year-old’s mother was in the room and witnessed her son commit suicide. While the Peruvian man did survive the fall from his apartment, he was later declared dead at the San Juan de Dios hospital.

During their investigation, police uncovered two different suicide notes inside of Medrano’s home. The first was a typical suicide note. It was a note saying goodbye to a loved one by the name of Claudia. In the suicide note, the man wished Claudia the best. It was the second suicide note that has caused people to question whether or not this suicide may have been inspired by Hannah Baker of 13 Reasons Why.

A 23-year-old man in Peru committed suicide, and it appears that he might have been inspired by #13ReasonsWhy https://t.co/tePQThojbV

— Vulture (@vulture) June 8, 2017

The second suicide note was reported to have included a set of instructions along with a list of names of people who were supposed to receive tapes that Medrano recorded from his computer before committing suicide. The list of people Medrano had intended for the tapes to be delivered to were alleged to be the same individuals who drove him to commit suicide. Sound familiar?

Now, for those who haven’t had the chance – or the nerve – to watch 13 Reasons Why, this story might just appear to be the tragic tale of a heartbroken 23-year-old who committed suicide. For those who have watched the Netflix Original series, you may notice how eerily similar this suicide is to the way Hannah Baker killed herself in the series. Were the mental health experts right? Did 13 Reasons Why inspire this suicide?

A 23-year-old tragically copied the #13ReasonsWhy suicide and left behind tapes https://t.co/SH5KqiLYAE pic.twitter.com/gxONDpIbF8

— Yahoo (@Yahoo) June 8, 2017

According to Refinery 29, neither one of the suicide notes makes any sort of reference to 13 Reasons Why. Critics of the Netflix series, however, have been arguing that the message behind 13 Reasons Why justifies and glorifies suicide. Even though the series was never referenced in the suicide notes, the similarity between the two makes this suicide a prime example of what mental health experts have been warning against for months.

Netflix stands behind the show

Despite all of the controversy, Netflix has continued to stand behind their decision to create and continue to stream the show. While the streaming giant did add clear trigger warnings to the series, Netflix does not appear to have any intention to remove the series from their library.

Whether or not 13 Reasons Why is what inspired this Peruvian man to commit suicide is more or less a matter of personal opinion. Unless the investigation turns up evidence to support the inspiration, people will have to draw their own conclusions based on the similarity between the way Hannah Baker committed suicide in the show and the way this 23-year-old committed suicide in real life.

Do you think 13 Reasons Why may have finally inspired a suicide? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

[Featured Image by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP Images]