Cai Davies, from Pontypridd, had been targeted by a sextortion blackmail scam carried out by a ‘large scale operation’ in the Ivory Coast
18:48, 30 Jun 2026Updated 18:52, 30 Jun 2026
Cai Davies, from Pontypridd, died aged 18(Image: Castle Court Funeral Home)
A teenager from south Wales took his own life after falling victim to a sextortion blackmail scam online linked to a large scale operation in Africa, his inquest has heard.
Cai Davies, from Pontypridd, took his own life aged just 18 years old after he’d sent messages including intimate pictures and videos to someone he believed to be a woman who had a romantic interest in him, but in reality turned out to be scammers operating from the Ivory Coast.
Cai, who already had significant mental health difficulties after both his parents died, took his own life after receiving messages from the blackmailers telling him the intimate photos and videos would be sent to his friends and posted on Youtube if he didn’t transfer significant sums of money, the inquest held at Pontypridd Coroners’ Court heard on Tuesday.
During the inquest the coroner highlighted a potential lack of education generally in the UK about sextortion blackmail and said she would be writing to the UK and Welsh governments.
Cai’s brother Ethan Davies told the hearing via a pre-written statement that his brother had other significant difficulties outside of the sextortion blackmail scam that he felt could have also contributed to his brother’s death.
The hearing was told Cai, described in tributes as a proud member of the Cardiff City football family following his death on June 3 last year, turned to drugs following the deaths of his mother and father.
He was found by family in his bedroom on May 30 last year in a critical condition before being rushed to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff where he was placed into intensive care having suffered serious brain damage.
A day later Cai was transferred to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Pontyclun where he passed away on June 3 – four days after the sextortion scammers had told him they had published his intimate pictures online.
Cai, who was celebrated by 19,000 Bluebirds fans applauding on the 18th minute during the first home game of last season against Peterborough United at the Cardiff City Stadium, was born at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in March 2007 and was one of three siblings.
His parents had both suffered with drug addictions themselves and in early 2010 Cai was placed into care and adoption proceedings later began.
When he was four his mum died by suicide, having struggled to cope with her children going into care and the thought of not being able to see them if they were adopted. After his mother’s death Cai grew up with his two siblings at their grandparents’ house nearby.
In 2013 Cai suffered further loss when his dad died from sepsis. In a statement which was read to the inquest, Ethan Davies said Cai didn’t speak about the loss of his parents, couldn’t control his emotions, and said he struggled with ADHD and behavioural issues.
He described him as being very friendly and approachable, and being someone who would chat to anyone. He added that he enjoyed fishing, played football, and played rugby for Rhydyfelin and Pontypridd.
When Cai was around 12 years old he was regularly suffering with low moods and started taking cannabis and drinking alcohol, the inquest was told. As he got older he started taking more drugs and would regularly take ketamine and cocaine up until his death.
The court heard he had previously taken an overdose in 2024 but called himself an ambulance and was put under the care of CAMHS up until he turned 18 when was transferred to adult mental health services.
Ethan said he noticed his brother appeared to be struggling “more than usual” before his death. Following a disagreement at home he was asked to leave on May 28.
When he returned home on May 30 his brother told him he wasn’t allowed to be there but he went up to his attic room anyway. At around 6pm Cai’s family discovered his body in the room.
The inquest heard a statement from Rachel Denner, who was Cai’s former support worker at school. She said she received a Facebook message from Cai on May 29 along with a message request from someone using the name Melissa Calvert.
Cai had sent her messages asking whether she’d had a message from Melissa Calvert and whether she’d opened them. When she opened the message the next day there was an intimate picture and video.
DC Jack Cotton, a criminal investigator, told the inquest the name Melissa Calvert was likely to be a fake name and said Cai had been the victim of a blackmail sextortion scam carried out by a “large scale operation in the Ivory Coast”.
He said someone would’ve created a false Facebook account pretending to be a white woman from London of a similar age to Cai.
DC Cotton said that although they hadn’t been able to retrieve all the messages, the conversation would’ve likely quickly turned sexual and Cai would’ve then sent intimate photos which were later used to blackmail him.
IP address details and phone numbers tracked the account back to the Ivory Coast. On the evening of May 29 the blackmailer threatened to release videos of him if he didn’t pay them. They told Cai they would send the video to his family and friends and post it on YouTube, adding that it would ruin his life.
Cai said he didn’t have the money and told them he couldn’t send anything because he was in hospital with his grandmother. The blackmailer later said they had posted it but there was no evidence it had actually been posted. Their last interaction was at 9.30am on May 30.
DC Cotton said if the phone had been based in the UK they would’ve been able to pursue criminal proceedings, but they couldn’t identify who they were and couldn’t bring any prosecution against them due to where they were based.
DC Cotton urged the public to be aware of unsolicited messages on social media, especially if the conversation quickly turns sexual and they ask for intimate photos.
Ethan Davies said being a victim of the sextortion may have contributed to his brother feeling low, but said he believed his drug abuse and the struggles he’d had since his parents’ deaths had been the main reason behind him wanting to end his life.
Concluding the inquest, coroner Rachel Knight said Cai had had a “difficult and traumatic childhood”. She recorded his medical cause of death as hypoxic brain injury.
She concluded: “I find that it was more likely than not that personal stress in his life and becoming the victim of a sextortion scam more than minimally contributed to his death by suicide.”
Ms Knight said she thought there was a lack of education in the general public about sextortion blackmail and said she would be sending a Regulation 28 report to the Minister for the Department of Culture Media & Sport and the education minister and their Welsh counterparts about whether there’s sufficient public knowledge about such scams.
Why we cover inquests – and why it’s so important that we do
As painful as these proceedings are for those who have lost a loved one the lessons that can be learned from inquests can go a long way to saving others’ lives.
The press has a legal right to attend inquests and has a responsibility to report on them as part of their duty to uphold the principle of open justice.
It’s a journalist’s duty to make sure the public understands the reasons why someone has died and to make sure their deaths are not kept secret. An inquest report can also clear up any rumours or suspicion surrounding a person’s death.
But, most importantly of all, an inquest report can draw attention to circumstances which may stop further deaths from happening.
Should journalists shy away from attending inquests then an entire arm of the judicial system is not held to account.
Inquests can often prompt a wider discussion on serious issues, the most recent of these being mental health and suicide.
Editors actively ask and encourage reporters to speak to the family and friends of a person who is the subject of an inquest. Their contributions help us create a clearer picture of the person who died and also provides the opportunity to pay tribute to their loved one.
Often families do not wish to speak to the press and of course that decision has to be respected. However, as has been seen by many powerful media campaigns, the input of a person’s family and friends can make all the difference in helping to save others.
Without the attendance of the press at inquests questions will remain unanswered and lives will be lost.