Ashley Madison Hack Possibly Led to Two Suicides, According to Toronto Police
The aftermath of the Ashley Madison hack may be taking a dark turn.
Two suicides are being possibly linked to the hack that released the email addresses of 33 million accounts on the dating website, which caters to people seeking extramarital affairs.
One possible connected incident is San Antonio police captain Michael Gorhum, who ended his own life last week after his email was reportedly among those leaked in the data breach. It's important to know that it has not been verified whether the officer actually set up the account, or used the website.
Toronto police superintendent Bryce Evans revealed that they are looking into two suicide reports that may be tied to the breach, but did not confirm whether the police captain was one of them, or give further details. He did, however, note that Ashley Madison's parent company, Avid Life Media, has offered a $500,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the hacking scandal.
“Your actions are illegal and will not be tolerated," Evans said. “This is your wake up call."
The data release last week has led to the outing of several high profile Ashley Madison users, including 19 Kids and Counting star Josh Duggar, who reportedly had two accounts, and admitted his extramarital affairs in a statement, which he later revised to omit reference to his pornography addiction.
"I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife," the original statement read.
Another caught in the leak was Sam Rader, a popular Christian YouTuber, who earlier this month posted a video alleging that he and wife Nia had miscarried just days after their pregnancy announcement went viral. (The authenticity of the pregnancy has been called into question by many on YouTube.)
"She has forgiven me for this mistake that I made in opening the account," Rader said, with Nia confirming his statement with a nod. "I’ve sought forgiveness from God and he’s forgiven me, so I’ve been completely cleansed of this sin."
WATCH: Ashley Madison Data Reveals Which States Cheat the Most -- Where Does Your State Rank?
One chart apparently uses hack data to reveal what U.S. states spend the most on Ashley Madison. Watch the video below to see where your state ranks.