Parents Share Story on Son's 'Choking Game' Death on WISN

Judy and Mike Doyle of Wauwatosa lost their son, Jack, at the age of 13 in October of 2006.  Police initially determined Jack had taken his own life after Judy found him in his bedroom closet.  Jack was slumped over on his knees with a guitar strap around his neck. 

Jack's death was linked to a deadly game called “The Choking Game,” where a person cuts off oxygen for a high.

Channel 12, Patch's new media partners, talked to five families about their sons who died from “the choking game." The goal of the "game," popular among some young teenagers, is to achieve a quick high by temporarily cutting off the flow of oxygen to the brain. It's called auto-asphyxiation, and is usually accomplished by one person choking another or a person using a rope or other material to induce their own choking.

Craig Wittek of Oak Creek also shared the story of his son, Gage, a 12-year-old who died in September, with WISN's Christina Palladino. Craig found his son with a plastic bag over his head and a belt around his neck.

In Racine, a mom whose 15-year-old son died in December while playing the game has launched an initiative aimed at increasing awareness about the problem.