John Gibson, a pastor and seminary professor, killed himself when his name appeared on the list of Ashley Madison users, exposed to the public by hackers. Gibson was married with two children.
Six days after the list of users was made public, Gibson killed himself. His wife Christi discovered the body.
A respected teacher with a “quirky laugh,” Gibson was a man with many hobbies. When he wasn’t teaching, he enjoyed fixing cars.
In his suicide note, Gibson chronicled his demons. He spoke about his depression and his name appearing in the list of users of dating website Ashley Madison. Speaking to CNN Money, his wife Christi Gibson said:
He talked about depression. He talked about having his name on there, and he said he was just very, very sorry. What we know about him is that he poured his life into other people, and he offered grace and mercy and forgiveness to everyone else, but somehow he couldn’t extend that to himself.
— Christi Gibson, John Gibson’s wife
She added that her husband was most likely worried about losing his job.
In a statement, a spokesman for Avid Life Media, Ashley Madison’s parent company, expressed the firm’s condolences.
Dr Gibson’s passing is a stark, heart-wrenching reminder that the criminal hack against our company and our customers has had very real consequences for a great many innocent people.
— Avid Life Media
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