In the late nineties Friends Reunited got a reputation for being a marriage wrecker. A huge number of members, used the service to get in touch with old boyfriends or girlfriends, many leading to affairs and often divorce. The current trend for social networking sites like Facebook however is far worse, increasingly being linked with crimes like murder.

Earlier this week I commented on the BBC’s website article, 34 year Wayne Forrester from Croydon was jailed for life after he brutally murdered his wife on 18 February. What had Emma Forrester done to deserve this horrific death?… she had changed her relationship status on facebook from married to single, following their break up.

At the time I said ‘well it had to happen sooner or later, the first facebook murder’, it would seem I was wrong, this was not the first facebook murder, just the latest.

There are examples all over the world, where social networking sites have been involved to some degree in murders or iolent crime: Sarah Elston, 22, a talented young Brisbane artist in austalia in June 2008, was murdered after arranging to meet a former boyfriend on facebook. Martine Vik Magnussen’s, the Norwegian socialite’s body was found buried under rubble in a London appartment. Tracey Grinhaff’s body was found in a shed in the back garden of the family home she shared with her husband, Gary, and their two young daughters, aged 14 and four. Gary Grinhaff apparently murdered his wife,42, before killing himself, the reason? she had updated her profile on the social networking site, Facebook, telling friends she was “currently splitting” from her husband

But murder is not the only concerning when it comes to the internet, there are a number of links between websites, blogs, and social networks and suicides, in fact if you search google on ‘myspace suicides’ you’ll get over 7 million results from all over the world.

There are of course other issues of Social Networking on murder investigation, in many counties it is illegal to name murder suspects below a certain age, this was relatively simple when it came to the press, they knew the law and stuck to it, but bloggers aren’t so easily dealt with. The authorities in Toronto, Ontario had to work together with facebook to remove numerous references to murder suspects posted after the death of 14-year-old Stefanie Rengel, earlier this year.

I don’t think necessarily that Facebook directly lead to these murders, or that they would not have occurred if Facebook was not around, but perhaps that Social Networking was an accelerant. Social networks, make our private lives far more public, than they would normally be and allow us to see what is happening around us much faster than word of mouth, (although my Auntie Wendy, who doesn’t have a computer seems to gives it a good run for its money). People are often quite paranoid after a break up, and the transparency of Social Networks can allow this to get way out of hand.

  Tracey Grinhaff (02 May 2008 )

Mother of two daughters (ages 14 and 4) Tracey Grinhaff (42) was murdered by her husband, Gary Grinhaff who died shortly afterwards of self-inflicted injuries. Mrs Grinhaff was in the process of separating from her husband.

The Times Online (05 May 2008 )

Husband and wife dead after Facebook confession

Hannah Fletcher

A woman and her husband found dead near their home had been in the process of splitting up, it emerged yesterday.

Tracey Grinhaff, 42, was found in a shed in the back garden of the family’s home in Wombwell, South Yorkshire, on Friday morning. She had head injuries. An hour later, police discovered the body of her husband, Gary, in nearby woodland with self-inflicted head and facial injuries.

Although the officer leading the investigation, Detective Superintendent Richard Fewkes, insisted that police were keeping an “open mind”, one line of inquiry is believed to be that Mr Grinhaff, 41, killed his wife before taking his own life.

The couple had two daughters, aged 4 and 14, and were, according to their neighbour, Enid Hindley, a “wonderful, close, loving family”.

Despite this, Mrs Grinhaff wrote on her Facebook profile just two weeks before she died that she was “currently splitting” from her husband, an electrical engineer. She added: “Been married for 16 years but together for 26!!!! God that makes me sound old.”

One man who lived near the family said that he believed Mr Grinhaff had recently discovered that his wife had been having an affair with another man.

But he added: “They were a lovely family. We didn’t live in each other’s pockets but they were always so friendly.”

Julie Kendall, who became friends with Mrs Grinhaff at a local mothers-and-toddlers group four years ago, said: “I didn’t really know her husband. But I do think it’s true that they were splitting up.”

Reports circulated within the community that the couple’s daughters knocked on a neighbour’s door with a note that said something bad had happened to their parents.

Mrs Kendall, 38, said: “It would have been the four-year-old’s birthday on Saturday.”

She described her friend as “genuine, caring and kind”, adding: “There are probably a handful of people that you would meet like Tracey in one lifetime. You couldn’t fault her for anything.”

On her Facebook profile, Mrs Grinhaff listed her interests as “ballet, skiing (snow and water), and reading”. Her favourite television programme was CSI, her favourite books were “crimes and thrillers” and she described her favourite music as “anything I can dance to”.

At the top of the page was a holiday snap of her and her daughter, Neve, hugging in pink sun dresses.

Mrs Hindley, who lived two doors away from the Grinhaff family since they moved in more than 18 years ago, said: “It’s just devastating. Everybody’s talking about it. Everybody’s in a state of shock. It’s just one of those things that you would never expect.”

Other neighbours called them a “perfect, little family” with “two lovely girls”.

“Tracey and Gary were just wonderful parents,” one woman said. “You couldn’t wish for any better.”

Post-mortem examinations carried out on Saturday confirmed that Mrs Grinhaff died from head injuries and Mr Grinhaff from apparently self-inflicted injuries.

In a statement yesterday, South Yorkshire Police said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.