Newcastle Boy, 12, Dies After Steroid Abuse: Family Warns of Social Media Danger as Facebook Fails to Act on Illegal Ads

By James Murray-Hodcroft | The Hodlines | Date 18th May 2025

The family of a 12-year-old boy from Newcastle who died of heart failure has revealed he had been secretly abusing anabolic steroids purchased through adverts on social media.

The family, who have chosen to remain anonymous, have given permission for family friend, karate instructor Kelly Sixsmith, to share their tragic story in hopes of preventing similar deaths.

Kelly and her husband, George, also a karate instructor, first became aware of the steroid use when a blister pack of pills fell from the boy’s bag following a lesson. He was just 10 years old at the time.

“He’d gone from being a lovely, gentle boy to being aggressive and unpredictable,” said Kelly in an exclusive interview with The Hodlines. “We didn’t want to, but we eventually had to exclude him from the class. I honestly thought he was going to kill someone.” She also noted visible changes in his appearance: “His skin had taken on a waxy texture and turned a very pale yellow.”

Pharmacist Ali Avae says this is part of a growing trend. “More people are bypassing doctors to buy drugs online. Even genuine pharmaceuticals can become dangerous if they’re out of date or improperly stored.”

In researching the story, The Hodlines quickly found a sponsored advert on Facebook Marketplace linking to a store selling anabolic steroids. In line with Facebook’s terms of service and UK law, the ad was reported twice. On both occasions, Meta responded to confirm the advert did not breach their terms and would not be removed.