Whilst I have a certain level of sympathy with what you're saying - the whole story doesn't sound entirely plausable - I think it's a bad idea to call people out in situations like this.
There was a situation in the UK a few months ago where somebody hanged themselves live over a webcam, as people looked on. Nobody believed he was serious, some even egged him on. All I'm saying is that sometimes, if you feel someone is trying to play the sympathy card it's better to just ignore them than make an issue of it. Because sometimes, no matter how unlikely it seems, what they say could be for real.
Sounds like I'm lecturing people now, which I apologise for.