Prosecutors: Massachusetts teen's texts encouraged her boyfriend's suicide

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

http://www.examiner.com/article/texts-encouraged-suicide-teen-texted-encouraged-her-boyfriend-to-take-his-life

Michelle Carter's texts encouraged her boyfriend to commit suicide, prosecutors allege. Carter, a 17-year-old Massachusetts student, sent a final text message to Conrad Roy III, her distraught 18-year-old boyfriend. Roy, whose truck was idling and filling the cab with deadly carbon monoxide poisoning, had jumped out, afraid and having second thoughts about ending his life. He reached out to his girlfriend Michelle Carter, who responded with: “Get back in.”
Texts encouraged suicide: Teen texted, encouraged her boyfriend to take his life


Writes People.com on Feb. 27: “An 18-year-old girl has been charged with manslaughter for urging her friend to commit suicide. Conrad Roy III, 18, committed suicide last summer in a Kmart parking lot in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. But now investigators say his friend Michelle Carter, also 18, may have encouraged him to do it.”

Not only did she allegedly encourage the boy to commit suicide, she then spearheaded a fundraising campaign in his honor. Three days after Roy died, Carter expressed her sorrow and utter dismay, tweeting out: “I will never understand why this had to happen.” She then organized a softball event, raising over $2,000, the proceeds of which went to a suicide prevention program.

According to her softball coach, she's a good kid though....

http://plainville.wickedlocal.com/article/20150227/NEWS/150226694

McFarland said he questions the context of the texts and how serious Carter may have thought Roy was during their texting conversation. From what he knows of Carter, McFarland said he doubts there was any malicious intent.

“People are treating her like she’s an uncaring high school kid and she’s not that,” he said. “I’d love to know what the context was. This is emotional, it’s not logical, it’s not rational.”

[Fearless]

1. That's so awful. What is wrong with her?

Even my most disliked ex, had he sent me that message I would've called 911 and kept him outside, on the line, and taking. So disgusting.

[trumad]

2. how many breakups included the phrase...

I'm going to kill myself.

Awful that this happened but may be the used the phrase many times...cry wolf type of thing. ..and the girl did not know that he literally was doing it.

[trumad]

6. but again...

who knows if this guy cried wolf many times before... She probably thought he was faking it.

I hear you though...she should have done more.

[LisaL]

7. Done more?

Shouldn't it be done less?
Police say she was encouraging him to kill himself.

"Instead of attempting to assist him or notify his family or school officials, Ms. Carter is alleged to have strongly influenced his decision to take his own life, encouraged him to commit suicide and guided him in his engagement of activities which led to his death," Gregg Miliote, director of communications for the Bristol County District Attorney's Office, said in a statement."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/01/us/suicide-text-case/

[KMOD]

3. It's a very disturbing story.

I realize we don't know the context of the texts yet, and manslaughter may seem like an overreach, but it sounds like this young girl has some issues of her own.

After writing one friend to say, “I’m losing all hope that he’s even alive,” Carter texted Roy, “Let me know when you’re gonna do it,” according to a police report.

Carter, now a senior at King Philip High School, had a “full understanding” of the suicide plan, and in the days leading up to Roy’s death “not only encouraged Conrad to take his own life, she questioned him repeatedly as to when and why he hadn’t done it yet,” the report said.

Police said she likely spoke on the phone with Roy until he died, yet she continued to text a friend “as if nothing happened.”

snip

Friends of Carter told police she was prone to exaggeration, and had a history of crying wolf. It was hard to tell if she was being completely truthful in her messages, they said.

But police said her behavior seemed calculated to engender sympathy and drama, even as Roy was reaching out to her. As she texted friends saying Roy was missing, he texted her “I love you btw.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/02/27/plainville-teen-charged-with-manslaughter-friend-suicide/WM5yHKA5IpobG2WXEWHLFM/story.html

[HereSince1628]

4. "but words will never hurt you"

looks like that'll have to be fixed in the beta release...

[davidn3600]

8. What's even more disturbing is she created charities and fundraisers afterwards

And played as if she had no role in the suicide at all.

[LisaL]

9. I wonder what she did with the money collected.

[Aerows]

10. I went to the prom

with a guy (because I wanted to hang out with my friends, not be with him LOL) and then I went to his prom with him. I broke it off after both proms because obviously I wasn't into him. He threatened to kill himself because I broke up with him.

I was livid - he was trying to emotionally blackmail me. I told him so, and said "if you are going to commit suicide over me, it's your fault, not mine."

He didn't kill himself. This girl could have been responding to something like that.