Friday 30 June 2017

Massachusetts woman who sent texts urging boyfriend to kill himself guilty of manslaughter

                                 Michelle Carter                                      (C)AP

A Massachusetts woman who sent her boyfriend a barrage of text messages encouraging him to kill himself has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter. A juvenile court judge found that Michelle Carter caused the death of Conrad Roy III. Carter cried as the judge explained his reasoning Friday. Carter was 17 when she sent Roy dozens of messages urging him to take his own life (You can read the story here). Eighteen-year-old Roy was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in his truck in a store parking lot in Fairhaven in July 2014.
Carter's lawyer argued Roy had a history of depression and suicide attempts and was determined to end his own life.


Roy

The judge ruled that Carter, now 20, can remain free on bail but ordered her not to make any contact with Roy's family. She also isn't allowed to leave the state. She could face up to 20 years in prison. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Aug. 3. The sensational trial in Taunton offered a window into teen depression and suicide through text messages and Facebook communications.
"I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and you're ready, you just need to do it!" Carter wrote in one of her messages to Roy.
Prosecutors said that in addition to bombarding Roy with text messages, Carter also gave him advice when he got out of the truck as he was inhaling the gas and told her he was scared. "Get back in," she told him, according to a friend who testified Carter described the conversation in a text message to her about a month after Roy die

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