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Michelle Carter guilty: woman whose texts drove teenage boy to suicide charged with manslaughter
A woman who sent her boyfriend a barrage of text messages telling him to kill himself has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Michelle Carter, who was 17 when she sent the messages to 18-year-old Conrad Roy III, was found guilty by a juvenile court in Taunton, Massachusetts. Her sentence could range from probation to 20 years in prison.
Mr Roy was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in his truck in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, in July 2014. Prosecutors said Carter also told Mr Roy to “get back in” when he got out of his truck.
Weak defence
Carter’s lawyer, Joseph Cataldo, argued Mr Roy had a history of depression and suicide attempts and was determined to end his life. He said she initially tried to talk Mr Roy out of it and urged him to get professional help, but eventually went along with his plan.
“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 message.
“You can’t think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don’t get why you aren’t,” her text to him read.
The verdict
Sobs broke out throughout the courtroom when the verdict was announced.
The judge ruled that Carter, now 20, can remain free on bail but ordered her not to make any contact with Mr Roy’s family or leave the state.
An involuntary manslaughter charge can be brought in Massachusetts when someone causes the death of another person when engaging in reckless or wanton conduct that creates a high degree of likelihood of substantial harm.
‘Very troubled’
Peter Breggin, a psychiatrist giving evidence for the defence, described Carter as a “very troubled youngster” who suffered from depression. At the time of Mr Roy’s death, she was taking Celexa, an antidepressant Dr Breggin said targets the brain’s frontal lobe, which controls empathy and decision-making.
Dr Breggin said she was in the grips of a “grandiose” delusion that she alone could help Mr Roy find his way to heaven and she would care for his family.
Prosecutors focused on a series of text messages she sent him in the days before he killed himself.
“You can’t think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don’t get why you aren’t,” she wrote on the day of his suicide.
The couple met in Florida in 2012 while visiting relatives, and their relationship largely consisted of text messages and emails.
More on this story:
Who Is Michelle Carter? Verdict Reached in Texting Suicide Trial Involving Death of Conrad Roy III
Woman goaded boyfriend into killing himself with texts, judge rules
Is Michelle Carter Innocent?
– With inputs from Press Association
