The case of Michelle Carter who encouraged her boyfriend Conrad Roy III to commit suicide has been referred to the Supreme Judicial Court. The teenage girl who texted her boyfriend, insisting that he follow through with killing himself in July 2014 is facing involuntary manslaughter charges. Supreme Judicial Court Justice Margot “Botsford referred the case to the full Supreme Judicial Court and is targeting a May hearing, according to her Feb. 1 ruling.”
Michelle Carter texted her friend Conrad Roy III over a thousand times, demanding that he follow through with his plans to kill himself. “In September, a judge rejected a defense motion to dismiss the charge . . .” after prosecutors provided records showing that Carter was on the phone with Roy for approximately 45 minutes as he inhaled carbon monoxide. It is alleged that she heard him moaning and did not call 911. She also ordered him to get back into his truck after he got scared and exited the vehicle.
Police found Roy’s body in a pick-up truck behind a Kmart in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, on July 13, 2014, after he succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning. “The case has drawn heavy scrutiny, both in southern Massachusetts and across the country, largely because of the revealing text messages and the fact that Carter became a suicide prevention spokesperson afterwards.” After encouraging Roy to kill himself she wrote on Facebook:
“Hey everyone, as some of you already know my boyfriend Conrad Roy recently passed away on July 13. He suffered from mental illness and depression. Conrad’s death was a wake-up call for me. I want to speak out to fight the public stigma and to give a clearer picture of what mental illness is all about. Even though I could not save my boyfriend’s life, I want to put myself out there to try to save as many other lives as possible, and if I can through my experiences shed light on a way out of a difficult situation that I know so many people are going through, then that is what I need to do.”
Carter has been banned from Facebook by a judge. “The attorney said the case, “where a person who is 30 miles away is charged with committing manslaughter by text,” was unprecedented in Massachusetts. The state does not have a statute criminalizing assisted suicide.” Some people believe she is a psychopath while her friends support her claiming it is not her fault that Roy committed suicide. The judge stated, “Even if the defendant did not understand the consequences of her actions, a reasonable person would have realized that telling a person to get back into a truck filled with carbon monoxide would pose a grave risk of danger to that person.” Carter is due back in the Supreme Judicial Court in May. She faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
True Crimes Podcast 