US Teen Michelle Carter Accused of Encouraging Friend To Commit Suicide

The evidence against US teenager Michelle Carter, who is accused of encouraging a friend to commit suicide, is damning to say the least.

Authorities have charged the Plainville teenager, Michelle Carter with involuntary manslaughter after she was accused of coldly urging friend, Conrad Roy III, to kill himself through a series of text messages in 2014.

Roy was found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning in a K-Mart parking lot in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, in July last year. The pair had met through a family friend during a summer vacation and had stayed friends via the internet and text messages.

Michelle Carter is currently facing trial in the US, where if found guilty will face up to 20 years behind bars.

She has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is vigorously fighting against the evidence put forward in court, which includes a series of text messages where she pretty much tells Roy to kill himself.

Some have said Michelle Carter is just an attention-seeking teenager girl who did not realise the results of her actions. Others say she is manipulative and encouraged Roy to take his own life.

One thing is for sure, you can’t argue with the evidence … and sorry to say, but the evidence against Michelle Carter does not look good.

The Evidence Heard in court so far…

In the six days leading up to his death, the pair had exchanged numerous messages.

Carter 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”.

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

Police say that when Roy had second thoughts and got out of his truck and texted Carter, she allegedly replied: “Get back in.”

One text message from Carter says: “I love you to the moon and back and deeper that the ocean and higher than the pines, too, babe forever and always. It’s painless and quick,” referring to carbon monoxide poisoning.

“You said your mom saw a suicide thing on your computer and she didn’t say anything. I think she knows it’s on your mind and she’s prepared for it. Everyone will be sad for a while but they will get over it, and move on.”

Roy responds: “Aww. Thank you, Michelle.”

Other Text Messages included:

Carter: “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.”

Roy: “I don’t get it either. I don’t know.”

Carter: “So I guess you aren’t gonna do it then. All that for nothing. I’m just confused. Like you were so ready and determined.”

Roy: “I am gonna eventually. I really don’t know what I’m waiting for but I have everything lined up.”

Carter: “No, you’re not, Conrad. Last night was it. You kept pushing it off and you say you’ll do it, but you never do. It’s always gonna be that way if you don’t take action. You’re just making it harder on yourself by pushing it off. You just have to do it.”

Carter also told Roy “You can’t be afraid to fail,” “Don’t do it in the driveway. You will be easily found,” and the “time is right and you’re ready.”

Two weeks after Roy’s death, Carter wrote to Conrad’s mother Lynn Roy, saying, “You tried your hardest, I tried my hardest, everyone tried their hardest to save him.”

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 behaviour 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.”

In a text sent to a friend two months after his death, Carter said Roy had gotten out of the truck because he was scared, but she told him to get back in.

“I knew he would do it all over again the next day, and I couldn’t have him live the way he was living anymore,” she wrote. “I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t let him.”

Police also found a message Carter sent to a friend about the investigation just over a week after the suicide, expressing fear that she might be in trouble.

“They have to go thru his phone and see if anyone encouraged him to do it on texts and stuff. . . . They read my messages with him I’m done. My family will hate me and I could go to jail.”

Read more text messages here.

In court, Carter’s lawyer, Joe Cataldo, said the charges were a massive overreach, and that Carter was shocked by the accusation.

“It was his voluntary decision to end his life,” he said. “His death was not caused by Michelle Carter.”

While the alleged behaviour seems almost implausibly heartless, authorities in court said the phone records showed Carter as seemingly desperate for attention and sympathy, and eager to be seen as a tragic figure, authorities said.

Even before Roy died, they said, she was already reaching out to friends expressing guilt that she hadn’t done enough to save him.

The case continues.

If you or someone you know needs help, phone Lifeline on 13 11 14.