In a case that hinged largely on a teenage couple's intimate text
messages, Michelle Carter was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter
Friday in the 2014 death of her boyfriend, who poisoned himself by
inhaling carbon monoxide in his pickup truck, a Massachusetts judge
ruled.
Carter's own words --
preserved in hundreds of text messages presented as evidence over six
days of testimony -- helped seal her conviction in the death of
18-year-old Conrad Roy III, Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence
Moniz said during a 15-minute explanation of his rationale.
"She
admits in ... texts that she did nothing: She did not call the police
or Mr. Roy's family" after hearing his last breaths during a phone call,
Moniz said. "And, finally, she did not issue a simple additional
instruction: Get out of the truck."
Carter,
20, cried silently as Moniz spoke. She stood to receive the ruling,
which could set legal precedent for whether it's a crime to tell someone
to commit suicide.
Prosecutors had argued that Carter sent Roy numerous text messages
urging him to commit suicide, listened over the phone as he suffocated
and failed to alert authorities or his family that he'd died. The judge
agreed.
"This court has found that Carter's
actions and failure to act where it was her self-created duty to Roy
since she put him in that toxic environment constituted reckless
conduct," the judge said. "The court finds that the conduct caused the
death of Mr. Roy."
With Carter
standing, Moniz said, "This court, having reviewed the evidence, finds
you guilty on the indictment with involuntary manslaughter."
Although Cater was not present when Roy killed himself, her text messages and conversations with him proved damning.
One July 2012 exchange of texts messages was typical:
Roy: "I'm overthinking"
Carter:
"I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and you're ready,
you just need to do it! You can't keep living this way. You just need to
do it like you did last time and not think about it and just do it
babe. You can't keep doing this every day."
Roy's relatives, who sat near Carter in
the front row of the courtroom, wept as the judge ticked through the
steps Roy took to end his life, as well as Carter's complicity. Sitting
opposite them, Carter's family members also sobbed.
"Although
we are very pleased with the verdict, in reality there are no winners
here," prosecutor Katie Rayburn told reporters later.
"Two families had
been torn apart and will be affected by this for years to come. We hope
verdict will bring some closure... It's been an extremely emotionally
draining process for everyone involved."
Roy aspired to be a tugboat captain and
would be alive if not for Carter's actions, Rayburn said. He had been
trying to better himself, and "we all wish he had the opportunity" to
grow up, she said.
Added Roy's
father, Conrad Roy Jr.: "This has been a very tough time for our family,
and we would just like to process this verdict that we are happy with."
Moniz let Carter, who was tried as a juvenile because she was 17 at the time of the crime, remain free on bail
until her sentencing on August 3. She
could face up to 20 years in prison, though experts say such a lengthy
sentence is unlikely.
She was
ordered to have no contact with members of the Roy family. She cannot
apply for or obtain a passport, nor can she leave Massachusetts without
permission from a judge.
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