She sounds like one of those parents who have Munchausens syndrome by proxy.
Unless she is a sociopath.
These girls were charged as adults,
http://abcnews.go.com/US/best-friends-killers-teens-murder-friend-didnt/story?id=24573749
Michelle Carter must be a pretty smooth talker ( sociopath) not to be charged as an adult.
She was saying he was dead, even beforehand.
http://t.southcoasttoday.com/article/20150227/NEWS/150229466/-1/breaking_ajax
Imagine being the parents of that girl, and finding out that your daughter did this. You’d be going along with your life, dum de dum de dum, and all of a sudden you discover you’ve raised a monster.
I don’t think she will be convicted, because I don’t think it will be found to be a crime.
But if someone can be raped, because they were not capable of making the decision to agree to have sex, or someone else can be coerced into signing over financial documents, I think it can be proven that she took advantage of her knowledge of his state of mind to goad him into killing himself.
If it is illegal to commit suicide, wouldn’t encouraging, nay * forcing * someone to do so, be a crime?
If the articles are correct, what she did was horrible.
Still, if the courts hold someone criminally responsible when they weren’t even present, it sets a very dangerous precedent that could have far reaching consequences beyond this particular case.
She may not have been physically “present” but the thousand plus texts may be pretty compelling
Yes, this goes way beyond any passive involvement in any of this. She allegedly actively encouraged him to take his own life and told him to "get back in " after he emerged from his truck and was having second thoughts about killing himself.
Really really bizarre. I’m eager to read all the texts and eager to see how this ends.
I agree with #18, this sounds like a really creepy plot for a sick movie.
Truly, this story is beyond belief. She “looks” like any normal teenage girl that could be sitting in your own home on a week-end with your kids. The evil that lurks within………….
Maybe conspiracy to commit suicide.
At the very least, isn’t this bullying? I feel sick thinking of his parents, worrying about his mental illness, finding help for him, losing him to suicide, only to learn that he’d been pushed into it by a “concerned” friend.
It just seems like opening a Pandora’s box when you charge other people, who weren’t present, in a suicide. With the Missouri gubernatorial candidate, do you charge the opposition who was saying bad things about him? The problem is, once the courts go down this road, lines will need to be drawn. And what if the lines are always moving? Should someone be held responsible for something they said (or texted) in anger, but didn’t really mean?
In California encouraging someone to commit suicide is a felony. See Section 401 of California Penal Code. Every state is different.
Looks like she is being charged in Massachusetts with “involuntary manslaughter.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cops-massachusetts-girl-18-encouraged-boy-to-take-his-life/
We live in a sick and evil world.
That’s a good law. I originally thought that was a good law, but I changed my mind. It’s illegal to encourage someone to commit suicide, but it’s also illegal to aid someone to commit suicide, even if they are incurably ill and in excruciating pain.
What this girl did is monstrous, but IMO getting a drug overdose for someone who is in excruciating pain is not monstrous.
Agree with that, Cardinal Fang. It will be interesting to watch this play out. I am heartbroken for his parents. They must feel so betrayed.
How does someone live with themselves after doing this. If you were telling someone “to get back on the railroad tracks” or “put that gun to your head and pull the trigger”, how would that be different?
It doesnt’ matter if she was there or 5 miles away.
She somehow was attracted to the idea that she’d be the focus of attention after the suicide.
A police report obtained by the paper alleges Carter not only encouraged Roy to take his life, but she also "questioned him repeatedly as to when and why he hadn't done it yet, right up to the point of when his final text was sent to her..."
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The girl is also accused of sending text messages to her friends and Roy’s mother expressing concern about Roy’s whereabouts on the day he committed suicide, despite having been in constant contact with him and encouraging him to take his own life.
The paper reports police believe “she was beginning to put together a plan to get sympathy from her friends.”
The paper further reports that after Roy’s death, Carter organized a softball tournament to raise money for mental health awareness in honor of Roy. She also allegedly posted several messages on social media about suicide prevention and how much she missed Roy.
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Just sick…and evil
She probably thought she would get away with it. If she’s truly a sociopath, worrying about how she would live with herself would probably have been the last thing on her mind. It will be interesting to see what the psychiatrists have to say about this- as others have said , she sounds like she’s either a sociopath or has Munchausen by proxy, attention seeking behavior, etc. going on. It is her parents who may have trouble living with themselves, wondering how they could have raised such a daughter. I know we have to be careful about blaming parents, but most parents would be extremely upset about having a child involved with something like this, as they would with any criminal activity. And I view what is being described as criminal activity, and very scary, deviant criminal activity at that. This is not exactly an underage drinking charge or speeding ticket.
These girls were charged with felony aggravated stalking, and one of their families are held liable as well.
http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/local/2014/09/18/polk-sheriff-rebecca-sedwick-lawsuit/15819351/
The case against the 14 & 12 yr old girls was eventually dropped.
Some states have passed laws relating to bullying and cyber bullying.