MA - Conrad Roy, 18, urged by friend, commits suicide, Fairhaven, 13 July 2014

[IzzyBlanche]

Another thought that just occurred to me:

IANAL but it seems to me that if Michelle is convicted because she somehow "made" Conrad commit suicide, it opens the door for all kinds of nasty criminals to plead innocence because they were in a weakened emotional state and therefore someone else made them do it.

Is that really a precedent we as a society want to set?

 

[DexterMorgan]

Another thought that just occurred to me:

IANAL but it seems to me that if Michelle is convicted because she somehow "made" Conrad commit suicide, it opens the door for all kinds of nasty criminals to plead innocence because they were in a weakened emotional state and therefore someone else made them do it.

Is that really a precedent we as a society want to set?

Well if they can show 1000 texts like in this case that will prove their claim then let them try. But this case is very unique and it will not automatically fit the criteria for other scenarios in which you are describing. Jmo

 

[Cubby]

Authorities have accused a Plainville teenager of coldly urging a friend to kill himself last summer, claiming she helped him research how to die from carbon monoxide poisoning and told him to “get back in” his truck when he had second thoughts.

<snip>

Carter, now a senior at <snip> School, had a &#8220;full understanding&#8221; of the suicide plan, and in the days leading up to Roy&#8217;s death &#8220;not only encouraged Conrad to take his own life, she questioned him repeatedly as to when and why he hadn&#8217;t done it yet,&#8221; the (police) report said.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/02/27/plainville-teen-charged-with-manslaughter-friend-suicide/WM5yHKA5IpobG2WXEWHLFM/story.html

 

[traacker13]

She is one sick

I can't say how I really feel about this vile person. Having struggled from depression the greater half of my life I am beyond angry and disgusted with this evil girl. Hope that justice is swift and that she is forced to see the face of this boy for the rest of her life behind bars.

 

[changeindeed]

This story is horrifying. There really is nothing to say, what an awful person. By the sound of the article, he really trusted her and the advice she gave to him. How in the world could she convince him to kill himself and he kept trying to get out of it. I wonder if she had him convinced she would follow?

 

[changeindeed]

By the way, I had to create a new user profile because I couldn't remember my old. It was hisimage or hsimge, can't remember.

 

[believe09]

My money is on a mental defect of some kind defense as this ball rolls.

 

[believe09]

After writing one friend to say, &#8220;I&#8217;m losing all hope that he&#8217;s even alive,&#8221; Carter texted Roy, &#8220;Let me know when you&#8217;re gonna do it,&#8221; according to a police report.

From Cubby's link.

 

[believe09]

LINK from People Magazine

This article is a little more balanced for me in that his friends have a voice. We have heard from her friends and family. We have heard from his family. This gives me more information about Roy and that he was loved.
This is a quote from his friend Louie Pina:

"If he talked to me, I know he'd still be with us right now. If he talked to anyone other than her, he'd still be here."

I think that is a very fair statement. I didnt get the fact that she started telling her own friends that he was missing before he went missing...I mean I didnt make that connection in the previous articles. That certainly ticks the manslaughter box.

Wonder if she thinks she is famous now? People Magazine and all...

 

[Steleheart]

LINK from People Magazine

This article is a little more balanced for me in that his friends have a voice. We have heard from her friends and family. We have heard from his family. This gives me more information about Roy and that he was loved.
This is a quote from his friend Louie Pina:




I think that is a very fair statement. I didnt get the fact that she started telling her own friends that he was missing before he went missing...I mean I didnt make that connection in the previous articles. That certainly ticks the manslaughter box.

Wonder if she thinks she is famous now? People Magazine and all...

Interesting that both her FB and twitter have been deleted too. Too many repercussions? Too much evidence? It won't matter if LE secures a warrant for her posts. We all know that nothing digital is ever "deleted".
Right?

 

[believe09]

Interesting that both her FB and twitter have been deleted too. Too many repercussions? Too much evidence? It won't matter if LE secures a warrant for her posts. We all know that nothing digital is ever "deleted".
Right?

I have no doubt that they have it all.

 

[Nightswimmer]

Murder is a crime. Suicide is not a crime. Btw I don't condone her actions. Sure, if someone conspires to commit murder they will be charged with conspiracy to commit murder. That's not what happened in this case.

I'm not sure i'm understanding your argument here; on it's face it sounds rather obtuse. Of course unassisted suicide is not a crime - by definition, the guilty party is the deceased; there is no one to prosecute. We do, however, have laws against those who play a part in coaxing or assisting another into taking their own - or another's - life.

 

[Cubby]

This isnt hard imvho, respectfully. All she had to do was tell his family and or law enforcement where he was and what he was doing. He would have been rescued, like he was before.

She didnt. She knew it was wrong not to do it. In fact she knew if LE read those texts his family would hate her and she could go to jail.

Baiting him into it is the cherry on top for me. The fact that she encouraged and pushed him is just extra. The fact that she didnt choose to intervene like a normal human being would do shows that she is very broken some where.

ETA: The fact that she knew where he was, pretended she didnt and baited his family and tortured his sister with texts etc...these are the aggravators for me that bring us to the manslaughter charge.

What about the fact that she stayed on the phone with him for 20 minutes and listened to him die? Then around the same time played stupid with texts to her friends stating a person could die in just 20 minutes from carbon monoxide poisoning....

I just can't wrap my head around staying on the phone and listening to someone die..... while playing stupid with her friends and his family.

We know this is not speculation because LE HAS the phone records from Conrad's phone with the texts and the actual calls.

I hope the sounds of him in pain and dying haunt her for the rest of her years. I'm not usually anxious for things to get to trial, but in this case, I can not wait to see how the courts decide. And I wish we knew what her friends really thought of her. Especially those that were at that Wednesday night sleepover.

I can't bring myself to put myself in Conrad's shoes. Just thinking about going there and being in that low of a place and hearing someone tell me the things Michelle told him, brings tears to my eyes.

I guess it's a good thing MC didn't know a death investigation would occur or she probably would have tried to hide her involvement better. Regardless of what happens in court, people now know who she really is.

 

[flourish]

I'm not sure i'm understanding your argument here; on it's face it sounds rather obtuse. Of course unassisted suicide is not a crime - by definition, the guilty party is the deceased; there is no one to prosecute. We do, however, have laws against those who play a part in coaxing or assisting another into taking their own - or another's - life.

Actually it is a crime in some states to commit suicide. Logical as far as prosecution goes? No. Perhaps hopeful as a deterrent? Idk. But on the books? Yep. I had a family member recently shoot themself in the chest and survive. She wasn't prosecuted, but legally committed a crime. So, while it's usually logistically impossible to prosecute and rarely prosecuted when the opportunity does arise (which of course is actually an attempted suicide so yeah not exactly the same), and seems really obtuse, it really is on the books. I can find a link later if it's important enough to anyone [emoji2] hth

 

[Paintr]

http://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/parents-defend-king-philip-senior-charged-with-involuntary-manslaughter-in/article_c1ca2aa6-3560-54d3-bebc-ab36a6dedd7c.html

Parents defend King Philip senior charged with involuntary manslaughter in friend's suicide death

"For everyone that does not know our daughter, she is not the villain the media is portraying her to be. She is a quiet, kind, and sympathetic young girl. She tried immensely to help Mr. Roy in his battle with depression. We know that once all of the facts are released, our daughter will be found innocent," they said.

 

[Paintr]

In the above article there is mention that Conrad tried to take his own life once before. He spoke to a girl he knew who called authorities and saved him. Was Conrad hoping that Carter would do the same? Guess MC was not the same as the first friend.

 

[Sonya610]

Hopefully they will make a federal law which will cover every state. Suicidal people are mentally ill and by preying on them to end their life should garner stiff punishment. Bullying is one thing but to be a suicidal angel of death is something else. Jmo.

It is not always just about mental illness. People commit suicide for other reasons such as failing health or even for financial reasons (i.e. benefits for loved ones). A law would have to be very specific else it could end up being interpreted to mean anyone that has heard a friend mention the possibility of suicide could be held responsible for their death if the friend did not report it to the authorities.

Actually it is a crime in some states to commit suicide. Logical as far as prosecution goes? No. Perhaps hopeful as a deterrent? Idk.

I don't think it is a deterrent, though religious prohibitions against suicide most certainly are for some people. I think it is a crime so the authorities can intervene and a judge can order confinement or other treatment if desired. I doubt if anyone has ever actually been sent to prison as punishment (unless they were suspected of committing another heinous crime).

 

[Cubby]

It's April. Do we know what is happening with this case? Anyone?

 

[Hoosgirl]

April 17 was next court date ... anything in the news??

 

[believe09]

I have been looking for updates as well. I reached out to a Boston Globe reporter 10 days ago and he said he appreciated the reminder and would check in to it. Havent heard back since.