Sounds a bit like Munchausen by Proxy IMO. She gets attention when she's "worried" about him, so she tells people she hasn't heard from him and is oh so very concerned about her dear friend. In reality, she's encouraging him to go through with it so she can reap the attention benefits of being a grieving friend. The attention of being the one to start a suicide prevention fund. Twisted.
I recall
'Munchausen by Proxy' *was mentioned earlier as a poss mental illness for MC.
Have read a few lay/non-tech articles on this, also called Medical Child Abuse (no link handy, sorry).
Seems MC's communications w Conrad may have exacerbated his depression & negative feelings, and
seems she enjoyed attn she received from her friends (and maybe her fam) re what she said about him.
Not seeing that she got attn form his med care providers.So IIRC, does not characterize MC's relationship w Conrad,
as
she was not a caregiver for him, and was
not the one who sought health care treatment & medical providers for him
(AFAIK, she did not have contact w his med professionals).
Whether MC's actions & thinking can be characterized as mental health issues or plain evil, there is mos def something wrong w her, imo.
Whether her actions reach the level criminal responsibility for manslaughter, IDK.
________________________________________________________________________________________
*. FWIW from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Münchausen_syndrome_by_proxy below bbm
"Münchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP or MBP) is a behaviour pattern in which a
caregiver fabricates, exaggerates, or induces mental or physical health problems in
those who are in their care.[SUP]
[1][/SUP] With deception at its core, this behaviour is an elusive, potentially lethal, and frequently misunderstood form of
child abuse[SUP]
[2][/SUP] or medical
neglect[SUP]
[3][/SUP] that has been difficult to define, detect, and confirm.MSbP has also spawned much heated controversy within the legal and social services communities...."
"In Münchausen syndrome by proxy, an adult caregiver makes a child appear mentally or physically ill or impaired by either fabricating symptoms or actually causing harm to the child, in order t
o gain the attention of medical providers and others. In order to perpetuate the medical relationship, the caregiver systematically misrepresents symptoms, fabricates signs, manipulates laboratory tests, or even purposely harms the child (e.g. by poisoning, suffocation, infection, physical injury).[SUP]
[5][/SUP] Studies have shown a
mortality rate of between 6% and 10% of MSbP victims, making it perhaps the most lethal form of abuse.[SUP]
[6][/SUP][SUP]
[7][/SUP]
