Summary: The family of a boy that committed suicide is suing his girlfriend for her role in urging him to kill himself.
Just days after being sentenced to a minimum 15 months behind bars for urging her boyfriend to commit suicide with text messages, Michelle Carter is now facing a civil lawsuit from the boy’s family.
Carter showed little remorse as she was sentenced to jail for persuading her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, to kill himself by getting into his truck filled with carbon monoxide in 2014. Prosecutors successfully argued that she was an attention-seeking teenager that wanted to play the grieving girlfriend.
Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz found Carter guilty of involuntary manslaughter, which is a charge that can result in up to 20 years in prison. Moniz gave Carter a 2.5-year sentence where she only has to serve 15 months before being eligible for parole.
Moniz explained his sentence as such, “I have not found that Miss Carter’s age or level of maturity or even her mental illness have any significant impact on her action. She was a bright young lady, did well in school and I am satisfied that she was mindful of the actions for which she now stands convicted.”
Carter’s attorney Joseph P. Cataldo was able to petition her sentence stayed until all appeals are exhausted. This means Carter will not have to go to jail until that time. She is ordered to have no contact with Roy’s family except in court and is not allowed to have contact with classmates that are witnesses for the prosecution. She also cannot leave the state of Massachusetts, must have a mental health evaluation, and submit DNA samples. The big whammy is Carter cannot use social media. Should Carter violate any terms of her five-year probation, she will have to serve the full sentence.
Until all of her appeals are exhausted, Carter will remain on her pre-trial release conditions. If her appeals are denied, Carter will then begin her 15-month sentence. Assistant District Attorney Maryclare Flynn asked for a seven to 12-year sentence.
Roy’s family spoke during the sentencing hearing. His father Conrad Roy Jr. said, “Michelle Carter exploited my son’s weaknesses and used him as a pawn. She has not shown any remorse. The fact that he was convinced to him to kill himself is unimaginable. Where was her humanity? In what world is this behavior OK and acceptable?
Roy used a portable water pump to fill his Ford truck with carbon monoxide. At one point he panicked and got out of his truck but Carter persuaded him through text messages to get back in the truck. This is the point where Moniz found her guilty because she allowed him to return to his truck which was “a toxic environment inconsistent with human life.” Also her lack of notifying his family of his location and intentions aided to the guilty verdict. She had a responsibility to act and stop his actions.
His mother, Lynn, stated in a letter, “I have been to a few court hearings but it caused emotional pain. I could not come to terms with someone who claimed to love him inflicting so much pain on him and my family.”
Lynn has now filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Carter in the Norfolk Superior Court. She claims her son’s death has caused $4.2 million is anticipated lost wages and her misconduct caused Roy to suffer “severe personal injuries, great conscious pain and suffering of body and mind and ultimately death.”
Lynn hopes to establish a memorial for Conrad since she can no longer have him in her life.
Do you think 15 months is a long enough sentence for the role Carter played in the death of Roy? Tell us in the comments below.
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Photo: cnn.com