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Michelle Carter involuntary manslaughter charges and trial

April 02, 2022

20 year old Michelle Carter (of Plainville, Connecticut), was charged with involuntary manslaughter and recently sentenced after encouraging her then 18 year-old suicidal boyfriend, Conrad Roy, to kill himself over a series of text messages in 2014.

According to this report:

“A judge sentenced Michelle Carter to 2½-years in jail, but ruled she would be eligible for probation after 15 months and suspended the rest of her sentence until 2022. He also sentenced her to five years of probation. Moniz granted a defense motion to stay her sentence, meaning she will not have to go to jail until she exhausts her appeals in Massachusetts. She's now free on supervised release.”

Although at first Carter suggested that Roy attempt to seek out help, she eventually began to encourage him and push him into killing himself in a manipulative campaign that many believed pushed the young man over the edge.

Conrad ended his life in his pickup truck, in a parking lot in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, where he sat inhaling carbon monoxide fumes. A method of suicide that can kill a person within 5-30 minutes when CO is at high concentrations.

Roy expressed to (then 17 year-old) Carter that he was having doubts about ending his life, he was “overthinking” it he said in a text message to his long distance girlfriend. Carter commanded him to get back into the truck and go through with it. "You can't think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don't get why you aren't.", she complained.

According to the text message conversation between the two, Conrad Roy had attempted to commit suicide before by consuming a handful of sleeping pills, but then contacted Carter the following day informing her of his failed attempt. Instead of being happy about the survived attempt, Carter seemed infuriated and the following exchange was had:

Conrad Roy: hey sorry I just took sleeping pills and fell asleep

Michelle Carter: So it didn't work

Michelle Carter: That's such a lie

Michelle Carter: You said you wanted this bad. I knew you weren't gonna try hard

Michelle Carter: I feel like such an idiot

Conrad Roy: Why

Michelle Carter: Because you didn't even do anything! You lied about this whole thing! You said you were gonna go to the woods and do it and you said things that made me feel like maybe you were actually serious, and I poured my heart out to you thinking this was gonna be the last time I talked to you. And then you tell me you took sleeping pills? Whixh [sic] first of all I know that's a lie because you already said you wouldn't get enough and idk how you would of [sic] got them. I'm just so confused. I thought you really wanted to die but apparently you don't, I feel played and just stupid

Conrad Roy: Don't I found out a new plan. and I'm gonna fo [sic] it tonight

Michelle Carter: I don't believe you

Michelle Carter: You're gonna have to prove me wrong because I just don't think you really want this. You just keeps [sic] pushing it off to another night and say you'll do it but you never do

Conrad Roy: okay

Michelle Carter: Okay what?

Conrad Roy: I'll prove you wrong

Michelle Carter: What are you planning on doing?

Michelle Carter: Poision [sic] would work

Conrad Roy: Carbon monoxide or helium gas. I want to deprive myself of oxygen

Conrad Roy: don't feel like an idiot it's gonna happen

Michelle Carter: Tonight?

Conrad Roy: Eventually

Michelle Carter: Cute J haha I love you

Michelle Carter: SEE THATS WHAT I MEAN. YOU KEEP PUSHING IT OFF! You just said you were gonna do it tonight and now you're saying eventually….

Miss Carter then encouraged him to go through with the suicide and even stayed on the line listening to her boyfriend’s final breaths as he slipped into unconsciousness and eventually died.

She neglected to inform emergency services, local authorities and Roy’s family of his suicide.

Later, it was revealed that the teenager had filled his pick-up truck with carbon monoxide using a gasoline operated water pump. The idea to obtain a small generator instead was previously suggested by Michelle Carter, who raved that it would be more effective than a pump and was fail-proof.

Carter: "...Well in my opinion, I think u should do the generator because I don't know much about the pump and with a generator u can't fail"

She pursued the matter more aggressively over the next couple of days.

Carter: "Do you have the generator?"

Roy: "not yet lol"

Carter: "WELL WHEN ARE YOU GETTING IT" ---

Carter: "You better not be bull sh*ting me and saying you're gonna do this and then purposely get caught"

It’s difficult to see what the motive would be here, but according to various news reports, it was mostly in the pursuit of attention.

Despite helping her boyfriend plan the suicide and commanding him to “get back in” the vehicle when he got cold feet, Carter began an online campaign to support suicide prevention. According to this news report she also held a fund raiser; a fund raiser that took place in her hometown and not Roy’s. When criticized for hosting an event that was a long journey from boy’s town and school, she highlighted that she wanted people to know it was her idea, and wanted to be sure that she received credit for it.

She even went on to question why Roy had taken his own life in various tweets and status updates online and messaged his family members after the suicide to express interest in helping plan the funeral and services.

Conrad Roy III apparently had a long history of depression and social anxiety and talked about suicide repeatedly, having made a previous attempt in 2012.

There is debate online that the girl should have faced a more harsh punishment for goading the young man to take his own life, but there are also some who believe that what Carter did was not itself a “crime”; although they do not deny that her role in the situation is morally incomprehensible to many. It was argued during the trail that Michelle Carter was also taking anti-depressants (Celexa) at the time and that her mental health issues should have also been taken into account.

It is believed that she used the tragic suicide of the young man to become popular, or famous, as she supposedly talked at length about how lonely she was and how unpopular she felt.

The judge in the case went with a more lenient sentence on the grounds that Carter was a juvenile at the time of Roy’s death and that due to her being so young, there was a good chance of rehabilitation.

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