Michelle Carter was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on Friday morning for the suicide of 18-year-old Conrad Roy III in July of 2014.
Though Carter was not present for Roy’s death, she sent him multiple text messages encouraging him to follow through on plans to kill himself. On July 12th, Roy hooked up a generator to emit carbon monoxide into the cab of his truck, but had second thoughts when he started to feel sick. Over the phone, Carter told Roy, who she claimed was her boyfriend, to get back into his truck. He was found dead the next morning.
Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz called Carter’s actions both immoral and illegal, the New York Times reports.
Carter faces up to 20 years in prison, and the ruling could change the way courts consider manslaughter cases in the future. “This sends a strong message to people that using technology to bully people into committing suicide will not be tolerated,” Northeastern University law professor Daniel Medwed told the Times.
