Woman Charged in MySpace Suicide Case
A Missouri woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with the suicide of a 13-year-old girl after an exchange on the MySpace network with a 16-year-old boy who did not exist. Lori Drew has been charged with conspiracy for inflicting emotional distress on Megan Meier, who hanged herself in October 2006.
Drew was charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to get information she used against the girl. Drew has denied creating the MySpace account for "Josh Evans" and denied sending any messages to Megan.
"The Internet is a world unto itself. People must know how far they can go before they must stop. They exploited a young girl's weaknesses," FBI Special Agent Salvador Hernandez told reporters. "Whether the defendant could have foreseen the results, she's responsible for her actions."
No state charges were filed in the case in Missouri in spite of an extensive investigation, because no state laws applied to the circumstances.
A Fictional 16-Year-Old Boy
Authorities say Megan Meier (pictured) formed an online friendship with Josh Evans, who she believed was a 16-year-old boy. But Josh was actually a fictional personality created on MySpace by Megan's neighbor, Lori Drew, a teenage employee of Drew, and Drew's teenage daughter, a former friend of Megan.
On October 16, 2006, when "Josh" told Megan that the world would be a better place without her, she went upstairs and hanged herself in her closet. She died the next day.
The case gained national headlines in 2007 when media coverage of the hoax prompted outrage, but Missouri prosecutors could not find any stalking, harassment and child endangerment laws on the books that fit the circumstances of Megan's death.
Drew's indictment came from a federal grand jury based in Los Angeles, because the MySpace servers are located there. Drew will be arraigned in St. Louis, but her trial will be in California.
See Also:
Mom Indicted in MySpace Suicide Case
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Photo: Megan Meier
Comments
How could someone be so cruel to think what they were doing was funny. You never know what you do to someone else just might come back to you and destroy your life, just like you did to Megan.
You know what they say, “what you do comes back to you”. To be such a lovely girl like her, and end her life over idiots! It just isn’t fair, and now it is time to pay.