Woman Indicted in Missouri MySpace Suicide Case

[senob44]

The events of this story originally broke last year, but the State of Missouri could not bring any charges against this woman. Federal charges are now being brought against her.

Woman indicted in Missouri MySpace suicide case
By LINDA DEUTSCH – 20 hours ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Missouri woman was indicted Thursday for her alleged role in perpetrating a hoax on the online social network MySpace against a 13-year-old neighbor who committed suicide.

Lori Drew, 49, of suburban St. Louis, who allegedly helped create a MySpace account in the name of someone who didn't exist to convince Megan Meier she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans, was charged with conspiracy and fraudulently gaining access to someone else's computer.

Megan hanged herself at home in October 2006, allegedly after receiving a dozen or more cruel messages, including one stating the world would be better off without her.

Rest of article:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gg5xCtQtLBF6vJqWXStItGEOsJfwD90MKBT00

Article detailing how Missouri legislature is moving to criminalize such actions:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gg5xCtQtLBF6vJqWXStItGEOsJfwD90N2RK81


If the facts reveal that what Lori Drew is being accused of is true, I feel she is a selfish, sick manipulator who deserves whatever jailtime she gets. To victimize a 13 year old girl (one who was being treated for mental illness, no less) in this way is disgusting.

 

[jobrien]

Just goes to show there are just some very sick people out there. My heart goes out Megan Meier's family. trust me on this one, there is no hell like finding your own child dead, then having to bury them.

 

[gunslingingbird]

What a bitch. I heard something about this on the radio a couple days ago, but I had no idea the girl had mental illness. The bitch should fry.

 

[senob44]

What a bitch. I heard something about this on the radio a couple days ago, but I had no idea the girl had mental illness. The bitch should fry.

Yes, this was something that I don't think was mentioned when the story first broke. Megan Meier had been diagnosed with depression and attention deficit disorder. She was on medications for these illnesses. Indeed, that knowledge was apparently known to Lori Drew, making what she did that much more reprehensible.

 

[bodie54]

yeah I remember hearing about this on the news last year
I hope they throw the book at her

 

[Fresno]

yeah I remember hearing about this on the news last year
I hope they throw the book at her

I agree 100%. We need too show other people that this is wrong and give her as much prison time as we can.

 

[Nomad 800]

Great (though somewhat disturbing to me) thread senob44. If this is true and she is guilty then I would have to see some compelling evidence why this woman should not be imprisoned for at least 20 years.
Unless she is proven mentally ill and subsequently 'cured'. But if not, this kind of horrific, sadistic behaviour is a danger to the public.
But, as with all things, I would like to hear the whole story first.

 

[dave_rhino]

So twisted. This would be a good anti-myspace campaign.

 

[squallumz]

yeah, fuck myspace. something will eventually destroy it. and then i will eat cake.

 

[Friday on my mind]

While obviously this person is despicable.How about parents should maybe be monitoring/filtering their childrens access to the internet?Especially a child obviously susceptable and vunerable as this one was.:dunno:

 

[dave_rhino]

While obviously this person is despicable.How about parents should maybe be monitoring/filtering their childrens access to the internet?Especially a child obviously susceptable and vunerable as this one was.:dunno:

These days it's nearly impossible.

I remember when I first got the net my parents were all over it with parental controls, but I still managed to get all the porn I wanted.

However I agree the parents definately should of noticed something was going on, unless she really didn't tell them anything. No one is to blame except the woman who did it.

 

[senob44]

While obviously this person is despicable.How about parents should maybe be monitoring/filtering their childrens access to the internet?Especially a child obviously susceptable and vunerable as this one was.:dunno:

I understand what you mean about the parents. In fact, I don't know if it is mentioned in the links I provided, but in reading about this case, I found out that Megan Meier's mother and father disagreed about certain aspects of her computer usage. I believe it was the mother who was against the daughter having a MySpace account at all. Due to this subject factoring in her suicide, the mother and father have since divorced, disagreeing on their possible negligence in their girl's suicide. A family truly "torn apart".

That being said, let's not get away from Lori Drew being the culprit here. Sick diabolical behavior she is alleged to have perpetrated.

 

[jobrien]

Thanks senob44 for keeping the guilt where it needs to be. Lori Drew not only helped push a child over the edge, she helped destroy a family. Ms. Drew was a friend of the family, she knew how messed up this kid was and still she played a head game with Megan. How truly screwed up is that? As for placing some blame on Megan's parents for not watching her computer use; these poor people will be blaming themselves for the rest of their lives for not doing something to protect their little girl. My Sean died 3 months before Megan, he also hung himself. There is not a day that goes by since then that I don't rip my mind apart looking for something I could have done to save him, to have him still with me here today. God, I hope none of you ever have to understand the pain that Megan's parents feel today.
The crime here is the pettiness of an ADULT, someone who is supposed to be looking out for children. WE as the adults are supposed to protect children even when they are not our own from harm. Not place them in harms way. It's called being Human.

 

[Nomad 800]

Thanks senob44 for keeping the guilt where it needs to be. Lori Drew not only helped push a child over the edge, she helped destroy a family. Ms. Drew was a friend of the family, she knew how messed up this kid was and still she played a head game with Megan. How truly screwed up is that? As for placing some blame on Megan's parents for not watching her computer use; these poor people will be blaming themselves for the rest of their lives for not doing something to protect their little girl. My Sean died 3 months before Megan, he also hung himself. There is not a day that goes by since then that I don't rip my mind apart looking for something I could have done to save him, to have him still with me here today. God, I hope none of you ever have to understand the pain that Megan's parents feel today.
The crime here is the pettiness of an ADULT, someone who is supposed to be looking out for children. WE as the adults are supposed to protect children even when they are not our own from harm. Not place them in harms way. It's called being Human.

My sincere condolences at the death of your son, Sean.

 

[Becks...poamr]

About damn time they did something about this woman.





Hey, didn't the neighbors post her address on the 'net and stuff?

 

[D-rock]

I can't say I like the way the federal law is being twisted. That law was never meant to be used against people for that purpose. Having a false Myspace name isn't the same as hacking into a secure computer system. For the type of case it is it's very unusual that federal prosecutors are even getting involved. It's probably more emotionally driven than fact driven. It will have very unforeseen negative repercussions in the future for all of us if she is successfully prosecuted for what she is being charged for.

As for what she did that's pretty terrible. On the other hand whether people like it or not, I can't say I can put the legal blame for somebody else's suicide on her. What if some kid at school told the girl off or broke up with her or something else instead, and she killed herself. Would everybody hold that person to blame as equally, for example? Being a worthless piece of trash as a person isn't illegal. Of course she should rightfully be the pariah of any community she is in from now on, but this seems like people are just trying to force a poorly thought out case because they want somebody to pay no matter what.

 

[sputnikgirl]

Tina Meier has acknowledged Megan was too young to have a MySpace account under the Web site's guidelines, but she said she had been able to closely monitor the account. Meier's family has also acknowledged that Megan was also sending mean messages before her death.

Ok, if her mother knew about this, and obviously knew she was being treated for mental illness, why isn't she being blamed? I think the blame is being misplaced. It's the parents' responsibility to monitor and restrict access, when they are fully aware of their child's mental state and the situation that was taking place. It's not that hard to set parental controls with a password. The girl was too young to have a myspace account..again, who's fault is that?

 

[senob44]

Ok, if her mother knew about this, and obviously knew she was being treated for mental illness, why isn't she being blamed? I think the blame is being misplaced. It's the parents' responsibility to monitor and restrict access, when they are fully aware of their child's mental state and the situation that was taking place. It's not that hard to set parental controls with a password. The girl was too young to have a myspace account..again, who's fault is that?

I will agree there is a small amount of culpability that should be attached to the mother. But what immediately came to mind from reading your post is this scenario:

A person is driving through what they know is a bad neighborhood. They stop at a traffic light and are promptly shot in the head. Do you say it is the person's own fault for going in that neighborhood, or do you put the blame with the shooter?

I don't know if you folks will think the comparison is valid, but I sure do. The point I'm trying to make is that this girl would not have committed suicide if not for the fraudulent and scheming actions of Lori Drew.

 

[sputnikgirl]

The point I'm trying to make is that this girl would not have committed suicide if not for the fraudulent and scheming actions of Lori Drew.

You can't make that statement about someone with a history of mental illness. There's really no way of knowing, and they definitely aren't going to release the medical records. The girl's mother keeps talking out of both sides of her mouth. She claims she knew about the interaction, and admits she let it continue. Then she claims she didn't know what was going on. It sounds more than a little fishy on her end. Apparently it's not the parents' job to look out for their own child...that seems to be the moral of this story so far.

 

[DreamSparrow]

If you watch the interviews with the mother in this case, it's made clear that the mother *was* monitoring her daughter's Myspace activity. She allowed this 'boy' onto Megan's friends list reluctantly, and does consider that her mistake. Her advice to parents was to never allow someone they don't personally know on to their child's Myspace.

It's important to remember the position the mother was in, however. Her daughter was suffering from depression, and had apparently been the victim of bullying for most of her life. A parent in that position would undoubtedly want some happiness for their child. Then all of a sudden, there's the interest of this good-looking boy who seems to provide that. She was monitoring her daughter's Myspace, so with reluctance, it seems she believed there was little risk of harm.

When she noticed things were off, she contacted the police to see if this account was for real, an enquiry which provided no answers. In a short space of time, things began to escalate rapidly. The mother came home to find her daughter using Myspace without her permission, and they had an argument littered with profanities. Upset by her daughter's language, she sent her daughter to her room.

After a brief period, she realised the house was too quiet, went to her daughter's room, and found her hanging in the closet, close to death. The girl died in hospital the next day.

So, who's to blame? Honestly, I doubt it was this single incident of bullying which led to the girl's suicide -- it seems more likely to me that it was the cumulative effect of years of unhappiness. Should the neighbour be held legally accountable for the girl's suicide? No, the girl chose it for herself. She already had a clear history of depression. Should the neighbour be held legally accountable for the bullying and manipulation of a minor in a fragile state? Absolutely. Did the parents of the victim make mistakes? Also yes, but they were far from criminally negligent. They were taking precautions -- probably more than most parents -- but in this cruel world, it wasn't enough.