MySpace Suicide Case Highlights Cyberbully Culture
So why did 13 year old Megan Meier take her own life after a tumultuous, online relationship with a fellow teen? According to prosecuting attorney’s, the grim decision was the direct result of a focused, premeditated attack by 49 year old Lori Drew, her then 18 year old assistant, and Drew’s daughter.
Prosecutor Thomas O’brien claims that Drew and the two younger women originally created the false MySpace profile for “Josh Evans” after deciding that the cyber-charade was the best way to discover if Megan Meier had been spreading rumors about Drew’s daughter.
According to the Guardian:
In his opening statement to jurors in Los Angeles, the prosecutor, Thomas O’Brien, said Drew, her daughter and an employee of Drew’s “hatched a plot to prey on the psyche” of a girl she knew was “vulnerable, suicidal and boy-crazy”.
The court heard that Drew posed as a teenage boy named Josh Evans on MySpace and exchanged messages with Megan.
“Her purpose was to tease Megan Meier, to tease her, to humiliate her and to hurt her,” O’Brien said. “One of her plans was to print out the conversations and take it to Megan’s school and let people make fun of this depressed 13-year-old girl.”
Obrien also revealed that the last message message Megan answered before her suicide suggested that the “world would be better off without her.” Megan’s response?
“‘You are the kind of boy a girl would kill herself over,”‘ O’Brien said.
More from around the sphere:
- Groundbreaking MySpace Bullying Case Result LawFuel - The Law Jobs and News Wire A law designed to prevent cyberhacking has been used to prevent cyberbullying. A suburban mother was found guilty today of lesser misdemeanor charges for … - Of course Drew is now saying she never read the terms of service on My Space and her attorneys are lobbying for her case to be dismissed. Okay, I have a My Space account and to even set this up, one must accept the terms of service. … - Landmark Cyberbullying Trial. Many of you may remember the case about the girl and her mom who created a face MySpace account with full intent to hurt a girl that they didn’t like. Their plan worked. The girl did get hurt… she … |
