Michelle Carter Trial 2017 Latest News: Prosecution Seeks to Establish Defendant's Texts Pushed Conrad Roy III to Commit Suicide
Michelle Carter's first week of trial started in Massachusetts Wednesday. She's charged with manslaughter for the death of her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, in 2014.
Carter was just 17-years-old when she allegedly encouraged Roy to take his life. Prosecutors presented Carter's series of texts to Roy and alluded she pressured him when he was already struggling with mental health issues.
During the trial's opening, Bristol Assistant District Attorney Maryclare Flynn established that Carter forced Roy for her own gain. Flynn said the defendant used her boyfriend's suicide for attention and popularity among social circles, after having previously expressed to another friend that she's lonely.
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Court documents showed one of Carter's last text messages to Roy that suggested she urged the suicide. "You need to do it, Conrad," Carter texted. "Are you going to do it today?"
The defense, meanwhile, argued that it was Roy's choice to take his own life and Carter's texts were prompted by the side effects of her prescription medication, citalopram. As per the U.S. National Library of Medicine, citalopram may lead to agitation, irritability and causes abnormal behavior in young adults.
Like Roy, Carter also struggled with mental health problems and this was partly the reason why they bonded as a couple. Her lawyers defended she had no criminal liability.
The prosecution also called up witnesses to the stand to read out some of Carter's texts before and after Roy's death. One message showed Carter supposedly didn't know Roy was planning to take his life, but other messages showed otherwise.
Roy died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning via his pickup truck. "Prosecutors will have to prove that Carter [caused] Conrad Roy to kill himself and essentially caused his death," criminal and justice professor Daniel Medwed analyzed, as per Washington Post.
