Megan Meier ‘Net suicide’ case revived
p2pnet news | P2P:- “In a novel approach, prosecutors are looking at charging a woman who posed as a boy and sent cruel messages to teen with defrauding MySpace,” says the Los Angeles Times.
It’s referring to the tragedy when 13-year-old Megan Meier hanged herself because of something said by Josh Evans, a fake MySpace user allegedly created by someone in the Drew family, neighbours of the Meiers.
At the beginning of December, 2007, a blog went up purporting to have been written by Lori Drew and which kicked off:
“My daughter had nothing to do with this. Everyone needs to leave her alone. None of you can possibly know her involvement, and none of you can possibly know what she’s gone through. She’s just a kid. She doesn’t deserve these brutal verbal attacks. Please stop.”
Around the same time, “No charges will be filed in connection with the October 2006 suicide death of 13-year-old Megan Meier, of Dardenne Prairie, who was the victim of a MySpace hoax involving a boy who never existed,” said the St Charles Journal, and, “I feel it is time to speak out about this tragic affair,” said the supposed Lori Drew blog.
“I cannot count on any media organization to fairly represent my story, as they have grossly misrepresented and sensationalized the story so far. So, I must present my case here, on the blog that has been my only outlet.”
Now, “A federal grand jury in Los Angeles has begun issuing subpoenas in the case of a Missouri teenager who hanged herself after being rejected by the person she thought was a 16-year-old boy she met on MySpace,” says the LA Times, going on:
“Local and federal authorities in Missouri looked into the circumstances surrounding 13-year-old Megan Meier’s 2006 death in the town of Dardenne Prairie, an upper-middle-class enclave of about 7,400 people, located northwest of St. Louis.
“But after months of investigation, no charges were filed against Lori Drew for her alleged role in the hoax. Prosecutors in Missouri said they were unable to find a statute under which to pursue a criminal case.”
But prosecutors in the US attorney’s office in Los Angeles are, “exploring the possibility of charging Drew with defrauding the MySpace social networking website by allegedly creating the false account, according to the sources, who insisted on anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the case,” says the story.
“The sources said prosecutors are looking at federal wire fraud and cyber fraud statutes as they consider the case. Prosecutors believe they have jurisdiction because MySpace is headquartered in Beverly Hills, the sources said.
“It’s still unclear who created the fictitious account. In a police report, Drew told authorities she, with the aid of a temporary employee, ‘instigated and monitored’ a fake profile prior to Megan’s suicide, ‘for the sole purpose of communicating’ with the girl and to see what the girl was saying about Drew’s daughter.”
Adds the LA Times:
The news came as a shock to Tina and Ron Meier, Megan’s parents. Both said they were unaware of the grand jury and had not been contacted by the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.
“If MySpace is considered the victim, fine. I don’t care at this point,” said Tina Meier, 37. “We’ve been begging for someone – anyone — to pick up this case. If the Drews can be charged – and even get the chance to be convicted – it would be a day I could be happy with.”
Stay tuned.
Also see:
Los Angeles Times – L.A. grand jury issues subpoenas in Web suicide case, January 9, 2008
Megan Meier hanged herself – Message from Megan Meier`s mom, Tina, November 24, 2007
written by Lori Drew – ‘Megan Meier had it coming’: Lori Drew, December 4, 2007
St Charles Journal – No charges to be filed over Meier suicide, December 4, 2007
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January 13th, 2008 at 12:10 am
The worse they can do is a ’slap on the wrist’ since she: A) is a minor B) had no financial incentive(for fraud) C) lack of proof of identity D) can argue that she didn’t realize the other girl would kill herself
I can imagine forced psychiatric treatment and removal of Internet/computer priviledges being the end result. The real punishment is the publicity and guilt, assuming the girl isn’t a sociopath. :/
January 20th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
poor girl …=(