Death of Conrad Roy
On July 13 2014, the body of Conrad Roy III ~(18) was discovered in his truck, parked outside a superstore in Massachussetts – he'd killed himself by attaching a hose from a generator and filling his truck with carbon monoxide. Roy, who was an honour roll student, had been struggling with anxiety and depression. But, upon investigation, authorities discovered Roy had exchanged a string of texts with his long-distance girlfriend, Michelle Carter (17), in the weeks leading up to his death. In the texts, Carter encouraged Roy to end his life.
Carter and Roy had met a few years earlier in 2012 while they both vacationed with their families in Florida. Despite only living just a few towns away from each other, they maintained a relationship primarily through texts.
On the day of his suicide, Michelle Carter text Roy: "You keep pushing it off and say you'll do it but you never do. It's always gonna be that way if you don't take action."
In other texts, Carter said "You just need to do it," and "No more pushing it off, no more waiting." Another of Carter's texts told Roy, "If you want it as bad as you say you do, it's time to do it today."
Seven months after his suicide, in February 2015, Carter was indicted for involuntary manslaughter.
At her trial, Carter was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and was initially sentence to two and a half years in prison, although this was reduced to 15 months. In January 2020, Carter was released early after serving just 11 months of her sentence.
