Woman Indicted in MySpace Suicide Case

(Los Angeles, California) Lori Drew, the mother of Megan Meier's classmate and the perpetrator of the MySpace hoax that led to Megan's suicide, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy and accessing a protected computer without authorization.

U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said the federal statute on accessing protected computers has been used before to address Internet hacking, but this was the first time it has been used in a social-networking situation.

"This was a tragedy that did not have to happen," O'Brien said at a Los Angeles press conference. Both the girl and MySpace are named as victims in the case, he said.

After the indictment, MySpace issued a statement saying it "does not tolerate cyberbullying" and was cooperating fully with the U.S. attorney.

Drew faces arraignment in St. Louis and trial in Los Angeles. If convicted of the charges against her, Drew faces a possible 20 years in prison.

See copy of the indictment here.

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Teen's Suicide Linked to MySpace Hoax
[Entry bumped from 11/18/07]

(O'Fallon, Missouri) A 13-year-old eighth-grade girl, Megan Meier, suffered a fatal bout of depression linked to a MySpace hoax and hanged herself in her bedroom closet.

Neighborhood parents of one of Megan's classmates perpetrated the hoax by creating a fictitious 16-year-old male suitor on MySpace for the girl. The classmate's parents (not named in reports) then toyed with Megan's emotions, leading her to believe a bond between her and the fictitious boy (Josh) was blossoming.

Megan's spirits skyrocketed. Then the neighbor parents made fictitious Josh become mean and verbally abusive toward Megan. Megan snapped and killed herself.

It wasn't until six weeks after Megan's death that Ron and Tina Meier discovered from another neighbor the truth about fictitious Josh. Subsequently, the classmate's parents tried to communicate with the Meiers.

Ron asked friends to convince them to leave before he physically harmed them.

In a letter dated Nov. 30, 2006, the family tells Ron and Tina, "We are sorry for the extreme pain you are going through and can only imagine how difficult it must be. We have every compassion for you and your family."

The classmate's family has been advised not to comment on their involvement with Megan's life. Upon being informed that media coverage of the story would, therefore, have to rely on the police report, the mother said, "We have worked on getting that changed."

St. Charles County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Craig McGuire stated that the police report stands. Here's a portion of the police report with the classmate's mother's name redacted.

"(She) stated in the months leading up Meier's daughter's suicide, she instigated and monitored a 'my space' account which was created for the sole purpose of communicating with Meier's daughter.

"(She) said she, with the help of temporary employee named ------ constructed a profile of 'good looking' male on 'my space' in order to 'find out what Megan (Meier's daughter) was saying on-line' about her daughter. (She) explained the communication between the fake male profile and Megan was aimed at gaining Megan's confidence and finding out what Megan felt about her daughter and other people.

"(She) stated she, her daughter and (the temporary employee) all typed, read and monitored the communication between the fake male profile and Megan ....

"According to (her) 'somehow' other 'my space' users were able to access the fake male profile and Megan found out she had been duped. (She) stated she knew 'arguments' had broken out between Megan and others on 'my space.' (She) felt this incident contributed to Megan's suicide, but she did not feel 'as guilty' because at the funeral she found out 'Megan had tried to commit suicide before.' "

So, the classmate's mother admitted some level of responsibility for Megan's suicide within the police report. However, contrary to the classmate's mother's assertion that Megan had tried suicide previously, Tina Meier said it isn't true.

According to Lt. McGuire, no criminal charges were filed since, "We did not have a charge to fit it." The Meiers reportedly are not going to file a civil suit, rather, they seek a law to protect children online and make it a crime for an adult to influence a child toward suicide.

In summary, a 13-year-old girl commits suicide arguably instigated by a cruel and childish hoax perpetrated by adults. And, the hoaxers are getting away with it because no specific crime was committed and the Meier family isn't seeking redress in civil court.

The Meiers are considerably nicer about the whole situation than I would be. I'd sue the hoaxers into a hole.

Tip: Barry