Dead Teen's Mom Testifies In MySpace Trial

(CBS/AP)  The grieving mother of a Missouri girl told a jury Wednesday how her daughter hanged herself with a belt after receiving cruel messages on her MySpace account, some of which were from a boy whose identity was later revealed to have been invented by a neighbor.

Prosecutors said it's the nation's first cyber-bullying trial and its results could set a legal precedent for dealing with the issue of online harassment.

Tina Meier recounted how "Josh Evans" interacted online with her 13-year-old daughter, Megan, during the first day of the trial against Lori Drew, who is accused of taking part in the Internet hoax that prosecutors say led to Megan's suicide.

Meier said after a name-calling exchange between Megan, "Josh," and two other girls in October 2006, she told a sobbing Megan, who was being treated for attention deficit disorder and depression, that she wasn't supposed to be online and shouldn't have gotten into the argument.

"The last words she said to me were 'You are supposed to be my mom, you are supposed to be on my side,"' Meier said as she tried to hold back tears.

Meier said she ran later upstairs and found Megan hanging in the closet with a belt around her neck. She died the next day.

Drew, 49, has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing computers without authorization. Each count carries a potential sentence of five years in prison.

She is not on trial for murder or any violent crime, as CBS' Katie Couric noted yesterday. A judge said that girl's suicide should not be a factor in the case.

In his opening statement to jurors, U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien said Drew helped create "Josh's" false identity on MySpace to learn if Megan was spreading malicious rumors on MySpace about Sarah Drew, the defendant's then 13-year-old daughter.

O'Brien said the evidence will show Drew opened the MySpace account and "fully intended to hurt and prey on Megan's psyche."

For the first time, O'Brien disclosed what Megan wrote after allegedly receiving a message the day she killed herself that said the world would be better off without her. Megan sent a response saying, "'You are the kind of boy a girl would kill herself over,"' O'Brien said.

Defense attorney Dean Steward told jurors Drew did not violate the Computer Use and Fraud Act - used in the past to address computer hacking - and reminded them she was not facing charges dealing with the suicide.

"This is not a homicide case," Steward said.

Before the trial began, Steward tried to get U.S. District Judge George Wu to forbid mention of the suicide. Wu rejected the request but instructed jurors the case is about whether Drew violated MySpace's terms of service, not about whether she caused Megan's suicide.

After jurors were dismissed for the day, Steward unsuccessfully requested a mistrial, saying the emotional testimony was "totally improper in a computer fraud case."

Prosecutors said Drew conspired with her daughter and Drew's then 18-year-old assistant, Ashley Grills, to invent "an attractive male teenager" on MySpace to find out what was being said about Sarah.

Steward countered it was Grills who set up the MySpace account and his client was driving home when the message about the world being a better place without Megan was sent. Grills has been granted immunity to testify.

The case is being prosecuted in Los Angeles because MySpace computer servers are based in the area.

[tipsyinct]

yes your right people do make false ID''''s on line. But this young girl was clearly made a target by a full grown woman that had the skills to do what she did. her daugter my not have been so successful.
That woman should be charged in this young girls death. What she did is as bad as sexual preditor or worse. you loose a child and lets see how you feel about this subject then. this woman knew what she was doing and indeed went to extremes to set it up to be able to do it. She is resposible.
Posted by lilly1232 at 11:37 AM : Nov 20, 2008

First this has nothing to with the grief of losing a child. Its probably one of the most horrible things anybody can go through, but when it comes to law emotions can''t and shouldn''t be involved.

Second it states many times in the article that the girls suicide has no bearing on this case.

and finally third, The woman has done nothing illegal, hateful, yes, borderline psycotic, yes, but illegal, no. unfortunately this woman will probably walk, and unfortunately I will agree with this decision.

[lilly1232]

yes your right people do make false ID''s on line. But this young girl was clearly made a target by a full grown woman that had the skills to do what she did. her daugter my not have been so successful.
That woman should be charged in this young girls death. What she did is as bad as sexual preditor or worse. you loose a child and lets see how you feel about this subject then. this woman knew what she was doing and indeed went to extremes to set it up to be able to do it. She is resposible.

[hamiltongrad]

The intent of this strange neighbor was to do harm, given that, and the fact that the girl was a minor, I would say that she deserves to have a heavy fine and prison time, as a lesson to others as well as a just punishment.

[eitakj]

ANYONE that pretends to be someone else in order to fool a MINOR should be charged with child endangerment. It''s no different than sexual predators.

[lucilioness]

LORI DREW HASN''T PROGRESSED BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL. LIVING WITH HERSELF AFTER WHAT SHE DID, IS PUNISHMENT ENOUGH FOR HER.

[wolfear1]

Posted by shanev137
Don''t get me wrong I agree w/ your "slippery slope" arguement, but I think that this case is a bit different. She knew the girls state of mind and about her depression. So she knew the kid was somewhat mentally vulnerable. To that end I beleive that she has a certain amount of culpability. Now me telling you (who I don''t know) to go kill yourself is a different matter all together. And I can see where the courts would end up trying to over reach their authority but in this case I think she needs to be charged.

[shanev137]

There''s a lot of really emotional people on here who are not thinking this one through.

Some already eluded to it. Do you really want a live police officer knocking on your door at 2am telling you to "be nicer to that person 1200 miles away that you''re chatting with"...or he will arrest you and take you to jail?

That is what it will come down to. A bad ruling in a case like this would blow the lid off free speech issues, privacy issues, wrongful death issues, assault issues...etc.

Anyone on the internet who didn''t like you, could just say that you were "bullying them" and then have you sent off to prison.

I guarantee you it would completely scare off all human interaction over the internet. But then again maybe that''s what everyone wants deep down. Maybe it would get all the people who were interacting over the internet to start doing it out in person again.

[wolfear1]

Posted by shanev137 at 06:39 AM
Ya know, that may not be completely true. I seem to remember a case (OH I think) a number of years ago. A woman and her husband were fighting and she thretened suicide. He went up stairs and got her a loaded gun. He gave it to her and she promptly shot herself in the head. He was prosecuted in her death for providding the means. So I would think there has been some precedent.

[hennighg]

When a kid believes something she reads can you really be confused? Kids are kids. Logic is not their strong suit. Whenever an adult takes advantage of that, punishment should occur. In this case, the punishment should be harsh. These grownups purposely set out to hurt a kid. Never mind what the kid believed or didn''t or should have or shouldn''t have, when it''s adults vs. kid, the adults should pay the harshest for their actions. I can''t believe there is any question about this. Cyberspace might be new, but child abuse isn''t.

[keisha713-2009]

What this woman did was childish and cruel but NOT criminal. The parents of this girl needs to take responsiblility. She had a history of depression and should not have been allowed to have a myspace account because you are supposed to be 14 and she also had mental problems. She saw her daughter was getting obsessed with this person and should have stop the interaction immediately but she did not. They need to stop trying blame someone for their daughter suicide. Lets all be honestly here, we have all lied about our identities on the internet. So if this woman gets convicted be prepared for major changes regarding prosecuting internet cyberbulling.