Mother Pleads Not Guilty In MySpace Suicide Case
Posted June 17, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Lori Drew insists she’s not guilty and she entered that plea in a Los Angeles courtroom on Monday.
You may not know her name, but you’ll never forget what she’s accused of doing. Drew is the Missouri mother who wanted to see what a friend of her teenage daughter was saying about her online. So she allegedly created a MySpace page featuring a fictional 16-year-old named “Josh Evans” who befriended the girl next door.
Thirteen-year-old Megan Meier was a shy teen uncomfortable about her weight. So when the handsome hunky “Josh” gave her compliments and paid attention to her over the web, she was thrilled. The “friendship” lasted for several months until “Josh” suddenly turned on the youngster, telling her he didn’t like people who talked about their friends behind their backs and suggesting the world would be a better place without her.
Despite her parents’ intervention, Megan was inconsolable and hung herself several hours later in her bedroom in October 2006. Months went by as the incredible case attracted worldwide headlines. But law enforcement officials in the St. Louis-area suburb admitted there were no laws broken and they weren’t able to prosecute those they believed responsible.
And then the feds stepped in, assembling evidence that Drew ordered the creation of the false webpage and alleging she’d asked her daughter and a young co-worker to set up the teen for the fall.
No one knew it would have such catastrophic results, of course, but the government finally charged the neighbour with conspiracy and accessing a protected computer to obtain information.
Drew has now pleaded not guilty to all counts.
The indictment accuses her of consciousness of guilt, because she deleted the page right after Megan’s suicide and allegedly warned the co-worker to “keep her mouth shut.” But the 49-year-old has always maintained she had nothing to do with the site and wasn’t really aware of what was going on.
Experts are divided on whether the government can actually make their case stick. The law was designed to prosecute hackers who illegally break into government computers. And many believe there are no grounds to apply it this way.
“As tragic as it is, you can’t start imposing liability on people for being cruel,” notes lawyer James Chadwick, a specialist in Internet and media law unaffiliated with the proceeding.
It could be a precedent setting case either way and the whole world is watching to see what happens next. Drew will be back in court again for the start of her trial on July 26th.
Some are arguing the mother of a young teen has already been punished enough. She’s been completely shunned by her neighbourhood, had her ad business vandalized and has ironically become the focus of many anonymous attacks over the Internet.
But authorities have another punishment in mind for the unapologetic defendant. If convicted, she could face 20 years in prison.
Previous stories:
Parents cry tears of joy at indictment
Woman accused of setting up false MySpace page breaks her silence
No charges against adults who set up page
Parents demand tougher laws after suicide
Teen: mother knew what was going on
