Michelle Carter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2014 suicide of her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III.
Roy, who poisoned himself by inhaling carbon monoxide in his pickup truck in a Kmart parking lot, was 18 years old at the time of his passing.
The 20-year-old was read her verdict on Friday by Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz.
The judge explained in his 15-minute verdict, "This court has found that Carter's actions and failure to act where it was her self-created duty to Roy since she put him in that toxic environment constituted reckless conduct."
This conduct, which included instructing Roy to get back into his truck, "caused the death of Mr. Roy," the judge said.
One of Carter's messages to Roy, as per CNN.com, read, "I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and you're ready, you just need to do it! You can't keep living this way. You just need to do it like you did last time and not think about it and just do it babe. You can't keep doing this every day."
Prosecutor Katie Rayburn had mixed feelings. She told reporters, "Although we are very pleased with the verdict, in reality, there are no winners here...Two families had been torn apart and will be affected by this for years to come."
Daniel Medwed, Professor of Law at Northeastern University in Boston, said, according to Reuters.com, "Carter's behavior was horrible, morally reprehensible, but I'm not sure that equates with legal responsibility."
Since this was a suicide, and "Roy decided to the deed," Medwed thinks the case is likely to face appeal.
You can watch the verdict above.
Source: youtube.com
