Florida

Judge to Announce Verdict in Texting Suicide Trial Friday

"You're finally going to be happy in heaven," Michelle Carter wrote Conrad Roy III in one text, though her lawyers argued he was determined to end his own life

A judge will announce his verdict Friday in the case of a Massachusetts woman accused of sending her boyfriend dozens of text messages urging him to kill himself.

Michelle Carter is charged with manslaughter in the 2014 death of 18-year-old Conrad Roy III.

Court will be in session at 11 a.m. for Judge Lawrence Moniz's decision. Carter waived her right to a jury trial.

Prosecutors say the then-17-year-old Carter pressured Roy to take his own life through a torrent of text messages. They say she told Roy to "get back in" his truck when he became frightened while trying to kill himself with carbon monoxide.

Carter's lawyers argued that Roy had a history of depression and suicide attempts and was determined to end his own life. They said Carter initially tried to talk him out of his plan and urged him to get professional help.

Carter and Roy met in Florida in 2012 while visiting relatives. Their relationship largely consisted of text messages and emails.

The case has been closely watched in the legal community and widely shared on social media, in part, because of the dozens of text messages Carter sent Roy in the days before he was found dead.

"You're finally going to be happy in heaven. No more pain. It's okay to be scared and it's normal. I mean, you're about to die," Carter wrote in one message.

Her texts later became more insistent after Roy appeared to delay his plan.

"I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and you're ready - just do it babe," she wrote.

In another text sent the day Roy died, Carter wrote: "You can't think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don't get why you aren't."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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