mmjunkie

Megan Meier died believing that somewhere in this world lived a boy named Josh Evans who hated her. He was 16, owned a pet snake, and she thought he was the cutest boyfriend she ever had.

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A Missouri mom was indicted Thursday for her alleged role in the death of a teen who killed herself over a failed Internet romance that turned out to be a hoax. Megan Meier, 13, hanged herself in her bedroom after being targeted in a MySpace hoax. A federal indictment accuses Lori Drew, 49, of O'Fallon, Missouri, of using the social networking Web site MySpace.com to pose as a 16-year-old boy and feign romantic interest in the girl.

The girl, Megan Meier, committed suicide after her online love interest spurned her, according to prosecutors, telling her the world would be a better place without her.

Drew faces up to 20 years in prison on charges of conspiracy and accessing protected computers to obtain information to inflict emotional distress. The indictment, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, accuses Drew and others of registering on MySpace as "Josh Evans" and using the account to lure Meier into an an online romance.

Authorities have previously said that Drew set up the account to find out what Meier, who lived in her neighborhood, was saying about her daughter.

Prosecutors allege that Drew and the others violated MySpace's terms of service by using false information to create the account so they could "harass, abuse or harm" Meier, according to the indictment.

The two corresponded for about four weeks before "Josh" broke off the relationship, authorities said. Within an hour, Meier hanged herself in her room and died the next day.

The indictment does not allege that Drew sent the final message telling Meier the world would be a better place without her. Instead, it blames her unnamed co-conspirators, who authorities have previously said include a teenage girl.

After Drew learned of the teen's suicide, the indictment alleges, she directed one of the teens involved to "keep her mouth shut" and deleted the account.

Meier's mother, Tina Meier, told CNN in November that her daughter had self-esteem issues and had struggled with depression since childhood.

She said when her daughter began receiving messages from "Josh" telling her she was pretty, she was thrilled. When "Josh" broke off the relationship, Tina Meier said, her daughter was devastated. "She was looking for me to help calm herself down like I always did and be there for her. And I was upset because I didn't like the language she was using, and I was angry she didn't sign off when I told her to," Tina Meier told CNN. Watch Tina Meier's reaction to the charges »

"She said to me, 'You're supposed to be my mom, you're supposed to be on my side,' and then took off running upstairs," Tina Meier said. Tina Meier found her daughter hanging by a belt shortly afterward. "It's as if my daughter killed herself with a gun," Meier's father, Ron, told CNN. "And it's as if they loaded the gun for her."

Drew is scheduled for arraignment in June. "This adult woman allegedly used the Internet to target a young teenage girl, with horrendous ramifications," U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said in a written statement.

"Any adult who uses the Internet or a social gathering Web site to bully or harass another person, particularly a young teenage girl, needs to realize that their actions can have serious consequences," O'Brien said.

In December, Missouri prosecutors declined to file charges against Drew, saying there was no law under which she could be charged.

"There is no way that anybody could know that talking to someone or saying that you're mean to your friends on the Internet would create a substantial risk," St. Charles County Prosecutor Jack Banas said. "Under the law, we just couldn't show that."

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/05...ref=newssearch

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/us...prod=permalink

Rynx

omg. so sad...

raph

pretty sad n bad reflecttion to other sites related lik fb, frendster etc etc

shypineapple

the woman les izit o.O...

I saw a movie it just wasn't the same cause it was happy and i was sad and it made me miss you oh so bad...
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Xiiao Rongz

That woman posing as a boy was childish -.-

Milk_Mynk

BS, your wife was the one who pulled the trigger. Stop blaming the other party, because at least half of the responsibility rests squarely on you and your wife's shoulders. >_>

That said, it's a sad world we live in.

Princess Evelyn

wth is d women tinking man!!!

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~。~ 。~。~。~。~。~。~。
生命中总是有喜怒爱乐，最重要是你如何看待人生。。。

free_gul88

wondering what's the woman was thinking

Neji

*Sigh* its always america that this things happen

My Princess Blossom

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Thanx For Helping Them ^^

mmjunkie

This is just the tip of a iceberg. There are lots of online predators out there and this will not be the last case. Either you know the person extremely well in real life or keep a friendly distance. The girl was really too naive, she didn't even met the online 'friend', yet she believe her 'friend' was a 16 years old boy and become so emotionally affected by what 'he' said online.

For the guys don't think you are safe, u never know your online lover maybe just another perverted guy looking for some sexual fantasy.

Neji

thats soo sick lol =P but my frens are all good ppl muahhahaha X_X lol

My Princess Blossom

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Thanx For Helping Them ^^

platform

lol..it was just a relationship that never started before..since they never met before

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Need a way to transfer funds? >
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thegame

its just plain stupidity.. getting so devastated for getting ditched by ONLINE ROMANCE? heck, i think if that girl's mother died she probably wouldnt be as devastated to kill herself.

for occurence of death/suicide due to stupidity, we rest our case

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King of Kings - unstoppable fury

CaRe

Is the woman trying to break the girl's heart?

restless

it serves as a warning. just like a knife, you can use to to cut things or you can use it to kill.

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thegame

probably some one who's been ditched once too often, and now decides to try breaking other girls heart.... sick in the mind, needs to see psychatrist, needs to be put on death row..choose one

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King of Kings - unstoppable fury