Woman indicted in Missouri MySpace suicide case
"The Internet is a world unto itself. People must know how far they can go before they must stop," FBI official Salvador Hernandez said Thursday as prosecutors unveiled a case that employs laws usually used against hackers to go after the alleged perpetrator of a false-identity hoax.
Lori Drew, 49, of suburban St. Louis, Mo., was charged with conspiracy and fraudulently gaining access to someone else's computer. She allegedly helped create a MySpace account in the name of someone who didn't exist to convince young neighbor Megan Meier she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans.
Megan hanged herself at home in October 2006, allegedly after receiving a dozen or more cruel messages, including one stating the world would be better off without her.
"They exploited a young girl's weaknesses," Hernandez charged. "Whether the defendant could have foreseen the results, she's responsible for her actions."
The indictment alleges one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to get information used to inflict emotional distress on the girl.
Drew has denied creating the account or sending messages to Megan.
Dean Steward, a lawyer representing Drew in the federal case, said a legal challenge to the charges was being planned. He characterized them as unusual and puzzling.
"We thought when prosecutors in St. Louis looked at the case and all the facts, it was clear no criminal acts occurred," Steward said.
A man who opened the door at the Drew family home in Dardenne Prairie, Mo., on Thursday said the family had no comment.
Megan's mother, Tina Meier, told The Associated Press she believed media reports and public outrage helped move the case forward for prosecution.
"I'm thrilled that this woman is going to face charges that she has needed to face since the day we found out what was going on, and since the day she decided to be a part of this entire ridiculous stunt," she said.
Megan's father, Ron Meier, 38, said he began to cry "tears of joy" when he heard of the indictment. The parents are now separated, which Tina Meier has said stemmed in part from the circumstances of their daughter's death.
Tina Meier has acknowledged Megan was too young to have a MySpace account under the Web site's guidelines, but she said she had been able to closely monitor the account. Meier's family has also acknowledged that Megan was also sending mean messages before her death.
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