Inside Michelle Carter's texting trial | Forensic Files

[Music] the intersection of the lives of michelle carter and conrad roy left a trail of heartbreak and questions about
the circumstances that led to conrad's tragic death in 2014. it wasn't until they started looking at his phone that
they realized there was something else going on here because on that phone were hundreds and hundreds of texts
from michelle carter to conrad roy urging him to end his life you can't think about it you just have
to do it you said you were going to do it like i don't get why you aren't and michelle carter admittedly
said do it she was kind of making fun of him for for not taking his own life i thought you really wanted to die but
apparently you don't i feel played and just stupid you're going to have to prove me wrong
because i just don't think you really want this and she kept pressuring him to do it
you're ready and prepared all you have to do is turn the generator on and you'll be free and happy
no more pushing it off no more waiting there's one point where he actually got out of the truck
and changed his mind yeah he was scared and she told him to go back in the truck
yes the two had met while vacationing in florida several years before conrad and his sisters were visiting
relatives who happen to know michelle how would you describe michelle friendly yeah she's really friendly she always
made conrad michelle lived just a few towns over from him in massachusetts their
relationship continued after vacation but like so many teens their interactions were mostly over text
messages had your son ever mention michelle carter yes after they met in florida i met her
2013 at his baseball game and that was the only time i ever met her second time was at his week though conrad roy had a
history of depression since age 16 his mother says he seemed to be doing better the 18 year old had become licensed to
be a tugboat captain just like his dad that's a huge accomplishment it'd be to be a captain
he had just graduated high school in college with a scholarship was on the horizon
and he was doing everything that was positive that was you know looking towards his
future conrad spent the afternoon of july 12 2014 at the beach with his sisters and
mother later that day he left home around 6 pm telling his mother he was going to see a friend
and i asked him if he was going to be back for dinner and he said he didn't think so and that was the last words
that he spoke to me after a frantic search by his family police found him the next day inside his
pickup truck parked at the local kmart his cell phone was right next to him and he died in his truck
it happened to monoxide poisoning i got in the car and my mom was just like crying like
the most i ever seen her cry and she was like he's gone and like she was just like your brother is gone
it still hurts just as much as it did then doesn't it i will live with this forever um the
pain investigators would soon find texts between michelle and conrad in which she
seemingly encouraged him repeatedly to kill himself several months after conrad's death
michelle carter was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter she went on trial in 2017. her case
would be decided by a judge instead of a jury prosecutors argued that michelle in
her incessant texting had immense influence over conrad she helped him devise a plan to kill himself but
defense attorney joseph cataldo painted a very different picture iran this case is a suicide case it is
not a homicide the evidence of the texting is overwhelming that conrad roy was on this path to take his own life
for years michelle carter was not present michelle carter had been texting with him she did not physically see this
individual for over one year the defense suggested that michelle was psychotic delusional and involuntarily
intoxicated from taking the antidepressant celexa escara please stand this court
having reviewed the evidence and applied the law there too now finds you guilty on the indictment charging you with the
involuntary manslaughter of the person conrad roy iii the judge sentenced michelle carter to
15 months behind bars but granted the defense's motion for her stay pending an appeal
in 2019 her conviction was upheld and she began serving her sentence in january 2020 michelle carter was
released early from prison for good conduct

Michelle Carter texted Conrad Roy on the day of his death. What did she say? A look at the facts of this unprecedented manslaughter case. #MichelleCarter #ConradRoy #48Hours

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Brief Summary

Michelle Carter encouraged Conrad Roy's suicide via texts, leading to her conviction for involuntary manslaughter after his tragic death in 2014.

Key points

The Tragic Death of Conrad Roy. Conrad Roy's death in 2014 raised questions about the influence of Michelle Carter.
Michelle Carter's Texts. Investigators found hundreds of texts urging Conrad to end his life.
The Trial of Michelle Carter. Michelle Carter was charged with involuntary manslaughter after Conrad's death.
Conviction and Sentencing. Michelle Carter was sentenced to 15 months in prison for her role in Conrad's death.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

You can't think about it, you just have to do it.

Michelle Carter's pressure on Conrad Roy.

0:31WatchMay 31, 2022

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