Michelle Carter was 17 when she told Carter Roy III, then 18, to 'get back in' a truck filled with carbon monoxide fumes, prosecutors say.
The Supreme Judicial Court ruled Friday that a grand jury had probable cause to indict Carter in Roy's death.
Carter's lawyer had argued that her texts were free speech protected by the First Amendment and didn't cause Roy to kill himself.
Carter Roy III (pictured) killed himself in 2014 after his girlfriend engaged in a 'systematic campaign of coercion' that targeted his insecurities, Massachusetts' Supreme Judicial Court ruled Friday
Michelle Carter (pictured in August last year) was 17 when she told Roy to 'get back in' a truck filled with carbon monoxide fumes, prosecutors say
Michelle Carter was 17 when she told Carter Roy III (left), then 18, to 'get back in' a truck filled with carbon monoxide fumes, prosecutors say
'IT'S NOW OR NEVER': MICHELLE CARTER'S MESSAGES TO CONRAD ROY
Prosecutors say Michelle Carter sent her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, dozens of text messages urging him to take his own life.
Carter's lawyer argues that she tried repeatedly to talk him out of it and only began to support the plan when it became clear he would not change his mind.
Here are excerpts from their text exchanges, with messages cited by her lawyer first, followed by those cited by prosecutors:
June 29, 2014:
Carter: 'But the mental hospital would help you. I know you don't think it would but I'm telling you, if you give them a chance, they can save your life'
Carter: 'Part of me wants you to try something and fail just so you can get help'
Roy: 'It doesn't help. trust me'
Carter: 'So what are you gonna do then? Keep being all talk and no action and everyday go thru saying how badly you wanna kill yourself? Or are you gonna try to get better?'
Roy: 'I can't get better I already made my decision.'
July 7, 2014:
Roy: 'if you were in my position. honestly what would you do'
Carter: 'I would get help. That's just me tho. When I have a serious problem like that, my first instinct is to get help because I know I can't do it on my own'
Roy: 'Well it's too late I already gave up.'
Between July 6, 2014 and July 12, 2014:
Carter: 'Always smile, and yeah, you have to just do it. You have everything you need. There is no way you can fail. Tonight is the night. It's now or never.'
Carter: '(D)on't be scared. You already made this decision and if you don't do it tonight you're gonna be thinking about it all the time and stuff all the rest of your life and be miserable.
You're finally going to be happy in heaven. No more pain. No more bad thoughts and worries. You'll be free.'
Carter: 'I just want to make sure you're being serious. Like I know you are, but I don't know. You always say you're gonna do it, but you never do. I just want to make sure tonight is the real thing.'
Carter: 'When are you gonna do it? Stop ignoring the question'
Carter: 'You can't keep living this way. You just need to do it like you did the last time and not think about it and just do it, babe. You can't keep doing this every day.
Roy: 'I do want to but I'm like freaking for my family I guess. I don't know.'
Carter: 'Conrad, I told you I'll take care of them. Everyone will take care of them to make sure they won't be alone and people will help them get through it. We talked about this and they will be okay and accept it. People who commit suicide don't think this much. They just could do it.'
But the court said Carter engaged in a 'systematic campaign of coercion' that targeted Roy's insecurities and that her instruction to 'get back in' his truck in the final moments of his life was a 'direct, causal link' to his death.
'In sum, we conclude that there was probable cause to show that the coercive quality of the defendant's verbal conduct overwhelmed whatever willpower the eighteen year old victim had to cope with his depression, and that but for the defendant's admonishments, pressure, and instructions, the victim would not have gotten back into the truck and poisoned himself to death,' Justice Robert Cordy wrote for the court in the unanimous ruling.
The case drew national attention after transcripts of text messages Carter sent to Roy according to the indictment were released publicly, showing her urging him to follow through on his plan to kill himself and chastising him when he expressed doubts.
'I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and you're ready, you just need to do it!' Carter wrote in one message according to prosecutors.
'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,' authorities say she wrote in another message.
Prosecutors say Carter (pictured in court in August last year) told Roy in a message: 'I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and you're ready, you just need to do it!'
Prosecutors say Carter (pictured in court in August last year) told Roy in a message: 'I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and you're ready, you just need to do it!'
Roy and Carter (pictured) had met in Florida two years earlier while visiting relatives. Their relationship largely consisted of text messages and emails
Roy and Carter (pictured) had met in Florida two years earlier while visiting relatives. Their relationship largely consisted of text messages and emails
Roy (pictured) hadn't seen Carter in more than a year when he died, even though they lived only about 50 miles apart in Massachusetts, Carter in Plainville, and Roy in Mattapoisett
Roy (pictured) hadn't seen Carter in more than a year when he died, even though they lived only about 50 miles apart in Massachusetts, Carter in Plainville, and Roy in Mattapoisett
Carter and Roy had met in Florida two years earlier while visiting relatives. Their relationship largely consisted of text messages and emails. They hadn't seen each other in more than a year when Roy died, even though they lived only about 50 miles apart in Massachusetts, Carter in Plainville, and Roy in Mattapoisett.
Roy's grandmother Janice Roy said the family is happy Carter can be put on trial.
'He was very vulnerable at that stage,' she said.
Carter's lawyer, Joseph Cataldo, argued that Roy was a depressed teenager who had previously tried to take his own life and was determined to finish the job this time. He also argued that Carter shouldn't have been charged with manslaughter because Massachusetts doesn't have a law against encouraging or assisting suicide.
Cataldo said Friday he was surprised and disappointed by the court's ruling. But he noted that the court didn't weigh in on Carter's guilt or innocence, but merely found there was enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
'At trial, it's proof beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a much higher standard, and I'm confident that ultimately, after trial, Michelle Carter will be acquitted,' he said.
In addition to the text messages, prosecutors focused on a phone conversation Carter had with Roy while he was in his truck inhaling carbon monoxide fumes. Prosecutors said Carter sent a text to one of her friends after Roy's death and told her that while she was on the phone with Roy, he got out of his truck because he became frightened. She said she told him to 'get back in'.
Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for Bristol District Attorney Thomas Quinn III, said prosecutors appreciate the court's decision to uphold a lower court's denial of Carter's motion to dismiss the charge against her. They now will focus on preparing for trial, he said.