Mom creates fake myspace, girl kills herself

Ahnimus

RolandTD20Kdrummer wrote:

Wierd eh? really wierd.

The Fox vid link talks to the neighbor...he gave her CPR got her heart beating again, but she died the next day.

You would think googling her full name would pull more mainstream news links instead of obscure blogs.

It's borderline hoaxish though you;re right.

Yea, just the way that site was laid out was bogus.

The story does sound true, but then again, nothing on the FBI site about it.

RolandTD20Kdrummer

Them-Bones wrote:

Encylopedia Dramatica always gives me a good laugh

I guess thats why I have no friends

I didn't really read it much but this part floored me:

"According to the article, Megan is was 175 pounds at 5'5½" after losing 20 lbs, giving her a BMI of 32.4, scientifically proving her status as a fat whore."

That's just crazy wrong...

RolandTD20Kdrummer

Ahnimus wrote:

Yea, just the way that site was laid out was bogus.

The story does sound true, but then again, nothing on the FBI site about it.

It had hoax on it from top to bottom. Googling it was a chore as well...two dead giveaways.

This story has absolutely terrible coverage.

prism

the OP's orginal link to this from the Suburban Journal. if you google it it's also found on the St. Charles Journal. both of those are part of stltoday.com which is the online version of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. these defininatly seem to be legit news sources.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis_Post-Dispatch

oh and Ahnimus there wouldn't be anything on the FBI site about it considering that no one's been charged with anything and according to the law no "crime" has been committed. even if this was a crime or criminal offense, it all happened locally and it wouldn't fall to the FBI to have anything to do with it

Ahnimus

prism wrote:

the OP's orginal link to this from the Suburban Journal. if you google it it's also found on the St. Charles Journal. both of those are part of stltoday.com which is the online version of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. these defininatly seem to be legit news sources.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis_Post-Dispatch

oh and Ahnimus there wouldn't be anything on the FBI site about it considering that no one's been charged with anything and according to the law no "crime" has been committed. even if this was a crime or criminal offense, it all happened locally and it wouldn't fall to the FBI to have anything to do with it

Yea, I pointed out the story broke in St. Louis Post-Dispatch a division of Lee Enterprises which appears to be ligit. "The fourth largest" media company in the U.S.

But, the article refers to an FBI investigation, so I thought something should be mentioned on the FBI website.

prism

Ahnimus wrote:

Yea, I pointed out the story broke in St. Louis Post-Dispatch a division of Lee Enterprises which appears to be ligit. "The fourth largest" media company in the U.S.

But, the article refers to an FBI investigation, so I thought something should be mentioned on the FBI website.

maybe the FBI investigation had more to do with trying to find out about who was accessing her myspace page? just a guess

gimmesometruth27

this is legit. i agree that the coverage has been terrible, but there are links on it on national news sources now. i live in st louis and this happened about 30 miles from where i live. this has been on the local news stations for a few days now. i think this story did not break when it happened in '06 because the mother of the girl who died did not want to reveal the names of the family who who created the myspace account for fear of retribution on that family and their teenage daughter. they were trying to take the high road.

if it were my kid who died, i would have stated their names in the press for public consumption and if some "accident" befell them i would not lose a bit of sleep.

gimmesometruth27

heres the one from msnbc

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21844203/

the ones on usatoday.com and yahoo yesterday have been taken down.

tybird

I saw in the local paper that the AP had picked up the story.

soulsinging

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

this is legit. i agree that the coverage has been terrible, but there are links on it on national news sources now. i live in st louis and this happened about 30 miles from where i live. this has been on the local news stations for a few days now. i think this story did not break when it happened in '06 because the mother of the girl who died did not want to reveal the names of the family who who created the myspace account for fear of retribution on that family and their teenage daughter. they were trying to take the high road.

if it were my kid who died, i would have stated their names in the press for public consumption and if some "accident" befell them i would not lose a bit of sleep.

same here. fuck those pieces of shit.

NOCODE#1

vedderelf wrote:

One of the saddest things you'll read in a long time.

http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/articles/2007/11/13/news/sj2tn20071110-1111stc_pokin_1.ii1.txt

This is OUR COUNTRY!

MahoganySouls

How sad. I certainly hope that these people are indicted for their role in this tragedy. At the very least the parents can bring a civil suit against them. That will make it public.

MahoganySouls

I just read an update on this story. Hopefully this ordinance will be passed and it will spark stricter laws regarding harrassment.

DARDENNE PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Megan Meier thought she had made a new friend in cyberspace when a cute teenage boy named Josh contacted her on MySpace and began exchanging messages with her.

Megan, a 13-year-old who suffered from depression and attention deficit disorder, corresponded with Josh for more than a month before he abruptly ended their friendship, telling her he had heard she was cruel.

The next day Megan committed suicide. Her family learned later that Josh never actually existed; he was created by members of a neighborhood family that included a former friend of Megan's.

Now Megan's parents hope the people who made the fraudulent profile on the social networking Web site will be prosecuted, and they are seeking legal changes to safeguard children on the Internet.

The girl's mother, Tina Meier, said she doesn't think anyone involved intended for her daughter to kill herself.

"But when adults are involved and continue to screw with a 13-year-old, with or without mental problems, it is absolutely vile," she told the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, which first reported on the case.

Tina Meier said law enforcement officials told her the case did not fit into any law. But sheriff's officials have not closed the case and pledged to consider new evidence if it emerges.

Megan Meier hanged herself in her bedroom on Oct. 16, 2006, and died the next day. She was described as a "bubbly, goofy" girl who loved spending time with her friends, watching movies and fishing with her dad.

Megan had been on medication, but had been upbeat before her death, her mother said, after striking up a relationship on MySpace with Josh Evans about six weeks before her death.

Josh told her he was born in Florida and had recently moved to the nearby community of O'Fallon. He said he was homeschooled, and didn't yet have a phone number in the area to give her.

Megan's parents said she received a message from him on Oct. 15 of last year, essentially saying he didn't want to be her friend anymore, that he had heard she wasn't nice to her friends.

The next day, as Megan's mother headed out the door to take another daughter to the orthodontist, she knew Megan was upset about Internet messages. She asked Megan to log off. Users on MySpace must be at least 14, though Megan was not when she opened her account. A MySpace spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment.

Someone using Josh's account was sending cruel messages. Then, Megan called her mother, saying electronic bulletins were being posted about her, saying things like, "Megan Meier is a slut. Megan Meier is fat."

Megan's mother, who monitored her daughter's online communications, returned home and said she was shocked at the vulgar language her own daughter was sending. She told her daughter how upset she was about it.

Megan ran upstairs, and her father, Ron, tried to tell her everything would be fine. About 20 minutes later, she was found in her bedroom. She died the next day.

Her father said he found a message the next day from Josh, which he said law enforcement authorities have not been able to retrieve. It told the girl she was a bad person and the world would be better without her, he has said.

Another parent, who learned of the MySpace account from her own daughter who had access to the Josh profile, told Megan's parents about the hoax in a counselor's office about six weeks after Megan died. That's when they learned Josh was imaginary, they said.

The woman who created the fake profile has not been charged with a crime. She allegedly told the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department she created Josh's profile because she wanted to gain Megan's confidence to know what Megan was saying about her own child online.

The mother from down the street told police that she, her daughter and another person all typed and monitored the communication between the fictitious boy and Megan.

A person who answered the door at the family's house told an Associated Press reporter on Friday afternoon that they had been advised not to comment.

Megan's parents had been storing a foosball table for the family that created the MySpace character. Six weeks after Megan's death, they learned the other family had created the profile and responded by destroying the foosball table, dumping it on the neighbors' driveway and encouraging them to move away.

Megan's parents are now separated and plan to divorce.

Aldermen in Dardenne Prairie, a community of about 7,000 residents about 35 miles from St. Louis, have proposed a new ordinance related to child endangerment and Internet harassment. It could come before city leaders on Wednesday.

"Is this enough?" Mayor Pam Fogarty said Friday. "No, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it's something, and you have to start somewhere."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Skitch Patterson

how is it harassment if she was continuing to correspond with the person?

It sucks that this girl died, but its even scarier that you guys think people should be prosecuted for saying mean things.

mammasan

Skitch Patterson wrote:

how is it harassment if she was continuing to correspond with the person?

It sucks that this girl died, but its even scarier that you guys think people should be prosecuted for saying mean things.

I agree but this goes a little bit beyond just saying mean things. From the reports the parents that created the fake profile knew that the girl had a history with depression. They intentionally and maliciously attacked this poor girl. Now I don't think that they should be prosecuted or jailed but these parents are definitely responsible for what transpired and in my opinion are absolute scum.

Skitch Patterson

mammasan wrote:

I agree but this goes a little bit beyond just saying mean things. From the reports the parents that created the fake profile knew that the girl had a history with depression. They intentionally and maliciously attacked this poor girl. Now I don't think that they should be prosecuted or jailed but these parents are definitely responsible for what transpired and in my opinion are absolute scum.

No question. 100% they are absolute scum.

polaris

Skitch Patterson wrote:

how is it harassment if she was continuing to correspond with the person?

It sucks that this girl died, but its even scarier that you guys think people should be prosecuted for saying mean things.

i read the article in my paper yesterday ...

i don't know if it's harassment but i think this woman should be charged with something ... if we don't want pedophiles pretending to be young boys/girls online we shouldn't want mom's doing this ...

Skitch Patterson

polaris wrote:

i read the article in my paper yesterday ...

i don't know if it's harassment but i think this woman should be charged with something ... if we don't want pedophiles pretending to be young boys/girls online we shouldn't want mom's doing this ...

"she should be charged with something" is a VERY scary sentiment. If the person didnt commit a crime, we shouldnt make one up just to put an asshole in jail.

and the pedophile comment is absolutely irrelevant to the discussion at hand.

mammasan

polaris wrote:

i read the article in my paper yesterday ...

i don't know if it's harassment but i think this woman should be charged with something ... if we don't want pedophiles pretending to be young boys/girls online we shouldn't want mom's doing this ...

I don't think they should be charged with anything. The minute we start prosecuting people for harrassment that's the minute we are fucked. Who is to judge what harassment is. What is protesting the government is deemed harassment by the government. As much as it sucks these assholes committed no crime.

polaris

Skitch Patterson wrote:

"she should be charged with something" is a VERY scary sentiment. If the person didnt commit a crime, we shouldnt make one up just to put an asshole in jail.

and the pedophile comment is absolutely irrelevant to the discussion at hand.

i don't know enough of the criminal code to know ... but isn't impersonating someone a crime?

i don't think its irrelevant ... pedophiles pretend to be someone they aren't in order to give kids a false sense of security in order to at a later point take advantage of that ... i think there are similarities ...

mammasan - i think based on what i read - that there was an intent to cause emotional or pyschological damage ... it is defnitely a fine line but i think part of it also is that we are entering a different age ... i read an article today about street gangs intimidating and recruiting thru the internet ...