It is human nature to turn to loved ones for support when we are dealing with struggle and hardship. But what if the support they were giving us wasn’t the kind of support we needed? In fact, what if it was just the opposite? This is the case of Michelle Carter and her recently deceased boyfriend, Conrad Roy III. Carter, now 18 years old, has been charged with the involuntary manslaughter of Roy, whom Carter encouraged take his own life not only in the weeks and days leading up to it but during the exact time of his suicide.
Roy had been battling depression, and naturally turned to his girlfriend for support. However, Carter was completely supportive, but supportive of all the wrong things. How do authorities know this? By reading the transcript of the couple’s texts from the duration of their relationship. Instead of telling Roy that she wanted him to live and asking him not to do it, Carter eventually began saying that it would be the best option, and even pressured Roy to go through with it. Even when Roy wasn’t talking about the plans to take his own life, Carter refused to stop questioning him about it. For example, at one point, Roy asks, “How was your day?” and Carter responds, “When are you doing it?”
In fact, not only did Carter support her boyfriend's decision to kill himself, but she also actually helped him come up with the plans for his own suicide. She encouraged him to take a hose from his exhaust pipe and put it inside his car, then close the doors and windows so as to die from carbon monoxide poisoning. She says, "If you emit 3200 ppm of it for five or ten minutes you will die within a half hour." And this is exactly what Roy ended up doing last year.
Perhaps the most shocking part of the story is that when Roy was in the act of sitting in his car and poisoning himself, he got out of the car and called Carter, who instructed him to go back inside because he was just getting scared. After reading the transcripts of their texts and seeing Carter tell him things like, "It's now or never," and "You just have to do it," it is no shock that Roy felt so alone and unwanted.
Carter has plead not guilty to the charges of involuntary manslaughter, but many are hoping for justice for Roy and his family. However, it is difficult to believe that Carter did not know that she was doing anything wrong, because she asked Roy to delete the messages between them and even texted one of her friends, "his death is my fault... honestly I could have stopped it..he got out of the car because he was working and he got scared and I told him to get back in."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, there are many resources to turn to, including websites, support groups, and even suicide prevention hotlines, as listed below. And remember, if your loved ones are telling you things like Carter told Roy, then they do not truly love you at all, but there are plenty of people who do.
1 (800) 273-8255; National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
