Mom charged in MySpace bullying death shifts blame to teen
Opening arguments began in the trial of Lori Drew, the infamous MySpace-bullying Mom whose alleged actions led to the suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier. In her defense, Drew’s lawyers started out by dodging responsibility for creating the fake account used to torment the young girl and for sending the last few messages prior to her death.
Lori Drew is charged with three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress, and one count of criminal conspiracy. Her defense attorneys attempted to suppress any mention of the suicide that resulted from her actions, however the judge dismissed the idea.
The 49-year-old mom is accused of setting up a fake MySpace account under the name Josh Evans in order to tease and humiliate Meier. Also involved in the events were Lori Drew’s daughter and 18-year-old employee Ashley Grills.
Drew allegedly came up with the idea and was going to print out messages exchanged with Megan Meier in order to embarrass her at school. Before having to endure further ridicule, Megan was discovered in her room hanging from a belt around her neck.
The defense attorney began the trial with attempts to side-step responsibility for parts of the conspiracy. He claims that Drew did not set up the fake account, nor was she responsible for sending the final messages leading up to Meier’s tragic death.
Lori Drew instead offered up Ashley Grills as the person who sent the final messages that spurred Megan to take her life. Her defense against setting up the account is merely that it wasn’t set up on their home computer, though she hasn’t yet rebuked claims that it was her idea.
Though Ashley Grills was just 18 at the time and could be charged as an adult, it’s unconscionable for Lori Drew to blame a young girl for her part in her own twisted drama. This move only serves to further showcase her failure as a mother, role model and member of society.
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