Conrad Roy III’s Suicide Note To Michelle Carter Released As Defense Rests
A suicide note written by Conrad Roy III to his girlfriend Michelle Carter was released Tuesday during the final portion of her trial. Carter was charged with involuntary manslaughter after encouraging Roy to kill himself. Roy took his own life at the age of 18 in 2014.
“Keep strong in tough times,” read the letter from Roy to Carter obtained by MassLive. “You taught me how to be strong and carry on. This life has been too challenging and troublesome to me but I’ll forever be in your heart and we will meet up someday in Heaven. Put your best foot forward. You’ll get there, I’m sorry about everything. I am messed up I guess. I wish I could express my gratitude but I feel brain dead. I love you and greatly appreciate ur effort and kindness towards me. Keep your heart healthy and keep pushing forward.”
Read: Michelle Carter’s Text Messages Encouraged Boyfriend To Kill Himself
The defense rested Tuesday morning without calling Carter to the stand. It was unclear when Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz was expected to issue his decision in the case.
Carter was charged with involuntary manslaughter after Roy killed himself through carbon monoxide poisoning by attaching a portable generator to his truck. She was accused of pushing Roy toward suicide by repeatedly encouraging him to take his own life. During the trial, evidence of conversations between the two was presented in which Carter urged Roy to kill himself, gave him ideas for how to do so and at some points, expressed frustration that he hadn’t done it yet.
The prosecution alleged that Carter wanted Roy to kill himself in order to cast herself as the “grieving girlfriend” and gain attention from friends and family. Carter was on the phone with Roy at the time of his death, lawyers said, and encouraged him to get back inside his truck when he got scared and attempted to get out.
Read: How Michelle Carter Urged Boyfriend To Commit Suicide – ‘There’s A Lot Of Ways’
“The defendant needed something to get their attention,” Assistant District Attorney Maryclare Flynn said during the trial’s opening statements. “She used Conrad as a pawn in her sick game of life and death… Conrad got out of his truck as he was being poisoned and he got scared. The defendant [expletive] told him to get back in.”
The defense, on the other hand, argued Carter was not criminally liable for his death and brought Dr. Peter Breggin to testify on their behalf. Breggin asserted that Carter “was unable to form intent” as she had switched prescription drugs shortly before Roy's death and said that she texted his phone for a period after he died. Breggin also said Carter had been taking Prozac for years but switched to another antidepressant called Celexa three months before Roy’s suicide.
Read: Conrad Roy III’s Videos Discussing Depression Emerge As Evidence In Michelle Carter Trial
“She is not forming the criminal intent – ‘I’m gonna harm him,’” Breggin testified. “She’s found a way to use her unique power to help him and to help this boyfriend – in her mind but not his – to not keep making mistakes and not keep hurting herself.
Breggin also said she was “enmeshed in a delusion” and “unable to form intent because she was so grandiose.”
If Carter is convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison.
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.