Michelle Carter Responds To Wrongful Death Lawsuit In Conrad Roy Suicide Case

The young woman convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the suicide of her boyfriend responded Tuesday to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by his family. Lawyers on behalf of Michelle Carter responded to the $4.2 million lawsuit filed by Lynn Roy, the mother of Conrad Roy III.

“The defendant neither admits nor denies these allegations in this form,” said attorneys Francis Lynch III and Andrew Lynch, according to MassLive.

Carter, now 20, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after Roy, then her boyfriend, committed suicide in 2014 at the age of 18. The trial captivated the nation as thousands of text messages were read in which Carter urged Roy to take his own life. In a contentious decision, Carter was sentenced in August to two and a half years behind bars with 15 months to be served and the rest suspended until 2022.

Roy’s mother filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Carter after her conviction and sentencing, alleging “gross negligence” and “willful, wanton and reckless conduct.”

“Miss Carter knew that Mr. Roy had a history of attempted suicides and was being treated for mental health issues including severe depression,” the suit said, according to documents obtained by Radar Online. “During the months and weeks prior to his death, Conrad H. Roy III exchanged communication with the Defendant, Michelle Carter, in which Ms. Carter encouraged Mr. Roy to kill himself and chastised him for delaying the act.”

Carter, however, formally appealed her prison sentence and the decision is pending. Her sentence has been suspended until the court rules on the appeal: until then, Carter was free to leave with her family. Because she is still appealing sentence, the ambiguous response to the lawsuit makes sense, Northeastern University School of Law Professor Daniel Medwed told MassLive.

“If they were to admit anything now, that’s a statement that could be used against Carter if there’s ever a retrial,” he said. “It's good lawyering to not say anything in writing if you can avoid it, especially when there’s the specter of a possible new trial.”