WebProNews » Lori Drew

Woman Found Guilty In MySpace Suicide Case

Mike Sachoff — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:52:43 +0000

A Missouri woman who prosecutors say caused a 13-year-old neighbor girl to commit suicide by harassing her via MySpace was acquitted Wednesday of felony charges of accessing a computer without authorization.

The Los Angles jury did find Lori Drew, 49, guilty of three misdemeanor counts for her role in creating a fake MySpace account used to torment 13-year-old Megan Meier who later committed suicide.

Drew’s sentence could be anywhere from probation to three years in prison for the misdemeanor convictions. She could have gone to federal prison for up to 20 years if she had been convicted on the felony charges.

Drew used the phony MySpace profile to pose as a 16-year-old-boy to flirt with and then later reject neighbor Megan Meier. Prosecutors said Drew posed as a boy named Josh Evans and later told Meier the world would be a better place without her.

After receiving the message Meier committed suicide by hanging herself with a belt in her bedroom closet in 2006.

Police in Missouri investigated the case but could not find any statute under which to charge Drew. Thomas P. O’Brien, the U.S. attorney in Los Angles, had jurisdiction over the case because MySpace is based in Beverly Hills.

Lori Drew Charged In MySpace Suicide

WebProNews Staff — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:48:17 +0000

Megan Meier’s suicide after breaking up with a fake boyfriend created by Drew on MySpace led to her indictment on federal charges.

A federal grand jury found cause to charge Drew with conspiracy and computer fraud associated with the creation of the MySpace profile that authorities and Meier’s parents believe drove the 13 year old girl to hang herself in October 2006.

The LA Times said the grand jury in Los Angeles resulted from federal prosecutors seeing a Los Angeles connection, due to MySpace being based in the city. An attorney for Drew denied her client having any involvement with the MySpace profile for the fake ‘Josh Evans’.

“This adult woman allegedly used the Internet to target a teenage girl with horrendous ramifications,” US Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien said. “This was a tragedy that did not have to happen.”

O’Brien’s office released a statement saying the indictment alleges Drew violated the MySpace terms of service in creating the phony Josh Evans.

“The conspiracy count carries a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison. Each count of accessing protected computers, each of which alleges that the access was for the purpose of intentionally inflicting emotional distress on (Megan Meier), carries a maximum possible penalty of five years in prison,” the statement said.

“That girl later committed suicide after the ‘boy’ spurned her and told her, among other things, that the world would be a better place without her,” it continued.

MySpace Suicide Mom Indicted

WebProNews Staff — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:37:16 +0000

The woman whose bizarre MySpace hoax led to a 13-year-old girl’s suicide was indicted today on federal charges. If convicted on all counts, Lori Drew could face a maximum of 20 years in prison.

The country was stunned by the alleged actions of Drew some months back when news broke of the sadistic mind game she was playing with a neighborhood teenager and classmate of her daughter. Posing as a teenage boy, the 49-year-old Drew is said to have rejected the romantic interest of Megan Meier and told her the world would be better off without her. Meier later hanged herself.

Drew was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles. She faces one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress. If convicted, Drew faces a maximum of five years for each count.

According the Los Angeles Times, there may be some jurisdictional issues. Though indicted by a federal grand jury, Drew’s attorney wondered why the indictment didn’t come through Missouri, where Drew resides.