Family of teen encouraged to commit suicide by girlfriend speak out
The cousin of a teenager who took his own life after his girlfriend encouraged him in dozens of text messages has spoken out.
Conrad Roy III, from Massachusetts in the US, was 18-years-old when he took his own life in 2014 and his girlfriend, Michelle Carter, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in June.
On Thursday, Carter was sentenced to two-and-a-half years jail, but was told she only had to serve 15 months and could also remain free on probation until her appeal.
Mr Roy's cousin, Makenna O'Donnell, said she can't understand "how someone can be free" after coaching another person to commit suicide.
"She gets to sleep in her own bed tonight, she gets to eat breakfast, she gets to wake up with her family. Meanwhile, where's Conrad? Where's Conrad? He's watching us from above. He's not going to be here anymore," Ms O'Donnell told Good Morning America.
The grivieing young woman said she hopes Carter can take responsibility for what she's done.
Michelle Carter jailed for 15 months for encouraging teen boyfriend to suicide
'She has no conscience': Dead teen's mother attacks the girl who talked him into suicide
"I do believe she needs help and I do believe that she needs to take responsibility for her actions. She hasn't shown anything - nothing, it's just blank," she said.
Carter was 17 when Roy was found dead of in July 2014.
Juvenile Court judge Lawrence Moniz on Thursday gave Carter the jail sentence but said she had to serve only 15 months of that. He also sentenced her to five years of probation.
The victim's father Conrad Roy Jr wept while reading his statement in court.
"We all felt he was heading in the right direction and over the worst of it," he said of his son's depression.
"He had such a bright future and Michelle Carter exploited my son's weaknesses.
"She used him as a pawn and she has not shown any remorse. Where was her humanity? How could she behave so viciously?"
Carter's lawyer, Joseph Cataldo, asked the judge to spare his client any jail time and instead give her five years of probation and require her to receive mental health counselling.
He said Carter was struggling with mental health issues of her own - bulimia, anorexia and depression - during the time she urged Roy to kill himself.
Prosecutor Maryclare Flynn sought the maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars.
In dozens of text messages, Carter had urged Roy to follow through on his talk of taking his own life. "The time is right and you are ready... just do it babe," Carter wrote in a text the day he killed himself.
If you are concerned about the mental health of yourself or a loved one, seek support and information by calling Lifeline 13 11 14.
