>> max followed his mother's footsteps, pursuing a career in software engineering >> yeah. she was the one that really got me to understand computers. i will never type as well as she could. but she is definitely a big influence there. >> and inspired your love of them? >> she definitely did. so, i have her to thank for what i am going down now. >> i think she would be pretty proud of you. >> i hope so. [music playing] hello, i'm andrea canning, old soul, a beautiful soul. i know he's my son, but he was the kindest person

i've ever met in my life. he was definitely god's gift to me. he was the kindest man i have ever met. he was definitely got's gift to me. a beloved teenage boy who disappeared. >> i have to report my son missing. >> i saw his truck with caution tape around it. he was gone. >> i said, are you sure? what are you talking about? >> grieving alongside his family? his girlfriend. >> she sent messages of condolences, we only to be strung together. >> she gave me a lot of support, just there for me when i needed her. >> but was there something about these two that no one knew? >> what are you seeing? >> a series of messages. >> i had to read them a couple of times to take it all in. >> shocking. >> a trail of text messages leading to the darkest of discoveries. >> she did masterfully. >> that is not normal. >> i close my eyes and said

this is not real. >> a twist no one saw coming in a story every parent need to see. >> we need to know what is going on in our kid's lives. because it is scary when we don't. hello, and welcome to dateline. 18-year-old, conrad roy battle depression and anxiety but seems to be finding his way. he was headed to college and excited about his job. then, one night, the massachusetts teenager vanished , turns out, conrad had a dark secret, when he shared with someone close to him. what that confidence did and did not do next shatter two families. here is reckless. it began as a chance encounter between two teens on vacation. >> she was a family in florida.

>> and ended two years later with one of them dead. >> you smiling before he left the house and then he was dead a few hours after. >> an apparent suicide. >> he didn't seem like he was in any imminent danger? >> not at all. >> but there was danger from something teens do every day texting. their romance cutting a nerve, gripping the nation, and their case giving us the inside story. the detectives who investigated the case. >> you are watching her? >> yes, it just keeps getting worse. >> a grieving father. >> it can't fix my son. >> a distraught family member who felt betrayed. >> i kind of just said no. >> hi, this is conrad henry roy the third. >> our story starts with conrad, his mother, lynn rowley says he was an easy child. >> what kind of kid was he? >> definitely sensitive, never gave me a hard time with

anything. loved baseball. >> conrad was her first born, two daughters would come later. looking back, she remembers his early years as good ones. >> every picture i have with him he looks like a little goofball. the happiest child, he was always happy. >> conrad grew in and around the fishing town of bedford, massachusetts where his father and grandfather renee told but tugboat and barge business. his father says he was destined to take to the sea since day one. >> he was three years old i just wanted him to follow in my footsteps. i was hoping he would be able to just take over the business someday. >> not only was conrad the first born in the royal family, he was also the first grandchild.'s aunt, chrissy roy, says his cousins adored him. >> they would follow him around like a duck, he was the cousin that all of the kids looked up to. >> but during his sophomore year in high school, his mom

says her happy-go-lucky son started to change. >> his father and i, we got divorced, and i don't know when child that doesn't get affected by divorce. >> he was 16 at the time? >> yeah. and it is going through the hormones and he obviously had anxiety and depression. just manifested at that time. >> he talked about it in this video diary. >> i feel like i am definitely wired like there is something wrong with me. >> it was at 16, while struggling with anxiety and depression that conrad encountered a 15-year-old girl, named michelle carter. they met, conrad's grandmother says, when conrad and his sisters went to florida to visit family. >> and this was just supposed to be some r&r? >> of s week during school vacation. >> her grandparents were friends with our great aunt. >> and his sister came back and was like my brother met a girl. and the three of them all hung out with her for just a short while. >> when they returned from

florida, conrad and michelle continue to stay in touch through text messages. michelle lived in plainville, massachusetts. about an hour away from conrad. the two had a lot in common, she was a soft player, he played baseball. friends described both of them as quiet and funny. and even though the two communicated regularly, conrad's aunt, becky, says he never mentioned michelle. >> you had other girlfriends, we knew their names and you admit them, she was not someone that he talked about. >> apparently he kept a lot to himself. by the time he was 17, he had checked into psychiatric facilities a few times, suffering deep depression. his mom said, one time on the day he was discharged he attempted suicide by swallowing a bottle of cough syrup >> i said, conrad, you have no idea how much you are loved and appreciated. these were at that time after

that that he would never attempt suicide again. >> and things started to be getting better. a year later, by june 2014, conrad have graduated from high school, gotten a scholarship to college and earned his captain's license. >> that must have been a really big day, conrad getting the captain's license. >> we are proud of him. >> are you feeling good about the place he was in? >> i felt that he was still struggling, but i felt very, very positive that he wasn't going to do anything to harm himself. >> it was right around this time when conrad recorded that private video, sharing his innermost thoughts. >> i feel like i still have a long way to go to recover from this feeling of insecurity. if i keep talking, keep talking it is going to get better. >> on july 12th, conrad headed to the beach, with his mom and

two sisters. lynn vividly remembers walking the shoreline with her son. he seemed in good spirits that day. >> we talked about school and he is like i am not sure where i am right now in my head and i said, well, you just got your captain's license you don't have to worry about anything right now. >> he is looking towards the future. >> yeah. >> when they returned from the beach, conrad drove his sisters to get ice cream. >> he was laughing, he said something and he was smiling. >> conrad told his mom he was going to his friend's house and wouldn't be back for dinner, but later that night, lynn says, out of the blue, her daughter got a text message from someone quite unexpected. >> it was around 10:30 that night, michelle carter is asking where conrad is. and they are boyfriend and girlfriend now. >> this was news to lynn. she know conrad and michelle had only seen each other in person a few times. the next morning, lynn woke up

at 5:00 a.m. and noticed conrad wasn't home. she called around and drove by his friend's house but couldn't find him. conrad was missing. >> a son disappears, a mom worries, and a that receives a troubling clue. coming up. >> the family friends when they saw the truck with caution tape around it. >> the news is about to go from bad to worse. >> i said are you sure? what are you talking about? >> when dateline continues. lin this is better. this is better. that's better. and that. even this. dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. it works with your asthma medicine to help improve lung function. that's pretty good! dupixent is not for sudden breathing problems. it's proven to help prevent asthma attacks. it can reduce or even eliminate oral steroids. and doesn't that make things better? dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe.

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andrea canning: word spread quickly. conrad roy iii was missing. his family and friends, growing word spread quickly. conrad roy the third was missing. his family and friends growing frantic by the hour searched everywhere for him. by midmorning, his mom decided to call 911. >> i have got to report. >> that evening, about 24 hours after conrad left his house, his father got a call. >> a family friend said they saw his truck with caution tape around it. >> so, you go down there to kmart? >> of the police say that he was gone. >> an officer found conrad did behind the wheel of his pickup truck. his dad called lynn to tell her the awful news. >> i couldn't even see, i was like -- i felt like i was drugged. i couldn't eat, i slept in the

same clothes for days. >> it was the most horrible time in my life. >> the rest of conrad's family was in disbelief. >> i said are you sure? what are you talking about? i just saw him. >> it just felt like all of the blood just drained right out of your body to hear that kind of news. >> detective scott gordon of the new haven police department was assigned to the case. his first impression was suicide by carbon monoxide. >> it was apparent that he placed a water pump in his truck and he passed away as a result of carbon dioxide because of that. >> to those who knew conrad vested in dixon's, had a missed something? conrad had been getting help, taking medication and seemed hopeful about his future. his grandmother remembered him using that very pump to help out his dad, just days before. >> i could still see that smile on his face, just that little smile that he always had.

>> and his father recalled the two of them working on a job together a week earlier, setting up fireworks on a barge. >> laughing, watching fireworks, he seemed fine. the last thing i said to him was i love you and he said i love you, dad. >> so, his family wondered what pushed him over the edge. as they struggled with their grief, they got comfort from a surprising source. michelle carter. she reached out to lynn, through text messages, consoling her, saying conrad loved her very much. >> did you feel like you are getting support? >> absolutely. >> a connection to conrad? >> i told her i love her. she told me so many great things about myself that he said, she was just there for me when i needed her. >> conrad's aunts also remember getting messages from michelle. >> she said messages of condolences that you never tried so hard in her life to save someone and that she wishes that she could have saved him. at the wake she came and

introduced herself. >> i was a little shocked though when she said i am conrad's girlfriend i said i had no idea i've never heard of her name. >> among conrad's things were a goodbye letter here it to different people, like this one, from michelle. >> it was very positive, keep doing what you are doing, michelle, keep moving on and doing great things. >> after reading this letter you must have thought, oh, conrad and michelle must have had a very special friendship. >> i was very happy that she was in his life and i thanked her for being there for him. >> just weeks after conrad died, michelle contacted his family, saying she wanted to raise awareness for suicide prevention, by organizing a baseball tournament, homers for conrad. >> i remember thinking this is very impressive, here's a teenager, a high school senior, and she is only a month later planning this large fundraiser. >> conrad's whole family showed up, christie was impressed by michelle, then just 17.

>> i went to our parents at that fundraiser and said you must be very proud of your daughter. she is quite an amazing girl. >> unbeknownst to the family, back in fairhaven, detective gordon was digging around for answers. hoping to discover why conrad might have taken his own life. >> i just found it odd that an 18-year-old would do it in that manner. >> the detective figured there were clues on conrad's cell phone which was found in his truck and sure enough, when he powered it up he discovered a string of text messages left on the phone from just one person. >> and that was michelle. >> he had deleted all other text conversations with other people? >> correct. >> but when the detectives started reading the text, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. >> it is one of those things where you keep reading and it keeps getting worse. that is what has kind of put everything in motion. coming up, the text messages no one could fathom. >> i had to read them a couple

of times to actually take it all in. >> words that raised a disturbing question. was this a suicide or something else? >> i close my eyes and i said this is not real. >> when dateline continues. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. rsv? make it arexvy. to 50 years with my best friend. [sfx: gasp] [sfx: spilling sound] nooo...

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and is 2x more absorbent so you can use less. welcome back. conrad roy's family was reeling from his apparent suicide. the teenager left goodbye letters, including rterwelcome back conrad was reeling from his parent's supers suicide. parents lot left goodbye letters including one to

michelle carter. investigators were focused on other messages the teens shared. what they uncovered would turn the case on its head. back now to reckless. >> two days after conrad's death, detective, scott gordon, the fairhaven police department have found a clue and it was a bombshell. a string of text messages from michelle carter on conrad's phone. >> what are you seeing? >> it is a series of messages that seems to be encouraging him to take his own life. >> encouraging him to take his own life? to the detective it was unimaginable. he learned michelle and conrad had been texting, like teenagers do, for almost 2 years, but a few weeks before his death, something changed. it seemed michelle started a campaign to get conrad to commit suicide. she even gave him suggestions on how to do it.

hang yourself, jump off a building, stab yourself, i don't know, there's a lot of ways. >> gordon's partner also worked the case. >> i remember when he was looking at it, something to the effect of i can't believe what i am reading. >> what kinds of things was she sing? >> things like you promised me, when are you going to do it? why haven't you done it? >> you disappointed me. >> i will take care of your family. >> the detective sport over thousands of text messages on the more they read, the more disturbed they became. like this exchange in the early morning hours before conrad died. >> you can think about it, you just have to do it, you said you were going to do it, like i don't get why you aren't. conrad responded i don't get it either, i don't know. >> conrad touchback, so i guess you aren't going to do it then, all of that for nothing. i'm just confused, like you are so ready and determined. conrad wrote back, i am going to eventually, i don't know what i'm waiting for. but i have everything lined up. >> and this one on the morning

of his death. >> okay, i'm going to do it, do you promise. >> i promise, babe, i have to, now. >> like right now? >> where do you go? >> you can't break a promise. >> just going a quiet parking lot or something. >> have you ever seen anything like that in your career as a detective? >> no. >> it was clear to the detectives that conrad had died by his own hand, but was much what michelle did actually a crime? detective gordon contacted assistant da mary clear flynn. >> he said i want to send you these text messages, please just take a look at them. i said sure i will. and it was just utterly shocking. >> she checked with katie rayburn, her colleague at the time and they agreed, those text messages warranted further investigation. >> i couldn't believe what was in them, i had to read them a couple of times to really sort of take it in. >> clearly it is black and white for you that you know it

is wrong. but is it black and white we are going to go forward with this? this is a crime? i would imagine for you it is complicated. >> yes, and with all investigations it is our duty and responsibility to follow the evidence where it takes us. so the evidence was taking us to michelle carter. >> the commonwealth's office kept digging to learn more about michelle carter. >> first reaction when you see her picture? >> she is young, she's just the kids on the words you are sing in their text messages, it just didn't seem feasible. >> during the investigation, the detective went undercover. he secretly took photos of michelle's every move to confirm she was the one who sent those text. he went one step further. he videotaped michelle as he dialed the number he got from conrad's phone. >> you are watching her? that's a good sign? >> we have the right person. >> did you hang up?

>> we let it stay on for a couple of seconds, muted, and then she hung up the phone and i remember calling and saying, are we sure we have the right girl? she just seems so awful. >> a few months later, as the investigation continued, detective gordon decided to pay michelle carter a visit. he found her after school and approached her. does she look surprised? a little bit. >> and she has no idea she has been watched? >> she has no idea. >> does she look surprised? >> a little bit, but, you know, at that point i don't think she understood really what we had and where we were going with it. >> at first, michelle told the detective she tried to talk conrad out of suicide. >> how did you help them to try and see that suicide wasn't the right thing to do? >> well, i told him a lot of things. i told him that i loved him. i told him that a lot of people loved him. and that like, without him nothing would be the same.

like i had personal issues that i got help for, and i told him that he should come with me and get him the help that he needed, but he refused, he said that no one would be able to help him and that it would make him-- make him worse if he got help. >> then, the detective asked him about having contact with conrad on the day he died. >> to you-- you think you had contact with him on that day? >> i don't think so. >> yeah? >> the detective knew that was a lie. >> we have a search warrant for your phone okay? so we will be taking it. >> wait, so you're taking my phone? >> yes. >> when we took her phone i think she-- she started to understand a little bit that we were looking a little more further into it than she expected. he followed her home and says michelle's parents were very cooperative >> they provided us with everything we needed, and that debris left with her cell phone and her laptop. >> michelle has to know what is

going on, that her parents-- are they totally in the dark? >> yeah, i believe so absolutely. >> after going through all of the evidence, including michelle's phone and computer, prosecutors were convinced michelle was criminally responsible for conrad's death. >> words can harm and you don't have the ability to just say your words aren't criminal because they are protected by free speech, i mean, there is precedent for those that have encouraged others to be committing suicide for involuntary manslaughter. >> what is the law in the state and how did it guide you? >> well, the charge of involuntary manslaughter, it involves wanton and reckless conduct, that she could have caused someone's doesn't did call someone's that. >> in other words, the prosecution believe that michelle would have known that encouraging conrad to kill himself could result in him dying. prosecutors now had the difficult task of telling conrad's family what they had uncovered. >> it was just unbelievable i kept thinking, she is holding his head underwater. you can tell that he did not want to die. her messages overpowered him.

>> i close my eyes and i said this is not real. how could someone-- like, have an involvement in someone's doesn't only encouraged it. >> did you just feel like you had been duped? she has been consoling you this whole time. >> i am a very forgiving person, and the only thing i can say about the way that she was with me is that, she is just really, really not well. >> the grand jury indicted michelle for involuntary manslaughter. she pleaded not guilty. that is when the world heard the story for the first time, and the debate began. was conrad's death a suicide or a homicide? coming up. a jaw-dropping theory about motive. >> why would she do this? >> she went to the attention. >> and that trial, michelle makes a stunning decision.

>> are you doing that only involuntarily? >> yes. >> is it a choice she will regret? >> when dateline continues. lin simparica trio is the first chew with triple protection. whoa fleas! and ticks! (♪♪) intestinal worms! whoa! heartworm disease! no problem with simparica trio! this drug class has been associated with neurologic adverse reactions including seizures. use with caution in dogs with a history of these disorders. for winning protection— go with simparica trio. (michael) copd is harder on the folks around you, i think. my wife smoked, and she quit. because she needs to be here for to take care of me. (announcer) the people you love are worth quitting for. you can quit. call 1-800-quit-now for help getting free medication. introducing new advil targeted relief. the only topical pain reliever with 4 powerful pain-fighting ingredients that start working on contact to target tough pain at the source.

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get the fastest connection to paris with xfinity. richard louis with a news update graphics was deployed by cybersecurity giant, crowdstrike following what analysts call the largest i.t. outage in history. banks and hospitals and first responders were among those affected affected by what the company says was a defect in a software update. and democratic lawmakers calling on president, joe biden to end his reelection campaign continue to grow with nearly 3 dozen urging him, publicly to step aside now. biden remains defiant, saying he will return to the campaign trail next week. for now, back to dateline. welcome back to dateline, i andrea canning. michelle carter had been arrested, charged with the death of conrad roy. the evidence?

chilling text messages michelle sent conrad, who struggled with depression, urging him to kill himself. now the case was headed to trial, but could prosecutors prove what she had done was a crime? we now return to reckless. michelle carter was facing involuntary manslaughter charges for doing something teenagers do all the time, texting and calling each other in the world was watching. prosecutors, mary claire and katie rayburn understood why. >> this affect everybody, adults, teenagers, even parents with kids who don't even have homes yet. >> absolutely. i think it is good to be thinking about what you are putting out there in the world, because once you said it, you can't take it back. >> turned the gears. >> prosecutors believed michelle's words and actions cause a vulnerable conrad to kill himself. he described his fragile state in that video diary. >> racing thoughts, suicidal

thoughts, and flashbacks of hard times. >> and prosecutors learned michelle did more than just send text messages to conrad. as deadly carbon monoxide filled the cab of his truck, michelle was talking to him on the phone. >> there were two phone calls after the last text message, one from him to her, 41 minutes, and then one from her to him for over 42 minutes. >> but how would they ever know what was said on those calls? detectives poured over thousands of text messages and they got their answer. >> lo and behold on her phone there was text messages to her friends, describing with that phone conversation was like. >> the detective says i'm a such as michelle sent her friend, samantha boardman, explained it all. sam, his death is my fault. like honestly, i could have stopped him. i was on the phone with him and he got out of the car because it was working and he got

scared and i told him to get back in. >> as much as we were in shock about her language prior to that, once we read that, that was really disturbing. >> prosecutor, flynn, says another text message to that friend made it clear michelle knew what she had done was wrong. >> she said, sam, i just found out from his mother that detectives have some of his things that are going through them to see if anybody texted him or encouraged him, they read my text messages with him and i am done. his family will hate me and i could go to jail. >> and that is what was at stake on june 5th, 2017. almost 3 years after conrad roy's death. at the bristol county courthouse in tottenham massachusetts, michelle carter went on trial. the drama began almost immediately. instead of having the case go before a jury, michelle, at the last minute, chose to let a judge decide her fate. >> are you doing that of your own free will, only involuntarily?

>> yes. >> all right. >> and her opening statement, glenn drew a straight line from michelle carter's badgering and bullying to conrad's death in the truck that night. >> she assisted and devised and advised and planned his suicide, she reasoned him out of his reservations, she told him that once he was dead, he would be free and happy. >> he kept saying that to her, i don't want to do this it would hurt my family and she kept saying don't worry about them, all of the fears that he brought up, she had a reason to go around them and convince him that those things weren't real. >> there are people who are going to say everyone is responsible for themselves, you know, he made that decision to do that. >> i think personal responsibility is something that is very important. that being said, it was clear from the text messages, especially her text messages to sam boardman where she told him to get back into the car, he didn't want to do it.

>> the commonwealth put sam boardman on the text message to read that incriminating text message and another one, in which michelle described listening to conrad die. >> sam, he just called me and there was a loud noise, like a motor and i heard morning, like someone was in pain and he wouldn't answer when i said his name, i stayed on the phone for like 20 minutes and that's all i heard. i think he just killed himself. >> but as the trial continued there was a nagging question. >> why would she do this? >> because she wanted the attention. when her friends were not hanging out with her or not spending time with her, she would say things and do things to try to get their attention. she wanted them to be friends with her. >> it was a shocking theory. prosecutors were basically saying michelle convinced conrad to kill himself so she could be popular. they believed her plan was to get attention by being the grieving girlfriend. they pointed out a text exchange she had with conrad shortly before he died. >> she says, am i your girlfriend? and he talks about something else, she goes know, am i your

girlfriend, i need to know, sort of like to tell people. so i think she wanted confirmation of the label before he died. >> a day before his death, prosecutors saying michelle tested out her plan of being the grieving girlfriend. she texted sam, i am losing hope, i think he really did it. even though she knew conrad was alive. three minutes later she texted conrad. the generator will work 100% and quick. i don't get why you just don't use that. >> she is telling her friends that he is missing, he might have committed suicide and she knows exactly where he is. >> and she made to instruct him before he did that he should write a suicide letter and that his last week should be to her, but she wanted to get a shot out from him. >> yes. >> the commonwealth also claimed michelle try to cover her tracks by sending conrad text messages after she knew he was dead, like this one. the day after his suicide. did you do something? conrad i love you so much, please tell me this is a joke. and she continued sending texts

to his phone for months. nearly 80 of them. the prosecution argued she deliberately sent the text as a way to change her story. at the time i went along with it, because i knew you weren't going to do anything, but you did it. and i am so sorry i didn't save you. >> it was agonizing for conrad's family to sit in the court room and hear these new details. >> it was pretty shocking, it doesn't seem real. >> you believe in your heart that it was criminal what she did? >> i do. for someone that is in that fragile state and then you persuade him in the worst way possible, yeah, definitely it is criminal. >> social anxiety-- >> lynn says her son's own words a month before he died show that he wants to live. >> i want to recover from this, i feel like i haven't recovered from it yet. i do have a lot going for me. i just got a job to captain

their boat, like that is a huge accomplishment. >> but there was another side to the story, michelle's and her lawyer was certain the law was on her side. >> if this is a tragedy, it is horrible, but it is just not criminal. >> the defense digs into text messages the prosecution did not share in court, was michelle really trying to prevent conrad's suicide? coming up. >> go to mclean hospital, they will help you. michelle kind of was trying to talk him out of it. >> a very different take on michelle. >> michelle, berkeley year and have tried to persuade him not to commit suicide. >> when dateline continues.

welcome back. michelle carter was on trial for involuntary manslaughter. prosecutors portrayed her as a calculating bully welcome back. michelle carter was on trial for involuntary manslaughter. prosecutors painted her as a calculating believe that pressure conrad into killing himself because she craved attention, but the defense team was about to counter that michelle was no killer, she was a victim. continuing now with reckless. it wasn't easy for ed mcfarland to sit in the courtroom and hero michelle carter described as a monster. to him, michelle was anything but. >> so who is the michelle you do? >> she was a quiet kid, helpful, very friendly, got

along with everybody, everybody seems to get along with her. you know, superlative the kid most likely to brighten your day. >> it was a softball coach, he had no the carter family for years. >> were these the kind of parents who can't ever get? >> yeah, there would always be somebody at the game who needed somebody to do something you didn't have to ask them twice if you needed help with anything. >> he has been supportive of michelle and her family and was outraged she was overcharged. >> it is a travesty, she wasn't there, and we have gone down a slippery slope here, if somebody being on the phone, talking about committing suicide can be held to involuntary manslaughter. >> joe, michelle's attorney agrees it is a slippery slope. he thinks the commonwealth made a mistake. >> this is the overreach of the prosecution. and from day one i don't think a crime was committed. >> massachusetts has no law against encouraging suicide? >> right. and sort is troubling that they would bring up manslaughter. >> that was the basis of his

oral argument. he interpreted massachusetts law, to him this was clearly a suicide, that is why he wanted a judge, not a jury to hear the case. >> i thought the judge would apply the correct law on the fact that conrad roy was just so suicidal that she did not cause his death. >> and that is how he would begin his opening statement. >> michelle carter was not present, michelle carter had been texting with him, she did not physically see this individual for over one year. >> and to bolster his case, michelle's lawyer introduced a set of text messages that the prosecution had not mentioned, ones where she tried repeatedly to help conrad. >> have you thought about getting professional help? like i think i'm going to go away to a place for my eating disorder to help me overcome it and stuff. >> where are you going? >> it is called mclean hospital in belmont mass, i honestly think it would be so good for

you and we would get through our issues together. >> michelle carter was trying to talk him out of it. go to mclean hospital, they will help you. she had nothing but resistance from conrad roy. >> one of the main points of your argument was that conrad roy had tried this before, he had researched various ways to take his own life, that this was not something that was just created by michelle carter. >> right. michelle for a year and a half always tried to persuade him not to commit suicide. he always rejected her thoughts of staying alive. it wasn't until literally the last two weeks of his life where michelle finally endorsed his plan. >> i think that is where people have the biggest problem with this case is why? why would she encourage him, and she is supposed to be his friend. >> well, she came to the realization that he didn't want to live anymore, that he would only hate her, his words, i

will only hate you if you tell somebody about my plan. >> while the prosecution presented michelle carter as an attention seeker, the defense portrayed her as a victim, who was taking antidepressants for her own mental health issues. and was in no shape to help a suicidal friend. >> the facts will show that michelle carter is going through her own struggles. >> she was bombarded by his suicidal thinking, so you take that and then you makes in her own issues, that she was struggling with, eating disorder and then eventually being diagnosed with a major does present double disorder herself. >> the defense called an expert witness, a psychiatrist to the stand. he testified, the antidepressants michelle is taking impaired her judgment. >> she was enmeshed in a delusional system of -- >> sorry what? >> she was enmeshed in really a delusion that it is really a good thing to help him die.

>> he also testified that he believed conrad was in control of the relationship and that he used the vulnerable and depressed michelle to help him commit suicide. >> he was constantly telling michelle and not telling his other friends, will you help me? >> the biggest hurdle for the defense, it seemed, was michelle's admission of guilt to her friend, sam. >> if you actually read the entire statement that she texted, she said, it is my fault, i told him to get back in, but then it continues to say, but i didn't think he was going to ultimately do it, i wanted him to get help, i feel so badly about this. >> but on one hand you are saying she didn't think he was going to get back in, she wanted him to get help and then on the other hand though you are saying, that she was kind of-- had sort of succumbed to okay, i'm going to help him he should do it if you want to do it that badly. >> right. which she was all over the place, she was both. >> as for michelle's alleged motive that you as an attention seeker, he says the prosecution

got it all wrong. >> it was a fabricated motive. they wanted to create a motive, because they couldn't take the true motive that she was suffering herself and was so convincing by conrad roy to endorse his plan. because that is what happened. >> does michelle know how bad she looks to people who don't know this side of the story or who are not seeing it this way? >> at the age of 17 she didn't understand all of the ramifications of what was going on. now looking back at the circumstances, she is a totally different person. >> the trial was winding to a close. each side would get a final word. >> and that the judge husky dramatic ruling. coming up, the judge prepares to deliver his verdict. >> i am in the court with you today. >> i thought that was a very good sign. >> when dateline continues. lin there's an insurance company out there exposing other companies' rates so you can compare them and save. hmm. sounds like trouble.

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welcome back. michelle carter's trial had sparked heated debates in legal circles and living rooms across the globe. siwelcome back, michelle carter's trial had sparked heated debates in legal circles and living rooms:00 across the globe. she was charged in the death of conrad roy. the controversial case hinged on a thorny question. would conrad have carried out his suicide plan without michelle's encouragement? a judge was about to render the verdict. here's the conclusion of reckless.

after six days of testimony, both sides had their final saying. >> what we are dealing with is a suicide and not a homicide. >> she could have easily called for help and she didn't. >> it took juvenile court judge, lawrence bonus three days to reach his verdict. >> i expect that same-- >> the packed courtroom was quiet as he began reading his decision. >> the commonwealth has not proven as to that time period that said reckless or wanton behavior caused the death of mr. roy. >> michelle looked relieved. the judge declared the prosecution did not prove he owned a reasonable doubt that her texts caused conrad's death. >> and so i thought that was a very good sign. >> but the judge wasn't finished. while he acknowledged conrad had taken steps to end his life by placing the water pump in his truck, he said there was that one moment when conrad changed his mind. >> however, he breaks that chain of self causation by exiting the vehicle, he takes

himself out of the toxic environment that it has become. >> it was then, he believed that michelle became a party to his death. what's more, the judge said, she had a duty to save him. >> she called no one, and finally, she did not issue a simple additional instruction. get out of the truck. ms. carter, please stand. >> a tearful michelle stood before the judge to hear her bake. >> having reviewed the evidence and applied the law thereto, now finds you guilty on the indictment to charging you with the involuntary manslaughter of conrad roy the third. >> how did it feel hearing the word, guilty, after everything you have been through? >> i was surprised actually. there needs to be an example set and you just can't allow that behavior to continue. >> we were happy, but then going on that night driving home it was like okay. didn't bring the-- you know,

the piece i really was hoping for. >> there were no winners, just heartbreak for 2 families. >> i felt it was a tragedy now that has been compounded. nothing is going to help anything out of this, there is no healing going to happen. >> almost 7 weeks later, michelle arrived back at the courthouse to a media circus to hear her sentence. she faced a maximum of 20 years in prison. >> you made your recommendation? >> 7-12 years. >> the defense asks for probation. >> ms. carter does regret what happened, she also sent a letter, where she accept responsibility for her actions. >> then the judge sentenced her. >> the court now sentences you to two and half years in the crystal county house of correction, 15 months of said sentence shall be deemed a committed sentence. >> 15 months behind bars, but before michelle could be led

away in handcuffs, her lawyer requested she be allowed to remain free, pending an appeal, the judge agreed. >> i continued to be encouraged that this will be a successful appeal. >> your eyes are watering, is that because you are emotional about this? >> i'm passionate about it. i'm passionate about it. i don't like when courts make new law and apply it to a 17- year-old girl, who has psychiatric issues herself. >> this one hurt? >> oh, it hurt. >> in october, 2018, michelle carter's appeal went before the massachusetts supreme judicial court. four months later, the court upheld her conviction, saying the evidence against the defendant proved that, by her wanton or reckless conduct, she caused the victim's death by suicide. michelle began serving her sentence in february, 2019 and after just under a year behind bars, in january, 2020, she was

granted early release, with credit earned for good behavior. >> i feel worse for her mother than i do for myself. >> that is-- a powerful statement. >> well i-- >> your son died. >> a i know, but i have this on that i did. and i couldn't be more proud of the young man that he was, kind, selfless, and compassionate. everything. >> conrad's mom says this is a hard story to tell, but she hopes sharing it will help others. >> there are children in this world just like conrad and i can't even imagine anything like this happening again. that's all for this edition of dateline, i am andrea canning, thank you for watching.