those kids were everything to her, and, you know, she -- they -- they were her world. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm natalie morales. thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin. >> i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." i believe that he had an old soul. 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. >> a beloved teenage boy who disappeared. >> i have to report my son missing. >> they saw his truck with caution tape around it. the police told my father that he was gone. >> are you sure? what are you talking about? >> grieving alongside his family, his girlfriend. >> she sent messages of

condolences. we all need to be strong. >> she gave a lot of support. just there when i needed her. >> 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 in. >> utterly shocking. >> a trail of text messages leading to the darkest of discoveries. >> keeping all the lies straight is difficult. she did it masterfully. >> that's not normal. >> i closed my eyes and said "this is not real." >> a twist no one saw coming, a story every parent needs to see. >> we need to know what's going on in our kids' lives. it can be very scary when we don't. hello, and welcome to "dateline." 18-year-old conrad roy battled depression and anxiety but seemed to be finding his way. he was headed to college and excited about his new job.

then one night, the teenager vanished. turns out conrad had a dark secret -- one he shared with someone close to him. what that confidante did and did not do next would shatter two families. here's andrea canning with "reckless." >> reporter: it began as a chance encounter between two teens on vacation. >> she was a family friend that he met in florida. >> reporter: and ended two years later with one of them dead. >> he was smiling before he left the house. then he was dead a few hours after. >> reporter: an apparent suicide. >> he didn't seem like he was in any imminent danger. >> not at all. >> reporter: but there was danger from something teens do all the time -- texting. their cyber romance hit a nerve, gripping the nation. upon and the people involved in the case gave us the inside story. the detectives who investigated the case -- you're watching her? >> yes, it keeps getting worse. >> reporter: a grieving father.

>> i feel like i can fix a lot of things, but i couldn't fix my son. >> reporter: and distraught family who feel beprayed. >> i kind -- betrayed. >> kind of said no. >> reporter: our story starts with conrad. his mother, lynn roy, says he's was an easy child. what kind of kid was me? >> definitely sensitive. never gave me a hard time with anything. did well in school. had friends. loved baseball. >> reporter: conrad was her first born. two daughters would come later. looking back, she remembers his early years as good ones. >> every picture i have of him he looks like a little goofball. the happiest child. he was always happy. >> reporter: conrad grew up in and around the old fishing town of new bedford, massachusetts, where his father and grandfather run a tugboat and barge business. his dad said it seemed conrad was destined to take to the sea from day one. >> i think he was like two or three days old, my dad brought him on the tugboat.

i wanted to have him follow in my footsteps. i was hoping he'd be able to like -- take over the business someday. >> reporter: not only was conrad the first born in the roy family, he was also the first grandchild. his aunt, chrissy roy, says i had cousins adored him. >> my youngest, henry, would follow him around like a duck. he was the cousin that all of the kids looked up to. >> reporter: but during his sophomore year in high school, his mom says her happy-go-lucky son started to change. >> his father and i got divorced, and i don't know one child that doesn't get affected by divorce. >> reporter: he was 16 at the time? >> yeah. it's going through the hormones and -- he obviously had anxiety and depression. it just manifested at this time. >> reporter: he talked about it in this video diary. >> i fell like i'm definitely wired different from everybody else. there's something wrong with me. >> reporter: at 16 while

struggling with anxiety and depression that conrad met michelle carter. they met, his grandmother said, when they went to florida to visit family. this was supposed to be some r&r? >> yeah. i week during school vacation. >> her grandparents were friends with our great aunt. >> his sister was came down, oh, my brother met a girl. the three of them hung out for a short while. >> reporter: when they returned from florida, conrad and michelle continued 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 softball 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. >> he had other girlfriends where -- you knew their names and you had met them. she was not someone that he talked about. >> reporter: apparently he kept a lot to himself.

by the taime he was 17 he had checked into psychiatric facilities a few times suffering from deep depression. his mom says one time on the day he was discharged he swallowed a bottle of cough syrup. >> he felt bad. i said, conrad, you have no idea how much you are loved and appreciated. he swore the time after that he would never attempt suicide again. >> reporter: and things did seem to be getting better. a year later, by june, 2014, conrad had graduated from high school, gotten a scholarship to college, and earned his captain's license. that must have a big day, conrad getting his captain's day. >> it was. i was very proud of him. >> reporter: with you feeling good about the place that he's in? >> i felt that he was still like struggling, but i felt very, very positive that he wasn't going to do anything to harm

himself. >> reporter: it was 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 social anxiety -- this feeling of insecurity. if i keep talking, keep talking, it's going to get better. >> reporter: 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 was like, i'm not sure where i am right now in my head. i said, well, you just got your captain's license. you don't have to worry about anything now. >> reporter: he's looking forward the future. >> yeah. >> reporter: when they returned from the beach, conrad drove his sisters to get ice cream. >> he was laughing. said something, and he was like smiling. >> reporter: 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. >> reporter: this was news to lynn. she knew 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 dad receives a troubling clue. coming up -- >> family friend said they saw his truck with caution tape around it. >> the news is about to go from bad to worse. >> are you sure? what are you talking about? ut ♪ here? nah. ♪

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word spread quickly. conrad roy iii was missing. his family and friends growing more frantic by the hour, searched everywhere for him. by mid morning, his mom decided to call 911. >> i have to report my son missing. >> reporter: that evening, about 24 hours after conrad left his house, his father got a call. >> the family friend said they saw his truck at kmart with caution tape around it. >> reporter: you go down to kmart -- >> uh-huh. i think the police told my father that he was gone. >> reporter: an officer found

conrad dead 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 -- felt like i was drugged. i couldn't -- i couldn't eat, slept in the same clothes for days. >> most horrible time in my life. >> reporter: the rest of conrad's family was in disbelief. >> are you sure? like, what are you talking about? just saw him. >> just felt like all the blood straight out of your body to hear that kind of news. >> reporter: detective scott gordon of the fair haven police department was assigned to the case. his first impression was suicide by carbon monoxide. >> it was apparent these placed a water pump in the rear of his truck and eventually passed away as a result of the carbon monoxide from that. >> reporter: to those who knew conrad best it didn't make sense. had they 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 acan see the smirky smile e always had. >> reporter: his father recalled t the two of them setting up fireworks on a barge. >> we were laughing. watching fireworks. he seemed fine. when i left, the last thing i said is "i love you," and he said, "i love you" back. >> his family wonder will what pushed him over the edge. they got comfort from a surprising source. michelle carter reached out through text consoling her. did you feel you were getting support or a connection -- >> absolutely. i told her i loved her. she told me so many great things about myself that he had said. she there was for me when i needed her. >> reporter: conrad's aunts also

got messages from michelle. >> she sent messages of colodon'tens -- condolences and that she never tried so hard to save someone and theshe wishes could have saved him. at the wake she introduced herself. >> i was shocked when she'd, "i'm conrad's girlfriend." i had no idea. never heard of her name. >> reporter: among conrad's things were good-bye letters like this one to michelle. >> it was very positive. keep doing what you're doing, michelle. keep moving on, and doing great things. >> reporter: after reading this letter, you must have thought, oh, conrad and michelle had a special friendship -- >> i was very happy that he was in his life. i thanked her for being there for him. >> reporter: 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 was thinking, wow, this is

really impressive. here's a teenager, high school senior, and she's only a month later starting to plan this large fundraiser. >> reporter: the family showed um up -- showed up. >> i said, you must be so proud of your daughter, she's quite an amazing girl. >> reporter: unbeknownst to the family back in fairhaven, detective gordon was digging around for answers, hoping to sdorch why conrad -- discover why conrad might have taken his life. >> i felt it odd othat an 18-year-old would do it in that manner. >> reporter: the detective felt there were clues on the cell phone found in the truck. sure enough, he discovered text messages on the phone from just one person -- >> that was the thread of michelle carter. >> reporter: he had deleted all other texts with other people? >> correct. >> reporter: when the detective started reading the texts, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. >> it was one of those things where you keep reading, and it

keeps getting worse. and that's what kind of put everything in motion. coming up -- the text messages no one could fathom. >> i had to read them hay couple of times to really take it all in. >> words that raised a disturbing we can -- was this a suicide or something else? >> i closed my eyes and said, this is not real. s not real

welcome back. conrad roy's family was reeling from his apparent suicide. the teenager left good-bye letters including one to michelle carter. now investigators were focused on other messages the teens shared. what they uncovered would turn the case on its head. once again, here's andrea canning with "reckless." >> reporter: two days after conrad roy's death, detective scott gordon of the fairhaven police department had found a clue, and it was a bombshell. a string of text messages from michelle carter on conrad's phone. what are you seeing? >> a series of messages that seem to be encouraging him to take his own life. >> reporter: 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 two 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, detective glen cudmore also worked the way. >> i remember it was something to the effect of i can't believe what i'm reading. >> reporter: what kind of things was she saying? >> things like you promised me, when are you going to do it? why haven't you done it yet in i'll take care of your family. >> reporter: the detectives poured over thousands of texts. the more they read, the more disturbed they became like this exchange. you can't think about it, you just have to do it. you said you were going do it. like i don't get why you aren't. conrad responded, i don't get it either. i don't know. carter typed back -- so i guess you aren't going to do it then,

all that for nothing. i'm just confused. like you were so ready and determined. conrad wrote back -- i am gonna eventually, i really 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 gonna do it today. do you promise? i promise, babe, i have to now. like right now? where do i go? and you can't break a promise, and just go in a quiet parking lot or something. have you ever seen anything like that in your career as a detective? >> no. >> no. >> reporter: it was clear to the detectives that conrad had died by his own hand. but was what michelle did actually a crime? detective gordon contacted assistant d.a. mary claire flynn. >> he said i want you to look at these texts. it was utterly shocking. >> reporter: she checked with katy 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 it a couple of times to take it in. >> reporter: clearly it's black and white to you that this is wrong. is it black and white, we're going to go forward with this, this is a crime? i would imagine for you it's complicated. >> yes. and with all investigations it's our duty and responsibility to follow the evidence where it takes us. so the evidence was taking us to michelle carter. >> reporter: so the commonwealth's office told detectives to keep digging and find out more about michelle carter. first reaction when you see her picture? >> she's young. she's just a kid. and the word that she was say in their text messages, it didn't seem feasible. >> reporter: during the investigation, detective cudmore went undercover. at that fundraiser he took photographs of michelle's every move. to confirm she was the one who sent the texts, he videotaped

michelle as he dialed the number he got from conrad's phone. you're watching her. >> yes. >> reporter: answering the phone? >> yes. >> reporter: that's a good sign. >> yes, we had the right person. >> reporter: did you just hang up? >> let it stay on for a few seconds muted and then she finally hung up the phone. and i remember calling scott, saying, are we sure we have the right girl. she just seems so normal. alep >> reporter: a few months later as the investigation continued, the detective paid michelle a visit. he found her after school and approached her. >> the reason we came out here is because we were looking into conrad's unfortunate passing. >> reporter: she has no idea she's been watched. >> no idea. >> reporter: 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. >> reporter: at first, michelle told the detective she tried to talk conrad out of suicide. >> how hard did you help him to

try and see that suicide wasn't the right thing? >> well, i told hem -- i think i told him that i governored him and told him a -- i loved him and told him a lot of people loved him. how without him nothing would be the same. i had personal issues that i got help for, and i told him that he should come with me and get the help that he needed. but he -- he refused. he said no one would be able to help him, and it would make him worse if he got help. >> reporter: then the detective asked her about having contact with conrad on the day he died. >> do you think you had contact with him that day? >> i don't think so. >> yeah? >> reporter: the detective knew that was a lie. >> we have a search warrant for your phone. okay? so we'll be taking it. >> wait, so you're taking my phone? >> yes. >> when we took her phone, i think she started to understand a little bit that we were looking a little more further into it than she expected.

>> reporter: he followed her home and says michelle's parents were very cooperative. >> they provided us with everything we needed, and that day we left with her cell phone and her laptop. >> reporter: michelle obama his to know what's -- michelle has to know what's going on. are her parents in the dark? >> i believe so, absolutely. >> reporter: after going through 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're protected by free speech. there's precedent for people that have encouraged others to commit suicide to be charged with involuntary manslaughter. >> reporter: who is the law and how did it guide you? >> the charge of involuntary manslaughter involves reckless conduct, that she could have and did cause someone's death. >> reporter: in other words, the prosecution believed michelle should 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 just kept thinking, she's holding his head under water. you could tell that he did not want to die. her messages overpowered him. >> i closed my eyes and said, this is not real. how can someone like have an involvement in someone's death and only encouraged it? >> reporter: did you just feel like you'd been duped? she's been consoling you this whole time. >> i'm a very forgiving person, and the only thing i can say about the way that she was with me is that she's just really, really not well. >> reporter: the grand jury indicted michelle for involuntary manslaughter. she pleaded not guilty. that's 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. >> reporter: why would she do this? >> she wanted the attention. >> and at trial, michelle makes a stunning decision -- >> are you doing that voluntari voluntarily? >> yes. >> reporter: is it a choice she'll regret? r: is it a choice she'll regret? ♪ here? nah. ♪ introducing the all new chevy trailblazer. here? nope. ♪ here. ♪ when the middle of nowhere, is somewhere.

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several thougsand demonstrators gathered in washington, d.c., on saturday to protest the election results and support president trump. protesters clashed with counterprotesters after nightfall. at least 20 were arrested, and two police officers injured. vice president pence will travel to cape canaveral, florida, to witness a spacex launch carrying four astronauts to the international space station. the launch will mark the first operational mission of nasa's commercial crew program. now back to "dateline."

welcome back. i'm natalie morales. 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'd done was a crime? once again, here's andrea canning with "reckless." >> reporter: michelle carter was facing involuntary manslaughter charges for doing something teenagers do all the time -- texting and calling each other. and the world was watching. prosecutors, mary claire flynn and katy rayburn, understood why. this affects everybody, adults, teenagers, even parents with kids who don't even have phones yet. >> absolutely. i think it's good to be thinking

about what you're putting out in the world. once you send it, you can't take it back. >> turn the gears. >> reporter: prosecutors believed michelle's words and actions caused a vulnerable conrad to kill himself. he described his fragile state in that video diary. >> racing thoughts. suicidal thoughts. flashbacks of hard times. >> reporter: and prosecutors learned michelle did more than 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. then one from her to him for over 42 minutes. >> reporter: but how would they ever know 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 what that

found conversation was like. >> reporter: the depth says a michelle she sent her friend samantha 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 [ bleep ] told him to get back in. >> and then as much as we were in shock about her language prior to that, once we read that, that was really disturbing. >> reporter: prosecutor flynn says another text message to that friend made it clear michelle knew what she'd done was wrong. >> she said, sam, i just found out from his mother that detectives have some of these things and are going through them to see if anybody texted him or encouraged him. they read my text messages with him, and i'm done. his family will hate me, and i could go to jail. >> reporter: and that's what was at stake on june 5th, 2017. left three years after conrad roy's death. at the bristol county courthouse in taunton, massachusetts, michelle carter went on trial.

>> i would like you to take the witness stand -- >> reporter: 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 oak free will, knowingly and voluntarily? >> yes. >> all right. >> reporter: in her opening statement, flynn 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 to her, i don't want to do this, it would hurt my family. she kept saying, don't worry about them. all the fears that he brought up, she had a reason to go around them and convince him that those things weren't real. >> reporter: there are people who are going to say everyone's responsible for themselves. you know, he made that decision to do that. >> i think personal responsibility is something that's very important.

that being said, it was clear from the text messages, especially her messages to sam where she told him to get back in the car. he didn't want to do it. >> reporter: the commonwealth put sam boardman on the stand to read that incriminating 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 moaning 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. >> reporter: but as the trial continued, there was a nagging question -- why would she do this? >> 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. >> reporter: 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, no, am i your girlfriend? i need to know sort of like to tell poeeople. she wanted confirmation of the label before he died. >> reporter: a day before his death, prosecutors say michelle tested out her plan of being the groving girlfriend. she texted sam boardman, i'm 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's telling his friends he's missing, when she knows where he is, she's talking to him. >> she made to instruct him before he did die that he should write her a suicide later and the last tweet should be to her because she wanted a shout out from him. >> yes. >> reporter: the commonwealth also claimed michelle tried 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 per months, nearly 80 of them. the prosecution argued she deliberately sent the texts 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 [ bleep ] did it, and i'm so sorry i didn't save you. it was ag myselfing for conrad's -- agonizing for conrad's family to hear the new details. >> it was pretty shocking. a lot of times it doesn't seem real. >> reporter: do you believe in your heart that it was criminal when she did? >> i do. for someone in that fragile state and then you persuade them in the worst way possible, yeah, definitely is criminal. >> social anxiety --

>> reporter: lynn says her son's own words a month before he died show he wanted to live. >> i want to recover from this, and i feel like i haven't recovered from it yet. i do have a lot going for me. i just got a job on the duck tours to captain their boat. like that's a huge accomplishment. >> reporter: but there was another side to the story -- michelle's, and her lawyer was certain the law was on her side. >> it's a tragedy. it's horrible. but it's 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 carter was trying to talk him out of it. >> a very different take on michelle. >> michelle for a year and a half tried to persuade him not to commit suicide. new advil dual action

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welcome back. michelle carter was on trial for involuntary manslaughter. prosecutors portrayed her as a calculating bully who pressured a vulnerable conrad roy into killing himself because she c e craved attention. but the defense team was about to counter. contending that michelle was no callous killer, she was a

victim. continuing with "reckless," here's andrea canning. >> reporter: it wasn't easy for ed mcfarland to sit in the courtroom and her michelle carter described as a monster. to him, michelle was anything about. who's the michelle you knew? >> she was a quiet kid. helpful. very friendly. got along with everybody, and everybody seemed to get along with her. you know, senior class, superlative was the kid most likely to brighten your day. >> reporter: ed was her softball coach. he'd known the carter family for years. were these the kind of parents that came to every game? >> there would always be somebody at the game. if you needed somebody to do something, didn't have to ask them twice -- if you needed help with anything. >> reporter: he's been supportive of michelle and her family and was outraged she was ever charged. >> it's travesty. she wasn't there. we've gone down a slippery slope here if somebody being on the phone talking about committing suicide can be held to january voluntary manslaughter. >> reporter: cataldo, michelle's

attorney, agrees it's a slippery slope. he not the commonwealth made a mistake. >> this is an overreach of the prosecution. from day one until this day i sit here i don't think a crime was committed. >> reporter: massachusetts has no law against encouraging suicide. >> right. and so it's troubling that they would bring up manslaughter. >> reporter: the basis of his argument. prosecutors misinterpreting massachusetts law. to him, this was clearly a suicide. that's why he wanted a judge, not a jury, to hear the case. >> i thought the judge would apply the correct law on the facts that conrad roy was just so suicidal that michelle carter did not cause his death. >> reporter: and that's how he began 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. >> reporter: 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's 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. >> reporter: 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's where people have the biggest problem with this case is why. why would she encourage him. and she's 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. >> reporter: while the prosecution presented michelle carter as an attention seeker, the defense portrayed her as a victim who was taking anti-depressants 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 mix in her own issues that she was struggling with, eating disorder, and then eventually being diagnosed with a major depressive disorder herself. >> reporter: the defense called an expert witness -- psychiatrist dr. peter braggan

to the stand. he testified the anti-depressants that michelle was taken impaired her judgment. >> she was enmeshed in a delusional system of -- >> what? >> enmeshed in really a delusion where she's thinking that it's a good thing to help him die. >> reporter: braggan 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 otherens, will you help me -- other friends, will you help me? >> reporter: the biggest hurdle for the defense is seemed was michelle's admission of guilt to her friend, sam. >> if you read the entire statement that she texted, she says, it's my fault. i told him to get back in. then it continues to say, but didn't think he was going to ultimately do it, i wanted him to get help, i feel so badly about this. >> reporter: on one hand you're

saying she didn't think he was going to get back in, she wanted him to get help. on the other hand you're saying she had sort of succumbed to, okay, i'm going to help him, he should do it if he wants to do it that badly. which -- >> she was all over the place. she was both. >> reporter: as for michelle's alleged motive, that she was an attention seeker, cata theirldo the prosecution got it wrong. >> it was a fabricated motive. they wanted a motive because they couldn't take the motive that she was suffering and convinced roy to complete his plan. that's what happens. >> reporter: does michelle know how bad she looks to people who don't know this side of the story or who are not saying it this way? >> at the age of 17, she didn't understand all the ramifications of what was going on. now looking back at the circumstances, she's a totally different person. >> reporter: the trial was winding to a close. each side would get a final word. and then the judge's dramatic

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welcome back. michelle carter's trial had sparked heated debates in legal circles and living rooms across the globe.

she was charged with causing 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 his verdict. here's andrea canning with the conclusion of "reckless." >> reporter: after six days of testimony, both sides had their final say. >> what we're dealing with a suicide and not a homicide. >> she could have easily called for help, and she is didn't. >> reporter: it took juvenile court judge lawrence monez, three days to reach the verdict. i 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. >> reporter: michelle looked relieved. the judge declared the prosecution did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that her texts caused conrad's death.

>> and so i thought that was a very good sign. >> reporter: 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. >> reporter: it was then he believed 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. miss carter, please stand. >> reporter: a tearful michelle stood before the judge -- >> having reviewed the evidence and applied the law thereto finds you guilty on the indictment charging you with the involuntary manslaughter of

conrad roy iii. >> reporter: how did it feel hearing that word guilty after everything you've been through? >> i was surprised actually. there needs to be an example set. you just can't allow that behavior to continue. >> we were happy, but then going home that night driving home, it was like, okay. didn't bring the -- bring the peace i really was hoping for. >> reporter: there were no winners, just heartbreak for two families. >> i felt it was a tragedy that's been compounded. nothing's going to help anything out of this. there's no healing going to happen. >> reporter: almost seven 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 -- >> yes. >> seven to 12 years. >> reporter: the defense asked for probation. >> miss carter does regret what happened. she also sent a letter where she

accepts responsibility for her actions. >> reporter: then the judge sentenced her. >> court now sentences you to 2.5 years in the bristol county house of correction. 15 months of said extents shall be deemed a commuted sentence. >> reporter: 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 continue to be encouraged that this will be a successful appeal. >> reporter: your eyes are watersing. is that because you're emotional about this? >> i'm -- 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. >> reporter: so this one hurt. >> oh, it hurt. >> reporter: 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. >> reporter: that's a powerful statement. >> well, i -- >> reporter: your son died. >> i know. but i had the son that i did. and i couldn't be more proud of the young man that he was. kind, selfless, compassionate. everything. >> reporter: 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'm natalie morales. thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin. >> i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." >> it's pitch black. >> we locked eyes for a split second. he was stunned. he was frightened. he had no idea what hit him. i knew that he had him. >> he was untouchable, ruthless, lawless, murderous. >> he was willing to kill whoever he needed to kill. >> the drug lord el chapo. >> the most wanted fugitive behind osama bin laden. >> everybody said no one will ever catch him. >> but he and this team did it in the most astonishing way. >> surprise you? >> i couldn't believe it. >> the american agent who helped capture el cho