A MOTHER accused of using a fake MySpace account to torment a teenager who later committed suicide thought the plan was a clever and funny way to deal with a girl she suspected was spreading lies about her daughter, according to witnesses.
Ashley Grills, who was testifying under a grant of immunity, said Lori Drew was directly involved in creating the bogus MySpace profile of a 16-year-old boy that was used to lure Megan Meier (13), into an online relationship.
Ms Grills (20) said she was the one who came up with the idea of the MySpace account, but that Lori Drew agreed and “thought it was funny”. Megan, of Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, hanged herself two years ago after receiving an e-mail from the fictitious “Josh Evans” saying “the world would be a better place without you”, prosecutors allege.
Ms Drew (49) is accused of violating federal law by providing false information to MySpace to set up the account, obtaining information about Megan in violation of MySpace rules, and then using the MySpace account to intentionally “inflict emotional distress”.
The circumstances surrounding Megan’s death caused a national uproar. Authorities in Missouri eventually concluded that there was no statute under which Ms Drew could be charged. US Attorney Thomas O’Brien indicted Ms Drew in Los Angeles on the computer charges this spring on the theory that because MySpace is based in Beverly Hills, his office had jurisdiction.
Ms Drew’s lawyer, Dean Steward, sought to cast Megan as a deeply troubled teenager who had already considered suicide and who was taking antidepressant medication.
He read jurors an e-mail which Megan allegedly sent to Ms Drew’s daughter, Sarah, less than a year before the suicide: “Every day is a struggle. I can’t do anything right. I’m always in trouble.”
Ms Grills testified that she, Lori Drew and Sarah Drew were trying to figure out a way “to expose Megan” for rumours she had allegedly been spreading about Sarah.
She said Lori Drew helped formulate messages that were sent to Megan and at one point suggested that they have “Josh” arrange a meeting with Megan at a local mall at which Sarah and her friends would “pop out” and tease Megan.
In other testimony, the Drews’ hairdresser, Dawn Chu, said she told Lori Drew that setting up the account to tease Megan was wrong, but that she didn’t respond.
She said Lori Drew came in for a haircut on the day of Megan’s wake. Ms Chu said she asked Ms Drew why she was attending, given her role in the hoax. “It’s not like I pulled the trigger,” she quoted Ms Drew as saying. – (LA Times-Washington Post service)