Judge allows suicide facts in Myspace bullying case

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: November 15, 2008

LOS ANGELES — Evidence from the suicide of a Missouri girl can be used by prosecutors against a woman charged with helping to create a false Web identity that was used to harass the teenager, a federal judge ruled Friday.

The ruling came just days before the start of the potentially groundbreaking trial of Lori Drew, 49, of O’Fallon, Mo., who has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and accessing computers without authorization. Prosecutors said Drew helped create the MySpace account and harassed Megan Meier, her daughter’s former friend.

Prosecutors say Meier, 13, hanged herself after receiving messages saying the world would be better off without her. Drew’s lawyer had argued the suicide evidence would lead jurors to focus on the death, rather than whether Drew violated the terms of service of MySpace.

U.S. District Judge George Wu previously said he might bar any mention of suicide, but he changed his mind after hearing lawyers’ arguments.