DA in "encouraged suicide" case claims no conflict of interest
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. - The Bristol County district attorney's office says it has no conflict of interest in the case of a Massachusetts female high school student charged with encouraging a friend to kill himself.
Michelle Carter's defense attorney has requested the case be moved out of Bristol County. He says it's impossible for the 18-year-old Carter to receive a fair trial because District Attorney Thomas Quinn is a third cousin of the victim.
Assistant District Attorney Owen Murphy filed a response arguing that Quinn has recused himself from any direct involvement in the case.
Carter was charged in February with involuntary manslaughter in the July 2014 death of 18-year-old Conrad Roy III.
Authorities say the Plainville woman texted with Roy minutes before he committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in the parking lot of a Fairhaven store.
Court documents indicate that just prior to Roy committing suicide he became scared, said he didn't want to leave his family and, as a result, got out of his car. Carter then told him to "get back in," the documents allege.
Carter's lawyer has said the she did not commit a crime. She is currently free on $2,500 bond.