Michelle Carter, who urged her boyfriend to kill himself in texts, is released early from jail

Death by Text

Michelle Carter, the 23-year-old convicted of manslaughter for encouraging her boyfriend to commit suicide, was released from jail in Massachusetts on Thursday. She served a 15-month sentence, but was released more than three months early. 

In the days before Carter's boyfriend Conrad Roy III took his life, she sent numerous texts to Roy urging him to go through with his plan. While the content of her phone calls is not known, texts Carter sent such as "Just do it, babe," and one in which she told Roy to get back inside a car rigged to fill monoxide gas, were key to her conviction. 

Michelle Carter leaves the Bristol County jail, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020, in Dartmouth, Mass. Steven Senne / AP

"After she convinced him to get back into the carbon monoxide filled truck, she did absolutely nothing to help him: she did not call for help or tell him to get out of the truck as she listened to him choke and die," Justice Scott Kafker wrote in the state Supreme Judicial Court's decision, The Associated Press reports.

Carter was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in June 2017.

Carter's coercive texts drew national attention to the case, and provided shocking insight into toxic teenage relationships and depression. Both Carter and Roy struggled with depression. 

Last February, Massachusetts' highest court upheld Carter's conviction, and she was denied parole in September. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court declined to hear Carter's lawyers' appeal of her involuntary manslaughter conviction.

She will now serve five years of probation.

f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.