Lawyer To Introduce New Evidence In Case Of Plainville Teen Accused Of Encouraging Boyfriend's Suicide
TAUNTON (CBS) -- Defense Lawyer Joseph Cataldo revealed in court Thursday there is new evidence in the trial of a Plainville teen accused of encouraging her boyfriend's suicide.
Michelle Carter is facing an involuntary manslaughter charge after she allegedly encouraged her boyfriend Conrad Roy via text message to go through with his suicide attempt in 2014. During a court appearance on Thursday, Cataldo said he's expecting a 20,000-page file on Roy's social media use from Facebook.
In July, 2014, Roy was found dead in his pickup truck from carbon monoxide poisoning according to police. In a series of text messages, Carter is accused of pushing Roy toward a suicide attempt.
The Facebook records, Cataldo hopes, will help shed light on Roy's state of mind in the time leading up to his death.
"We know he was communicating with other people too," Cataldo said. "I want to see who he was communicating with and what he was saying about his mindset."
The judge approved Cataldo's request to consult with an adolescent development expert, since Carter was 17 at the time Roy, then 18, killed himself.
"You have to understand the impulse control teenagers go through and the lack of control that they have over some of the things they do and say," Cataldo said.
A request to pay for an expert on the anti-depressant Celexa was denied by the judge, which Cataldo argued is important to the case. Cataldo said both Carter and Roy were taking the drug at the time of the incident.
"The cause of his death could have been the medication he was taking that increases the suicidal ideation, not the words of Michelle Carter," Cataldo said.
"What that Celexa did to Mr. Roy is speculative," the judge said, denying the request.
Cataldo said he plans to appeal that decision.
Carter's trial is slated to start in February. She is due in court again on Dec. 19.
