Nov 10, 2008 1:59 pm US/Pacific
Suicide Evidence May Be Left Out Of MySpace Trial
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
-
-
Prosecutors say Lori Drew, 49, from O'Fallon, Mo., helped create a false-identity MySpace account and harassed 13-year-old Megan Meier with cruel messages.
CBS
A Los Angeles federal court judge said Monday prosecutors in the trial of a woman accused of a MySpace hoax that allegedly led a 13-year-old girl to kill herself will likely be prohibited from presenting evidence of the suicide.
Judge George Wu told attorneys he is leaning toward excluding the evidence from the trial of Lori Drew. She is accused of using a fictitious profile on the social networking site to drive her daughter's former friend, Megan Meier, to hang herself.
Drew has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing computers without authorization.
Wu said he thinks details of Meier's death would unfairly prejudice the jury. He said he plans to announce his final decision Friday.
Prosecutors say the 49-year-old woman from O'Fallon, Mo., helped create a false-identity MySpace account and harassed Meier with cruel messages.
Meier, who was being treated for depression, hanged herself after allegedly receiving messages saying the world would be better off without her.
The government is prosecuting Drew under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which has never before been used in connection with a Web site's terms of service barring misrepresentation by users setting up new accounts.
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Stars Rock The Grammys
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments