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Teen on trial after boyfriend commits suicide

Teen on trial after boyfriend commits suicide
Posted at 6:42 AM, Jun 05, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-05 07:22:46-04

TAUNTON, Mass. (AP) — Jury selection is set to begin in the trial of a Massachusetts woman accused of sending her boyfriend dozens of text messages encouraging him to kill himself.

Michelle Carter is charged with manslaughter in the 2014 death of Conrad Roy III. The 18-year-old was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in his pickup truck in Fairhaven.

Prosecutors released transcripts of text messages the then-17-year-old Carter sent to Roy. In one of the texts, she allegedly wrote: "The time is right and you're ready, you just need to do it!"

Carter's lawyer has argued that the texts are protected free speech. He's also said that Roy was depressed and had previously tried to take his own life.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in Taunton Juvenile Court.