Jury deliberations were under way Tuesday in the landmark case against Lori Drew, a suburban Missouri mother charged with conspiracy and computer  fraud in a MySpace hoax that led to the suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier.
After three days of testimony by more than a dozen witnesses, including Megan's mother, Tina Meier; Drew's assistant , Ashley Grills; and computer forensic experts, the case went to the jury of six men and six women ranging in age from the mid-20s to the 70s.
Drew is charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of computer fraud. If found guilty on all four counts, she could receive a maximum of 20 years in prison.
An Ugly Picture
Prosecutors painted an ugly picture of Drew, her daughter, and Grills in the torment of Meier, who was taking antidepressants and was vulnerable. Prosecutors said the Drews and Grill had knowledge of Meier's mental-health issues, but continued a six-week ruse.
U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien portrayed Drew as the master puppeteer behind the plan to humiliate Megan by inventing a fictitious boy who would court her on MySpace.com, then be revealed as a person who did not exist. O'Brien in his summation that Lori Drew wanted to humiliate Meier and the only way she could was through the use of a computer, according to the Associated Press.
U.S. Assistant Attorney Mark Krause provided additional ammunition, saying Drew instructed her daughter Sarah and Grills what to write and, in doing so, violated the MySpace terms of service. Krause told the jurors that MySpace rules are simple and say users should not lie, not pretend to be another person, and not use the Web site to harass others, according to the Associated Press.
Defense: Not Homicide
The defense stressed to jurors that the case against Lori Drew is not homicide and that the jurors need to focus on the computer case.
Defense attorney Dean Steward repeatedly asked U.S. District Court Judge George Wu to exclude testimony about Megan's suicide and twice sought a mistrial. Wu has not ruled on the defense's motion for dismissal.
Sarah Drew, who was 13 at the time of the hoax, testified that she lied about her age when opening an account on MySpace when she was 11 or 12 and pretended to be "Josh Evans" while communicating with Meier, according to Wired. She also testified that she knew Meier was depressed and suicidal and knew she was taking medication for depression.
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