Teen girl who ‘texted boyfriend encouragement’ as he killed himself was ‘intoxicated’ by her antidepressants, psychiatrist claims
Michelle Carter is charged with involuntary manslaughter over the death of her boyfriend Conrad Roy who killed himself aged 18.
A TEENAGE girl who is accused of texting her boyfriend encouragement as he killed himself was "involuntarily intoxicated" by her antidepressant drugs, according to a psychiatrist.
Michelle Carter, now 20, is accused of manslaughter of her boyfriend Conrad Roy III, who killed himself by carbon monoxide poisoning in 2014.
Prosecutors claim Carter, who was 17 at the time, is criminally responsible for the death as she texted Roy a series of text messages in which she told him to ";just do it" and that "tonight is the night" as he was preparing to kill himself.
But now a controversial psychiatrist told a court in Taunton, Massachusetts, that Carter could not be held responsible because she was being treated with the antidepressant drug Celexa which would have altered her brain - making her not understand the impact of her actions.
Dr Peter Breggin said: "She had no notion of wrongfulness on what she was doing," reported.
"The impairment of being on the drugs while you are growing up - while you're brain is maturing, while your frontal lobes are developing - you're talking about being inundated with neurotoxic effects."
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The psychiatrist, who has been banned from testifying in previous cases, was giving evidence to see if he would be allowed to testify in Carter's upcoming manslaughter trial.
Prosecutors criticized Dr Breggin and claimed he was an "extremist".
The judge has not decided if Breggin's testimony will be admitted at trial.
Carter is accused of sending dozen of text messages to her suicidal boyfriend, according to prosecutors.
In one of the messages, which were made public, Carter says: "Always smile, and yeah, you have to just do it. You have everything you need. There is no way you can fail. Tonight is the night. It's now or never."
In another she says: "I just want to make sure you're being serious. Like I know you are, but I don't know.
"You always say you're gonna do it, but you never do. I just want to make sure tonight is the real thing."
She then asks: "When are you gonna do it? Stop ignoring the question."
Roy's body was found in his pickup truck in Fairhaven, Massachusetts on July 13, 2014.
Coroners ruled he died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Carter is due to stand trial in June.
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