The tragic, landmark court case of a Missouri teen who committed suicide after allegedly being “cyberbullied” in a classmate’s ruse ended in a conviction — but it was little more than cold comfort to a still-grieving mother.
Tina Meier, mother of the late Megan Meier, spoke to Meredith Vieira on TODAY Monday about her 13-year-old daughter’s death and the Nov. 26 jury decision that found her adult neighbor guilty of three misdemeanor charges of computer fraud in helping create a fictitious boy to first flirt with Megan, then cruelly dump her.
“I don’t know if justice will ever 100 percent be served,” Meier told Vieira via satellite from O’Fallon, Mo. “I can never bring Megan back.”
Some have asked if going through the trial was worth it.
“It is worth it because it is not about vengeance; it’s about bringing justice to what happened to Megan, and ... to all the kids and people who have to endure this every single day,” Meier said.
Fictitious friend
According to federal prosecutors, 49-year-old Lori Drew, her teen daughter Sarah and Drew’s office assistant Ashley Grills set up a fictitious MySpace account in the fall of 2006 for a teen they named Josh Evans. The account was created to find out what Megan, a former friend turned rival of Sarah’s, was saying about her on the Internet.
Over 26 days, the cyber-generated Evans — complete with a sexy, bare-chested profile photo — wooed Meier by posing as a neighborhood boy, sending messages telling the 13-year-old she was “sexi” and saying, “I love you so much.”
On the 27th day, Megan, who had a history of emotional problems, received a message from Josh saying he no longer wanted to be friends, and that “The world would be a better place without you.” Shortly thereafter, Megan hanged herself with a belt in her bedroom closet.
While no local charges were filed against Drew, three federal counts of accessing computers without authorization and one count of conspiracy were filed in California, the home base of MySpace. After a five-day trial — during which Drew’s defense team argued that Tina Meier was out of touch with her daughter’s online life — Drew was found guilty on three lesser, misdemeanor charges of computer fraud.
In court, Drew’s daughter Sarah said she never was aware of her mother using the MySpace account for the fictitious Evans, but Grills testified she saw Drew send at least one message under Evans’ name.
‘Poor judgment’
The jury foreperson in the trial told NBC she didn’t believe Drew “set out to have this girl commit suicide,” but added, “I think in her knowledge of this girl having depression and suicidal tendencies, I think that she used poor judgment.”
Drew now faces up to three years in federal prison and a $300,000 fine. But in an interview via satellite with TODAY’s Matt Lauer, Drew’s attorney, Dean Steward, said that an appeal will be filed.
Steward said the conviction did not make Drew responsible for Megan Meier’s death.
Steward said that the fictitious MySpace profile for Evans was open for 27 days and “it was only that very last day when things got nasty and ugly.” He also said that Lori Drew played no part in it.
In her interview with Vieira, Tina Meier vehemently begged to differ.
“It does not matter that the account was open for 27 days and 26 days of it was nice and the last day was not,” Meier said. “Lori Drew is an adult, she knew that the account was opened, she knew what was going on, she allowed this to continue to happen.”
Setting precedent
Meier added that she wants to see her former neighbor Drew serve time in prison to “set a precedent that this cannot be allowed, that people can’t get behind a computer [and] create fake accounts to be able to harm, harass and hurt other people.”
“The problem with the entire verdict and prosecution is that it opens up all of us to criminal prosecution,” he said. “If you send an angry e-mail on a service like MySpace, you may well have committed a federal crime.”
Steward was quick to say that there are no winners in the sad case, and that Drew herself has faced her own trauma in the two years since Megan’s death. “She’s been the subject of Internet bullying, she had a brick thrown through her window; she’s been basically under siege for the past two years. In that sense, she has been a victim, too.”
Meier told Vieira any fallout in Drew’s life is her own responsibility.
“We as adults have to take accountability for what we do,” she said. “Unfortunately, she is getting the backlash of decisions she has made. What Lori Drew goes through is not my problem or any of my concern.”
A potential hearing on Drew’s appeal is scheduled for Dec. 29, and sentencing in the case is expected next spring. Meier said she will attend the sentencing.
“It’s essential she spend time behind bars, so people know this isn’t a joke,” she said.