Conrad Roy III of Fairhaven, Pennsylvania shared his feelings of anxiety and depression with his friend, Michelle Carter. In text messages, Michelle repeatedly encouraged the 18-year-old to take his own life. On July 13, 2014, Roy parked his truck in a parking lot with the intent of killing himself via carbon monoxide poisoning. While in the truck, there was a moment when Roy got out and changed his mind. But Carter sent a text which told Roy to get back in the truck. That final text was the one Judge Lawrence Moniz of the Bristol County Juvenile Court referred to when Carter was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in June 2017. Carter was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. 48 Hours interviewed Roy’s mother, Lynn Roy, who said of Carter: “I don’t believe she has a conscience. She knew exactly what she was doing.”
The 48 Hours episode “Death by Text” which includes the Lynn Roy interview airs Saturday, September 22 at 10pm on CBS. The Lifetime TV movie based on the true story, Conrad & Michelle: If Words Could Kill, premieres on Lifetime on Sunday, September 23 at 8pm. Author (see link above) and actress Bella Thorne plays Michelle; Austin P. McKenzie (When We Rise, young Cleve Jones/Guy Pearce) plays Conrad. Thorne is known for her role as CeCe Jones on Disney Channel’s Shake It Up with Zendaya. The 20-year-old Thorne with 18 million followers on Instagram is also a singer. One of her latest singles is B*tch I’M Bella Thorne.
