Megan Meier’s MySpace Suicide: Reaction Was Outrage
We first wrote about Megan last Monday. The reactions to the story were those of disgust, horror, anger, and outrage.
Outrage over the death of Megan Meiers, a girl targeted by vicious adults. Outrage at the perpetrators of the hoax. Outrage that no charges have been filed.
Lastly, outrage at the paper who broke the story, the Suburban Journals’ decision to not identify the hoaxers. The names of the “alleged” hoaxers have been outed by bloggers.MySpace Cruel Prank Leads To Teen’s Suicide
A cruel and unbelievably vicious prank perpetrated upon a young girl has stripped away the Leave To Beaver veneer of a suburban St. Louis neighborhood. A fourteen year old girl is dead by her own hand, her parents shattered and in disbelief. There will never be justice for their precious daughter.
Fourteen years old, Megan was a victim of a cruel hoax on MySpace. The end result of the hoax, Megan is dead by her own hand, the hoaxer exposed as parents of a former friend of Megan’s. The story was published on November 13 by the St. Charles Journal in Missouri. The paper made the decision not to publish the names of the hoaxers. Their excuse, because the hoaxers had a child of their own and the fact that they had not been charged with any crime.
Source – MySpace Cruel Prank Leads To Teen’s Suicide
The Suburban Journals have decided not to name the family out of consideration for their teenage daughter.
The original story provided enough clues to the identity of the hoaxers, the fact that the parents of Megan had unknowingly stored a foosball table that belonged to the hoaxers in their garage…
The day after Megan’s death, they went down the street to comfort the family of the girl who had once been Megan’s friend. They let the girl and her family know that although she and Megan had their ups and down, Megan valued her friendship.
They also attended the girl’s birthday party, although Ron had to leave when it came time to sing “Happy Birthday.” The Meiers went to the father’s 50th birthday celebration. In addition, the Meiers stored a foosball table of the hoaxers in their garage..
The paper went on to describe how six weeks after Megan’s sad death her parents were informed that their precious daughter was the victim of a cruel hoax on MySpace. The perpetrators were the very same people, the parents of Megan’s one time friend, who after Megan’s death, had asked Megan’s parents if they could store their foosball table in Megan’s parent’s garage.
Read rest of the story:
Megan Meier MySpace Suicide: Cruel Hoaxers Outed, Let The Lesser Outrage Begin
Source:
Megan Meier MySpace Suicide: Cruel Hoaxers Outed, Let The Lesser Outrage Begin
MySpace Cruel Prank Leads To Teen’s Suicide
Mondoreb blogs at Death By 1000 Papercuts. Interested readers can e-mail him at
mondoreb@gmail.com.
All stories from DBKP and Death By 1000 Papercuts are submitted under Mondoreb. This story was by LBG.
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53 users commented in " Megan Meier MySpace Suicide: Cruel Hoaxers Outed, Let The Lesser Outrage Begin "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackShe was suicidal.
Im sure you’re asking how do i know>? well, what you said doesn’t matter either.
The suicidal community, knows much more about these situtians than oh…THE MEDIA..or average blogger..
Enough said..
Peace..and sorry for the family, but shit happens. Perhaps, if her parents were THERE for her..she’d be alive.
Shit happens? Are you serious with such an uninformed, ridiculous, and hurtful comment? Her parents were there for her or did you not comprehend the part of this widely reported article that stated that her mother had the password and therefore, final say so as to who the girl added on her myspace account? I’m curious as to how you make such an ignorant statement as “Perhaps, if her parents were there for her..she’d be alive?” No, jim, if the lowlife that tormented a child mercilessly had not done so, she may still be alive. Or do you know her and her family personally to be able to say that she was suicidal? Although you may be a sterling member of the “suicidal community,” secure in your knowledge of these “situtians” forgive me for thinking you are, at best, misinformed in your judgment, and at worse, yet another adult being entertained by the needless death of a child. Somehow your wish for “Peace.. and sorry for the family” is cancelled out by your assholish comment that “shit happens.” Well, if there is any justice in the world maybe some of that shit can happen to a fuckwit like you. Enough said..
Shit happens, eh “Jim”? Keep on talking, you’re sounding more and more like the mother of the “ex friend” of Megan’s the more you type – you know, the one who provoked a CHILD to commit suicide? Whether Megan was depressed or no, there is NO excuse for this. She should be ashamed of herself – and she should be procecuted….instead she’s pressing charges on MEGAN’S parents just now!!! What she deserves I can’t write in a message board…..
I trust Karma will deliver it, though….in spades.
As a person that is very close to this case lets look at the facts.
#1 – The family that created the MySpace account of Josh Evans did this so they could, in their confession to police, find out “what Megan was saying about their daughter”. The police report that has been posted confirms this and confirms that the mother confessed that she “created, instigated, and monitored the account”.
#2 – The family that created the MySpace account bragged, laughed and told another 13 year old child and encouraged this child to join in the joke. Since these were trusted adults – friends of the family for years – the child did send one message. (This child later came forward and “broke” the case.)
#3 – This MySpace account had been in place for about 6 weeks in which Megan thought this person was her online boyfriend. She and he shared intimate conversations. The creators of this MySpace then ended the relationship with the a barrage of hateful emails that Megan received on the Monday she hung herself. The last message she received was “the world would be a better place without you”. Less than 20 minutes after receipt of that message, Megan hung herself.
#4 – The day that Megan hung herself, within literally minutes of hearing the ambulance, the family that created the MySpace immediately deleted the Josh Evans account and called the 13 year old telling her to “keep her mouth shut”.
#5 – Another neighbor, close family friend, administered CPR to Megan – bringing her back to life for a short 24 hours before Megan passed in her parents arms at a local hospital.
#6 – The family that created the MySpace attended Megan’s wake and funeral. They never shed a tear. The Meier’s, after the funeral, went to this families house to comfort their daughter. They invited the Meier’s to their child’s birthday party and the fathers birthday party. The Meier’s attended. They celebrated Halloween together and this family asked the Meier’s to store a foosball table. They were blatant in their actions knowing all along what they had done and yet never told or even showed remorse.
#7 – The child that was enlisted by the MySpace perpetrators came forward to her mother, the single mom, (the day that Megan died). This mother immediately called the St. Charles Police (and contrary to what the police have recently stated to reporters) she was told by the police to keep quiet while they were deciding what to do and after weeks of going back and forth on the phone, this police department said there was nothing they could do and also stated they would not aid the single mother in bringing the matter to the Meier’s attention. The single mother had no choice but to break the news to the Meier’s at a counselors office located in northern O’fallon. This was the weekend after Thanksgiving – a full 5 weeks after Megan’s death.
#8 – The Meier’s left that counselors office and went home and destroyed the foosball table. They hacked it into dozens of pieces and threw it into the perpetrators driveway. The entire neighborhood learned the truth. People were angry. The MySpace perpetrators called the police and filed a report about the destroyed foosball table and at that same time confessed to the police. The felt they had done nothing wrong. After all, “If it wasn’t this incident it would have been something else, Megan was suicidal anyway”.
#9 – For one year the families were told to remain quiet while the FBI investigated the case. It was then determined that no criminal charges would be filed. The Meier family decided to take the case to the press.
For the past week the local and national media has been covering the case. The public is outraged. The Meier’s are divorcing and still facing the charges for property damage to the foosball table. The MySpace perpetrators are “business as usual”. They are still living their lives normally, showing no grief or remorse and not talking to the press and by the way, placing holiday decorations on their house. Since they did “no wrong” they will be celebrating a “joyous” holiday season while many of the public remain outraged.
There are many innocent victims in this story; the child that was encouraged to be part of the joke, the children of the MySpace perpetrators (yes, they did not choose their parents), the Meier’s, family, friends and neighbors. Go to your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and hug them and thank god everyday that they are alive and well. Don’t ever think that they are safe even if they are at home. In these days of the Internet, Cell phones, and Instant Messaging the bullying of children can and does happen everywhere. Children being mean to each other is typical of their young age – their young minds are so easily influenced. Adults pulling a stunt like this is appalling. May justice be served and the laws of the land be changed so nothing like this ever goes unpunished again.
Please write the St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney’s office and the local and state legislators. It is hard for one to make change – but as a village we can rise and make a difference.
I find this very disturbing…this family should be punished for doing this to this young girl…..as a parent of a teen daily I deal with drama caused by other girls…..and some boys…..but if I found out a parent was behind anything of the sort I would and will find a way to deal with it….I hope megans family finds some peace….I am not sure how one recovers from vicious people such as this…….god bless…and may the mother of “josh” worried about what someone was saying about her child…..grow up but well I wont wish bad on you……you have created your own end….
Suicide not only ends the life of the person that commits it, but it also ends the lives of the family members left behind.
ONLINE BOYFRIEND????? I would think that that right there would raise a HUGE red flag to any parent. Especially one of a 13 year old. As far as “Josh’s” family goes….they have made there bed. Now they get to lay in it for the rest of there lives. I pray that the family and friends of the Meiers find peace.
This Makes me sick. The Women Should have charges Pressed On her. COME ON
Attorneys all over the country are disagreeing with the assumption that no law applies here.
And why should they.
Child predators are jailed for using the same grooming, enticing and manipulation techniques that this adult used to exploit this little girl.
Although the intent wasn’t to physically abuse this child – The law doesn’t specify that physical abuse has to occur in order to break the law.
Intent to lure a child sexually, intimately or explicitly is certainly enough.
A good looking boyfriend fits that mold. As it was an adults attempt to capture and control a child “getting information out of her and then suggesting that the world was better off without her”…
Manslaughter charges are upheld with looser terms many times.
The real injustice here is that the perp goes free .
That even a parking ticket registers a more serious offense than an adult child predator harassing a child to the point of suicide.
Sick, twisted, and certainly this is not justice
Until Grown people like these MORONS GROW UP children will never learn what it is to destroy another persons spirit! This is disgusting adult behavior!!!! May these folks never sleep another peaceful night in their pathetic lives!! Rest in peace Megan you were and are a much more beautiful young lady than anyone in that disgusting family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Story reached Italy, where I live. Damn, thoose parents must be sick: shock and hoax a teenage just to know what she was thinking or saying of their daughter…
dont they have a job? hobbies? bills to pay? garden to take care of? No. Seems they dont. Seems they have fun on MySpace like young ones. Hope at least they have a God to pray to and ask to die soon or the pain, i bet, will consume them for the rest of their lives.
This is such sad, sad story!!! What a cruel and corrupt sick prank, and from the mind of adults. To make it worst, to lure another teen into their prank, just to find out IF she is saying hurtful things about their daughter… Oh please!!! You sound more like a child yourself!!! if you are a grown-up, then…”GROW UP!!!” kids will disagree, argue and then forgive and be friends again… it’s a cycle of friendship… Sorry… Maybe you missed out someplace with that kind of cycle… did you not have friends??? did you not not have a good life??? oh but you chose to set up this young girl, to get her set up in a prank…using a boy…get her all happy and thinking she is in love… then you drop a bomb to hurt her. Ridicule her. Belittle her. That is such a hideous sick prank!!! to top it off…you have to hide and cover up your prank, so you don’t get found out… caught… yes, you act like you did nothing wrong, thinking you would no shame, no guilt…Come on!!! let the public see who these pranksters are really… why or whom are these pranksters hiding? I’m sure no one would want to pull a cruel prank on their precious little girl… All I can say… These adults are very sick… pathetic…
For the family of this young teen… I am so very, very sorry for your tragic loss. You will eventually find who your TRUE Friends are… Stay Strong!!! God is always very close, pray to him often, he will comfort you.
Enough Said…
honestly how could one even stoop to such a low, i mean granted i myself act like a kid sometimes but this is just insane, i would never go around pretending to be someone else to get information out of someone and be fake, thats ridiculous
i’ve seen my fair share of pranks, but this by far has got to be the sickest, most demeaning thing i have ever seen
i hope that family regrets what they have done for the rest of their lives
This is jus sick man, i mean how can someone do a thing like that to a 13 year old girl & knowing that she was 13 too. Reading this artical & finding out that it was adualts that was doing this made me sick. How the hell can they do this to them & then go to the funaral like they didn’t do anything. That is jus a bunch of BS. & my prayers go out to the family it’s a sad thing to lose someone that is so close to u like that.
My sympathy to the Meiers family. Today is this first time I have heard of this, I was going to sign on to my hotmail account then myspace and I say a video clip, so I watched it, it was on the today show. I don’t know why really that I watched the video, I never click on anything like that, but I’m glad I did. To the Meiers, my heart goes out to you, how someone deals with a tragety like this, I will never know, but I will remember what happened to your daughter, and I’m sure the world will to, I don’t pray often, I can’t remember the last time I did, but I will say a prayer for you. NOW for the family that was behind this murder, you are adults, what is lacking in your life that you have to destroy a 13 year old girls? Seriously, you said you did it to see if Megan was talking about your daughter? Are you the type of people that your daughter has to be perfect? So afraid that someone will talk bad on her? That is the teenage years, that’s what happens, obviously you found out that Megan was not talking shit on your daughter, so how does it feel to know that an innocent girl has died, not of her own hand, of your hand, how does that feel? She wouldn’t of killed herslef if you wouldn’t have cut her down and harrassed her, just to see if your daughter was being talked about! I don’t get that, everyone talks about people when they are in highschool, even middleschool, that’s what life is about, that’s what makes a person strong, strong enough to overcome people like you!!! Megan will never get that chance, you know why? Because she wasn’t being harrassed by other children, she was being harrassed by adults, Obviously a child can’t deal with that, if it were other 13 year olds doing that to her, she would have found a way to deal i’m sure, just like everyother teenager out there. Even though you have acted like children, your NOT, you are grown adults! Grown adults that wouldn’t stop til this innocent girl hung herself. I don’t know how you sleep at night, or look in the mirror, or even live your lives for that matter. But what I do know is God will have his justice, and thats called judgement day, everyone has to face it, and yours will come, if it’s by the law or God, you’ll have yours. The law should put your name out there so everyone will know what kind of family you are and what you have done, I look forward to the day that it happens. Not to your daughter, just to you, the adults that did this.
What a terrible thing to do to a young child. They are parents themselves, they should know better and have the decency to show compassion, especially to a girl who obviously and clinically depressed.. wouldn’t they want others to treat their own daughter with respect and love? How awful. I’m truly saddened and shocked to hear about this. I’m also amazed that no charges have been given to the parents who tormented Megan and drove her to commit suicide. When the people who did this to Megan pass on they will have to answer to god, so that’s at least comforting as far as justice prevailing. Clearly, it won’t here… I wish Megan had ignored them and cut off contacts with those people. She might have been alive today and one step closer to getting help that she needed. Crystal (above speaker) I agree with you %100.
God bless you, Megan. I’m truly sorry to hear of this. I send my condolences to Megan’s family and friends. You’re in my prayers. *Warm hug* sincerely, J~
What was said in all of these messages? I wish I’ve been searching the web for those comments. I cannot log into MySpace. I am doing an essay about this in school, and so far I take the side of the mother that made up the profile. If my son was accusing someone of bulling, I would do the same to find out more info. I wouldn’t try to get a crush, but I would try to befriend them to see what is going on. If there would be a slight chance of romantic feelings, I would have deleted the account right away. If Megan was bi polar, I don’t think that would have mattered. Also if Megan suffered from depression, the mother should have restricted MySpace from the young lady. If my son was punished from his play station I would take the power cord, and put the thing away. The mother knew about the MySpace relationship and didn’t do anything that I know of. I’m looking through all kinds of different news websites to find out what the mother did. I’ve seen comments that the mother restricted Megan but the comments are not creditable. If you’re reading my comment, and have a link to a creditable news site please post, I will check periodically till my paper is due.
Under Missouri Law, what the Drews did constitutes Second Degree Murder. Perhaps they should hire a prosecutor that passed the bar next time.
—————————————————-
Endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree, penalties.
568.045. 1. A person commits the crime of endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree if:
(1) The person knowingly acts in a manner that creates a substantial risk to the life, body, or health of a child less than seventeen years old; or
(2) The person knowingly engages in sexual conduct with a person under the age of seventeen years over whom the person is a parent, guardian, or otherwise charged with the care and custody;
(3) The person knowingly encourages, aids or causes a child less than seventeen years of age to engage in any conduct which violates the provisions of chapter 195, RSMo;
(4) Such person enlists the aid, either through payment or coercion, of a person less than seventeen years of age to unlawfully manufacture, compound, produce, prepare, sell, transport, test or analyze amphetamine or methamphetamine or any of their analogues, or to obtain any material used to manufacture, compound, produce, prepare, test or analyze amphetamine or methamphetamine or any of their analogues; or
(5) Such person, in the presence of a person less than seventeen years of age or in a residence where a person less than seventeen years of age resides, unlawfully manufactures, or attempts to manufacture compounds, produces, prepares, sells, transports, tests or analyzes amphetamine or methamphetamine or any of their analogues.
2. Endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree is a class C felony unless the offense is committed as part of a ritual or ceremony, or except on a second or subsequent offense, in which case the crime is a class B felony.
—————————————————-
565.021. 1. A person commits the crime of murder in the second degree if he:
(1) Knowingly causes the death of another person or, with the purpose of causing serious physical injury to another person, causes the death of another person; or
(2) Commits or attempts to commit any felony, and, in the perpetration or the attempted perpetration of such felony or in the flight from the perpetration or attempted perpetration of such felony, another person is killed as a result of the perpetration or attempted perpetration of such felony or immediate flight from the perpetration of such felony or attempted perpetration of such felony.
2. Murder in the second degree is a class A felony, and the punishment for second degree murder shall be in addition to the punishment for commission of a related felony or attempted felony, other than murder or manslaughter.
3. Notwithstanding section 556.046, RSMo, and section 565.025, in any charge of murder in the second degree, the jury shall be instructed on, or, in a jury-waived trial, the judge shall consider, any and all of the subdivisions in subsection 1 of this section which are supported by the evidence and requested by one of the parties or the court.
I give my condolences to Tina & Ron Meier. I am SO sorry for your loss of Megan. I can only imagine the pain you must be feeling from losing your daughter and then to find out it was friends who did this to her. I sat down and read the article to my 13 year old boy tonight. I am always telling him that he doesn’t know for sure who is on the other end of that line. He plays on line video games.
Since you haven’t been able to press charges against the Drew’s (yes, I am going to say their names Lori and Curt Drew. You have taken the high road so that you would not hurt their daughter) alerting the press that this had taken place was the best thing you could do.
I have also read that you two are planning to divorce. I know that you have both been through hell. Here is one thing that I pray for, I pray that you two realize that you have been there for each other. You have class, you have had love for each other and you BOTH LOVED AND NOW HURT because of your loss. Lean on each other. Don’t let Lori ruin your marriage as well. Megan would have been horribly upset to see her parents seperate. Please get back together, do this good together and help change the laws about internet harrassment. Then move if you have to, but together. Seek to help out another child with foster care. Do this together. Do it for Megan.
Keep up the way you did live life before this. I know that both of your trust factors have been messed up. I do believe the Lori Drews are few and far between.
Lori Drew….you belong in prison. Tina has taken the high road. I would have been digging your grave by now. You’re daughter needs a foster family who can teach her right from wrong because you have absolutely no idea. You are a stupid heartless mindless bitch Lori Drew. I think YOU are the one who should be going through a divorce, moving and getting to visit your daughter…NEVER while she is raised by someone with a heart so she doesn’t turn out LIKE YOU.
What was done to Megan was already a federal felony under 47 USC 223.
Excerpt: “Whoever…utilizes any device or software that can be used to originate telecommunications or other types of communications that are transmitted, in whole or in part, by the Internet… without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person…who receives the communications…shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”
Why on Earth was this not prosecuted a year ago?
Can you imagine the nerve of the Drews to prosecute over a fusz ball table but not expect to be held accountable for their SIX WEEK long torment of this girl? At some point in 6 weeks, wouldn’t a reasonable soul come to their senses?
Nice find damicatz and P. Says. I’ll be working on getting these laws listed in my forum.
P. if you can get the outline of the statue…I’ll be happy to post it. Just click on my name and post it please.
Can you even imagine filing charges against parents who have just lost their child to suicide? That one fact, in and of itself proves that they have no guilt or remorse for the part they played in Megan’s suicide. If my neighbor had just lost their daughter to suicide and I had not been involved in any way at all..I still wouldn’t file charges against them over destroying something that they were storing for me let alone file charges knowing that I did play a part! What kind of sickos are these people! It seems to me like baiting the daughter in and encouraging her to commit suicide wasn’t enough for them…they decided to bait Megan’s parents in after her death as well by befriending them and allowing them to comfort and take comfort in their own daughter. What were they planning to do? Wait until they felt Megan’s parents considered them to be close friends and then reveal the hoax so that the parents not only would have lost their daughter but lost people who they considered to be close friends too? These people sound like they are running a school for the future sociopaths of America. I truly hope that somehow they can piece their lives back together and salvage their marriage.
I hate the fact that the family behind the hoax will get the satisfaction of knowing that they destroyed a marriage as well as Megan. I also feel extreme sadness for the teenage daughter of the mother behind the hoax since she was obviously not raised with morals or taught anything about compassion for others. Hopefully, someday she will realize the terrible thing her mother has done and allowed her to do and channel her life in a positive direction maybe even reaching out to others and sharing her life story so that others will have the courage to stand up for what is right and make good choices even if they lack good role models in their lives.
Most of all I pray that Megan’s family will eventually find a way to deal with the anger that rightfully consumes them. I can only imagine how near impossible it must be to feel such rage and have no way to channel it. It can drive a person insane. As parents, everything we do is done with the best of intentions and it is easy to look back and second guess ourselves. I hope that Megan’s parents can find comfort in the fact that their intentions were good and Megan obviously felt a deep connection with her parents and knew that she was loved. After all, if she didn’t feel safe and loved by them she would never have discussed the problem or the boy she thought was her friend with them in the first place. Megan’s mom was not angry at her for disobeying her by not getting off of myspace because Megan didn’t get off of myspace…she was scared for her daughter and angry that her daughter had been so hurt by the cruel comments all of which could have been avoided if Megan had logged off as her mother repeatedly told her to do. She was also upset that Megan had allowed herself to be reduced to responding in anger to the comments being made about her and she was trying to teach Megan that two wrongs do not make a right which is what the nutball mother of the other girl should have been teaching her own daughter and then this whole situation would not even exist!
For those of you who feel powerless against this injustice, please read. You are not powerless.. Public pressure CAN result in the proper handling of this case as it has many times before.
Example:
About a month ago, a child nearly drowned in the family swimming pool. The child was pulled inside the house to try to recessitate the child.
A cop who showed up after paramedics arrived, ran into the house and slipped on the wet floor. A floor wet, because the child was soaking wet.
After the cop received full pay for her workman’s comp claim…and after all of the cops medical bills were paid….this cop proceeded to sue the family of the boy who is now a vegitable.
Public outrage and anger lead to the cop’s suspension from the force…and the cop was finally forced to repeal her case.
Story Here:
http://www.care2.com/news/member/287909686/506421
Had this story been covered up and hidden, this cop would have gone forward and sued this grieving family while their child was still in intensive care.
See… you do have a voice… public pressure can give a victim a small amount of justice.
Megan Meier deserves at least a little justice in all this – not just some new law named after her.
If you feel the adult child predator in this case should bear some kind of responsibility to her part in this, then make sure your voice is heard.
Ms Drew could set this up on your child next…
Even if you watch your child like a hawk….remember the following.
Your child’s friends have computers.
Your child’s school has computers…
Libraries have computers…
If your child desperately desires to get to a computer, they will find one eventually…
And Ms. Drew, and others like her are waiting.
Justice deserves to prevail here…and so far it has NOT!
The news already spread to China? I’m a chinese student and i saw lots of forum outrage about this, how come this things can happen?
Those predators should really be prosecuted, not only because of they CAUSE a child’s DEATH, also we can clearly see that do it by PURPOSELY!
CHATTING is NOT LIKE talking in real world, you can make a slip when talking in real world which cause misunderstanding BUT NOT IN NETWORK! Those predator PURPOSELY go on to HURT the CHILD even THE MONITOR SCREEN keep WARN THEM by SHOWING THEIR PREVIOUS MESSAGE!!! HOW COME they can be FREE from GUILTY!! Are THE WORLD INSANE?!
The mom who created the “Josh Evans” account does not even sound like she is remoseful or sorry. How terrible that this woman is someones mother, she is going to raise her daughter to be the heartless and cruel. It sounds like the parents of Megan were aware and attentive parents. Even the best parents are not watching their children 24/7. To even imply Megans parents are at fault is disgusting! Being 13 is hard obviously whether you are beautiful or not. There are so many emotions and feeling that go on at that age, that everyone expierences. This is tragic & sad and I trult hope there is justice. This was a case of an online predator and the fact that the “Josh Evans” mother shows no remose, and feels innocents just proves her mission was complete. HOw terrible
While I believe the “Josh Evans” mother was not only acting herself like a child she is to blame for the girls sadness over this event but I do feel Megans parents are at some fault for this incident. I don’t care what anyone else agree’s to or says lets look at the facts. Obviously Megan has been dealing with depression for some time so this only added to her already existing mental state but it didn’t 100% cause it. Her mother made the myspace account for her but she obviously didn’t take into consideration her age or the fact that people on the internet do lie, bully, and do horrible things because it is just the “internet”. Then her mother let her add a 16 year old boy as a friend when she is not even 14 years old just because he thought she was “cute”. I have a pre-teen daughter and at 13 (which is only a few months away) I can promise you there would be no agreeing to let her talk with, date, see, or anything with a boy that is 16 years old. At that age 3 years is a huge difference! When you set up a myspace account you can decide how secure you want the account, and you can approve or disapprove any comments. Once her mom saw that there were negative bulletins about Megan she should have deleted the account right then before she left instead of talking to her on the phone telling her not to look at it. Lets be realistic…..no teen is going to listen to a parent over the phone when something of that nature is going on. Think about it……even if this boy had been real, let’s say he he did really like her – they go out a few times and maybe even engage in a sexual nature with each other what would have happened after that? He wouldn’t have married her, he would have been a 16 year old boy out for (usually) 1 thing and once he got it this could have happened anyway. My daughter has a myspace and it is controlled: I check her bulletins, we control the comments that can go through to her page, we control her friends and anyone she doesn’t go to school with isn’t allowed on her friends list, if a situtation ever occurs her account will be gone…..simple as that! I’m not saying that the parents are at fault for her death but they did contribute to what happened. I feel bad for anyone who loses a child especially in that manner but everyone knows how myspace works and blogging works and parents have to take responsibility. Like the parents who let their kids watch wrestling and violent events then try to blame it on television when they act on what they watched. If you make the excuse for your child then they will milk it…….my kids watch things like that but they know that is television and this is real life, those actions cannot be repeated and its “okay” because it was on tv. Wake up parents and stop blaming everything the kids see, do, or hear when YOU are supposed to control it especially if you are helping them or doing it for them/with them and protect your children while you can!
My sincere condolences to Megan’s family.
I was truly shocked when I read Megan’s story. What type of person does it take to do what Lori Drew did and pretend to be friends with the family? And then file a lawsuit over a foosball table? Come on Lori, a foosball table can be replaced; but Megan can’t be.
As for Leeanna’s comment that Megan’s parents had “some fault”, please explain. Is it because they let their daughter become friends with a psycho family in the first place? Is it because they didn’t “helicopter” over their daughter like Lori? Could it be that Lori’s daughter is the one with the issues since she obviously couldn’t handle losing Megan as a friend? It’s quite possible that Lori was just reliving her own teenage years through her daughter. I wonder how many friends Lori’s daughter has now. And I wonder if Lori worries about what is being said behind their backs now?
Our society has enough bullies, so grow up Lori. Oh, and get some psychological help soon!
I do hope that Lori Drew is punished somehow for what she did. If the law doesn’t do it, becoming a social outcast may have to do the trick.
Perhaps, Jim is Josh…. I think the guilty parents that created Josh should be charged with 1st degree murder! After all, they planned, executed and destroyed a life. And to say she was suicidal. You think the Josh parents knew how vulnerable a 13 year old girl is… Hell, they had one of their own. In a time when its O.K. to flush your aborted child down a drain at 8 months, kill your wife O.J. and get a way with it. I think if their is any Justice in Missouri they should belly up to the table and quite sucking their law books on political opinion. I just wish I lived at the other end of the state and could be on that jury “jim”.
We are currently organizing a protest on Lori Drew’s street. It will be an entirely peaceful protest. We encourage everyone to bring banners, candles, etc. We will also be collecting donations for the Meier family to cover fines and other expenses they have paid over the last year for acts of “vandalism.”
The protest will be this Saturday, November the 24th (One year after the discovery that “Josh” was actually a fake myspace account) near the Drew household (Dardenne Prairie, Mo 63368) We are planning on noon, but I will keep you posted.
This is the best we can do at the moment, and the closest thing to justice we can get. I encourage all of you, if you think this is wrong, if you want to do SOMETHING, please come.
Lauren, Friend. Wish I could join you. Good luck and thank you
I think a peaceful protest is absolutely the correct thing to do. Read the police report at smokinggun.com, read the news articles, listen to the parents media interviews, for gosh sakes read the blog and websites devoted to Megan. (There are 100′s of them) What transpired in this event is appalling. This by all means is not a typical situation. People from all over the world are shocked. One thing I am quickly learning is that nothing legally will be done without public pressure. I think a peaceful protest as Justice for Megan is a wonderful idea. Let’s keep this story alive. God Bless Lauren for her efforts.
This is Megan’s mom, Tina Meier, and I wanted to update everyone on the details for the candlelight vigil for Saturday, November 24, 2007.
*We are meeting at 6:00 p.m. at the Fort Zumwalt West Middle school parking lot.
*Please bring a candle, cup to hold the candle and something to light the candle. (If you cut a small X in the bottom of the cup, you can slide the candle through it and then you won’t have wax dripping on you)
*We will then light the candle’s shortly after 6:00 p.m. and start walking from the school down Waterford crystal drive towards Megan’s house and end up in front of the Drew’s house.
*There is a common ground area across the street and we will have pa system and microphone. if anyone would like to speak, read a poem, etc., they are more than welcome.
*This wonderful idea came from students who wanted to see justice for Megan and for that we are so happy. Nothing we can do will bring Megan back, but we can all learn from Megan and take a part of her with us everyday for the rest of our lives to try to be a better person and think about things we say to people before we say them!
*****Remember this is a peaceful candlelight vigil******
We hope to see everyone there!
On Wednesday, October 21st, city officials enacted an ordinance designed to address the public outcry for justice in the Megan Meier tragedy. The six member Board of Aldermen made Internet harassment a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $500 fine and 90 days in jail.
Does this new law provide any justice for Megan? Does this law provide equitable relief for a future victim or actually weaken the current law?
I reject the premise of this new law and believes it completely misses the mark. The reasoning behind this opinion is that city officials have consistently treated this case as an Internet harassment case instead of a child welfare/exploitation case.
Classifying this case a harassment issue completely fails to address the most serious aspects of the methods Lori Drew employed to lead this youth to her demise. The Vice disagrees that harassment was even a factor in this case until just a couple of days before Megan’s death.
Considering this case a harassment issue is incorrect because during the 5 weeks Lori Drew baited and groomed her victim, the attention was NOT unwanted attention. It was not harassment at all. It was invited attention. Megan participated in the conversations willingly because she was lured, manipulated and exploited without her knowledge.
This law willfully sets a precedent that future child exploiters and predators can use to reclassify their cases to harassment issues. In effect, the law enacted to give Megan justice, may make her even more vulnerable. So long as the child victim doesn’t tell the predator to stop, even a harassment charge may not stick with the right circumstances and a good defender.
Every aspect of this case follows the same procedural requirement used to convict a Child Predator. A child was manipulated by an adult. A child was engaged in sexually explicit conversation (as acknowledged by Lori Drew herself). An adult imposed her will on a child by misleading her, using a profile designed to sexually or intimately attract the 13 year old Megan.
Lori then utilized the power she had gained over this child to cause significant distress and endangerment to that child. She even stipulated to many of these activities in the police report she filed shortly after Megan’s death.
We can go on and on here, but the parallels between this case and many other child predator cases that are successfully prosecuted bear striking similarities.
Child Predator laws do not require much more than simply proving that an adult has engaged a minor in sexually explicit conversation. Lori Drew has already stipulated that her conversations with Megan were sometimes sexual for a child Megan’s age.
City officials who continue to ignore this viable, documented admission and continue to address this issue as harassment are intentionally burying their heads in the sand, when the solution is staring them right in the face. Why?
On June 5th, 2006, Governor Matt Blunt signed into law stiff penalties for convicted sex offenders. The Vice believes that officials continually reject a child predator classification of this case in order to keep the penalty of this offense out of this harsher realm.
Opponents of this law are active in defeating this law not by changing it, but by disqualifying cases like Megan’s from ever being heard.
There are several other child exploitation laws on the books. To date, none of them have even been considered by City, State and Federal officials in this case. I’m outraged that a motion was never even filed, so that the case could at least be argued before a judge or jury.
Those satisfied with this response out of Missouri officials need to think through the effect this law will truly have. It quite honestly has the potential to directly undermine Jessica’s law. It quiet easily gives prosecutors a way out of prosecuting child endangerment and child predator cases in the future.
Beware the wolf in sheep’s clothing here.
Danny Vice
http://weeklyvice.blogspot.com
I totally agree with what everyone is saying here, but after the other family is ran out of town and the law is made. What happens then? The pain is still there! I pray that this will help close a door and open another leading to healing for all.
God Bless the Meier’s
There is a special place in hell for people who are like the Drews. I just read this story and am spreading it around to as many people as I can.
The Meiers family is in my thoughts and prayers.
There are no words.
This is a very sad case indeed, but Here are the words….
Where the hell were the Meiers in all of this? With all that we know about online predators, with the daily stories about the subject, with all the stories about it on TV, with the knowledge that their daughter was mentally unstable, where the hell were the parents? Oh yeah, walking out the door telling her to get off the computer.
The Drew mother is pure white trash, but are the Meiers any better? It seems to me that they try to run away from all responsibility and spread the blame to everyone else. In fact they are responsible for teaching Megan that it is better to run than to face problems…simply by the fact that the kid was moved to another school due to some teasing and typical middle school pranks.
The internet hoax was pure trailer park news, but the Meiers..though not deserving of such misery… share an equal stake in the blame for their daughter’s demise and death.
I heard about this tragedy on the Today Show a couple of weeks ago. First, Lori Drew, in engaging in sexually explicit on-line conversation with a 13-year old, committed a sexual offense. Her husband, in knowing about and allowing this to happen, abetted Lori’s actions. Second, Missouri has a law on the books regarding sex offenders. Even though the Drews didn’t physically carry out a sexual act on Megan’s person, they committed a sexual offense. That is punishable under Missouri’s state laws. Put one and two together = three: Lori and Jim Drew are sex offenders and should be prosecuted as such. They should also be required by court order to register as sex offenders in compliance with the laws of Missouri.
The Drews said they knew that Megan suffered from depression and still they harassed her, then completely tore into her by telling her the world would be a better place without her. Sounds like they really cared, didn’t it? Closer to the truth would be this: they didn’t give a damn about Megan. In a nutshell, they premeditated her murder (she hung herself after they said what they did). They then go to her funeral? And ask her grieving parents to hide the Foosball table at their house so their own kids won’t see it until Christmas morning? And they are having the Meiers prosecuted for the destruction of that table, and filing a civil suit, even though the Meiers will never get to see their daughter again? Get a freakin’ life! Your priorities are way out of order, and I really fear for the morals of your own children, given how you are acting. (Lori and Jim, you knew just how culpable — know what that means? — you would be if your role in the whole mess came to light, so you told the girl in your carpool not to say anything.) Smells completely guilty to me.
I still worry about my own two, even though one is fully grown and the other is going to be 18 in less than a year; the worrying never stops.
Thank God our own experience wasn’t nearly as horrible as that of the Meiers. My children have been involved in a community group for the past several years. The parents of one of the past members wanted so badly for their child to be the main focus of this group that they flat out said what they wanted. When they were refused, they sulked and pouted and began to try to tear the parent steering group apart. The father was the president of the group and was voted out of his office. After this, he sent a letter to the agency helping our group with funding, saying that the board members were misusing the money. He did more than that — he involved two parents of the group, getting them to sign his letter. The agency conducted an audit and the accounting was found to be completely honest. These two parents are still at it. Two years ago, when their child and mine were participating in a large function, they tried to get my own child out of the function like so: they saw me looking for our group’s director and told me he was outside the building looking for us. Wrong! Turns out the director was waiting for us upstairs so he could give my child her materials. Put it this way: I know what lowlifes they are and ignore their presence when we are at events at the same time. Still, I don’t let my guard down for an instant because I know they don’t have my child’s best interests at heart at all.
Tina Meier tried not to hover over Megan. However, she should have shut down the MySpace account when she found out about a “cute boy” expressing an interest in her child. Red Flag time. I’m sure she and her husband are going to experience regret, remorse and guilt for the rest of their lives for not taking the account offline. Which brings me back to this: Lori and Jim Drew have become sex offenders/murderers for what they did. While the Meiers will grieve and have regrets for not acting more strongly sooner, the burden of guilt lies more heavily on the Drews.
May God bless you, Megan. Mr. and Mrs. Meier, you are in my prayers, and thank you for stepping forward. Mr. and Mrs. Drew — what goes around, comes around. Hell has a special spot reserved for the two of you.
This is a truly sad story. I will keep the Meier’s family in my prayer.
I would raise the question however, where were Megan’s parents during her “relationship” with her online boyfriend? I have a sister the same age and she is not allowed to log on to myspace due to the fact that there are so many predators online. Considering the fact that Megan was suicidal and on medication perhaps more monitoring by her parents was necessary. Then her parents would have known what was going on with her before the situation escalated like this. Although as parents, we can’t monitor everything our children do, we can’t blame everyone else when something bad happens to them when we allow them to become involved in dangerous situations.
The people who did this should be prosecuted under exsisting child endangerment laws.
This is a horrible story. I don’t understand what kind of sick adult would do this to a kid. Being a teenager is extremely difficult for some people. I can relate because I suffered from depression in my teens. I think the women that did this is sick and should be locked away. She was just getting started in her life. This is so tragic. My thoughts go out to the family and friends. I really wish someone could have stopped this before it ended like this.
Lori Drew certainly seems like someone who never left high school emotionally or mentally.
The questions surrounding the Megan Meier Suicide/Internet harassment story are numerous. What should happen to the Drews? What will the prosecutors do? Will the Drews actually continue with their law suite against the Meier family?
The most debated question however is not whether or not some sort of punishment should be metered out. The pressing question is whether or not the adult who is responsible for this deadly hoax should have been reveal to the public.
The original story, published close to a year ago concealed the name of the adult bully behind the fake MySpace account that convinced Megan to take her own life. Even now, I have yet to find a major news outlet that’s been willing to reveal Ms. Drew’s identity to the public at large. It was the Blogging community that decided to unmask this modern day villain. Here’s why I think they were right to do so.
My Sharp Opinion
As details about Lori Drew’s 6 week cyber-voyeur techniques emerged, the more I am convinced that outing this kind of behavior is not only right, but essential. Essential? Why?
It is becoming clearer and clearer that Lori Drew employed many of the same grooming techniques that child predators utilize to charm their way into gaining a child’s trust. Even Lori herself reported to police that she created the MySpace account in order to find out what Megan was saying.
The most significant key here is that Lori Drew spent approximately 6 full weeks baiting Megan into this trust by posing as a “cute” boy that Megan would be attracted to. Right there, Drew utilizes the sexual stimulation that exists in male/female pair bonding in order to manipulate the 13 year old girl.
Outing Child Predators has been public policy in most states and is usually upheld under the premise that the public has a right to reasonably protect itself from criminal behavior where it exists. Families with children have a right to know when those who might prey upon their child, live nearby. Public policy dictates that if a child is exposed to potential harm from predatory activity, then parents should at least have the opportunity to be aware such harm may exist.
It is the predatory nature of this case that bears striking resemblance to the public policy. The only difference in this case is that the alleged perpetrator of this heinous act has not been charged or convicted.
Thus far, details in the case have been heavily supported by Lori Drew’s own admissions, police records and interviews. The amount of speculation in this case has been minimal, and the majority of public outrage has largely focused on the facts presented.
The Missouri Public Records Act of 1961 were devised partially to inform the public of persons, events, proceedings and reports that may effect the public directly. These records (such as the charges Lori Drew filed against the Meier family), were the principal documents used to tie Lori Drew to her abhorrent acts. By filing this police report, Lori in effect put herself into the spot light. The Blogging community simply connected the dots and reported the results.
i agree with everybody and i think that those peoples was wack in tormenting this poor little gurl. i had a friend who also killt herself by hanging herself because she was depressed and it is a horrible thang to go through so my love goes out to that gurls family…..i feel yo pain
legaleaglemom68
Personally, I feel that charges should have been filed against this parent.
First, As a result of another Parents bad judgment an innocent child committed suicide. If we examined the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) Rules and Regulations, I am sure we would find some type of violation on behalf of this parent who literally caused this child to take her own life.
Second, in my opinion this parent is no different from any other Internet predator who surfs the Internet looking for children to exploit.
Apparently, it was her intent to hurt this child because of what she heard from another party involved. This is merely a case of a typical he say, she say, child’s quarrel. There was no physical contact (fighting) or any weapons displayed for any parents to become involved.
“Ultimately, this parent has no life of her own!”
Again, only an Internet predator would target a child on-line.
This parent needs to be held accountable for her actions. Now, let’s flip the script? “If this happened to her daughter, she would want the other child’s parents to face criminal charges!” “Absolutely!”
In my opinion, this case is not far from over.
If I were Megan’s parents, I would start a petition on Megan’s behalf and try to have the case heard in another jurisdiction such as, St. Louis county Circuit court or file an appeal with the Missouri court of appeals.
If we allow this Parent to get away with this on-line crime, then it is only a matter of time before a physical crime is committed against another child.
For Megan’s Parents: Keep fighting for your daughter’s memory. Despite how others feel this public awareness can save hundreds or even thousands of other teens globally. “Let’s keep Megan’s memory alive!”
I want to say that there is something seriously wrong with the laws in Missouri. I live in Florida, and we had an incident here in my son’s school about 6 years ago, when he was in 6th grade. There were two boys e-mailing hate mail to my son and other boy. The parents (I and the mother of the other child) took those e-mails to the school. The two boys who sent the e-mails were suspended for one week and had to do community service within the school when they returned. The entire school received letters from the principal on cyberspace bullying, how it is not tolerated in that school, and the consequences.
This event involved 6th grade boys. It was treated tastefully and immediately. I feel that if a serious consequence happened from it, such as my son or the other boy harming themselves, G-d forbid, there would have been even greater punishments.
There is no difference between bullying and creating a tragedy (death or injury) caused by the bully and creating a tragedy (death or injury) in any other way. There has to be a connection. This tragedy is a direct result of the conversations, and bullying, Megan experienced in cyberspace. These people are murderers. They have to be tried and convicted as such.
Whether the ‘friend’ involved someone real or made up is irrelevant. The actions of Lori Drew and her employees caused a death. The actual vehicle they used (a made up ‘friend’ in cyberspace) is equally irrelevant. Their actions caused someone else’s death. Call it drunk driving. Even though they didn’t know it would happen, it did. That’s what people who drive drunk or high say when they mow someone down under the influence. People who don’t see how bullying harms are the equivalent of people driving drunk. Even though they can use the excuse that they weren’t fully aware of their carelessness, tragedy occurred nonetheless. We need to hold them responsible for their bullying. We need to pass national laws that bullying harms, and kills. And that bullies need to be punished.
I personally think Megan’s parents should press additional charges. Someone should help them get justice. These people are getting away with murder. There should be some sort of justice and closure in this. Otherwise, this sort of thing could happen again. Everyone’s child is volnerable to cyberspace bullying if this sort of thing is not stopped.
Who in the world goes that far just to get a little piece of information? I really have to say that cyberbullying- no MYSPACE should be shut down. My friend wants to commit suicide because of Myspace, and Facebook.(There are more than 7,000 sex offenders registered on myspace) No family or person has the right to make an account just to see if their daughter is being talked about, and this was an adult, who obviously was mentally or emotionally sick. Someone really needs to step up soon and do something. (The story im sharing is actually true) Right now I have an old friend (who is going to remain unnamed), who must be sick or something because she is trying to get me and some of my friends to get upset to kill ourselves. She has 201 accounts on random websites.And, my mom is trying to find what she said on my computer to me last month, and put it on a police record: “Why dont you just f**** kill your self. everyone hates you. shut up. dont talk. Why not just cut your mouth of or something with your mom’s food network knife?” I mean cmon guys! This is disgusting behavior! The Drew family deserves the hate. They deserve to be hated, they should have gone to a guidance meeting in school or something. But myspace was their destination. I guess myspace is partly hell.
************The Meier family is in my prayers and thoughts*************
and parents, watch your children! Google their name, and talk to them as much as you can. In fact, my parents have every password i have to any account.
It helps- alot!
While the Megan Meier case seems outrageous and unique, it isn’t. Hundreds of cases of egregious and heinous acts go on every day with the same excuses out of our lawmakers.
One such other case….The case of Nikki Catsouras, is a classic example of disgusting, hateful activity against innocent victims, while our lawmakers excuse themselves from enacting laws to prevent this.
The excuse lawmakers use to let themselves off the hook stem from the growth of the Internet and how fast it’s changing. This is a sham.
Chat rooms, message boards, instant messengers and email have been in existence for far over a decade now. While the software used to transmit messages changes slightly, the basic essence of using the Internet to send a message is largely the same. Is a decade or two long enough to establish some basic decency laws in regards to Internet usage?
I’ve posted the Nikki Catsouras story along with many details about the Megan Meier case so the inactivity out of our lawmakers towards these types of cases can be clearly seen.
Those who are interested in learning about cases like Megan’s and Nikki’s case are encouraged to drop by and comment on them. I have a couple of polls set up as well. Danny Vice would like to hear your point of view.
Public awareness of the problem and discussions about possible solutions are the best way to pressure elected officials into action instead of excuse making.
I invite you to come by and share your opinion.
Danny Vice
http://weeklyvice.blogspot.com
That mother makes me completley sick!
my space can be vicious and i will admit that i have seen it happen plus my sister had committed suicide so i know it kills on the inside
If a 13 year old commits suicide after an hateful e-mail from a 3 week online boyfriend. Then she would have done it after her hamster or goldfish death or any stupid reason.
Ok I’m not trying to be mean but if the girl killed herself because of some mean hateful letter then there was something wrong with her before she killed herself… I mean I am depressed alot and I have thought of suicide but I got Help. This girl has prob. been suffering from depression for a long time to take her live its her parents falt for not taking notice of her changes. You dont just kill yourself because of a few words.
Have anyone here tried feeding their goldfish with live foods? What live foods have you tried for your pet?
thats so true she needed someone to talk to and her perents should of backed her up and talked to her and try to solve the problem
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