Trial starts in 'cyberbully' suicide

Published: Nov. 18, 2008 at 5:49 PM

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The trial of a Missouri woman who allegedly "cyberbullied" her teenage neighbor into suicide began Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Lori Drew, formerly of Dardenne Prairie, faces charges of illegally accessing a protected computer by creating a fake Internet admirer for 13-year-old neighbor Megan Meier, who hanged herself in 2006 after Drew taunted her on her MySpace page through the fictitious boy she had created.

Federal prosecutors charged Drew in California because it is the location of the MySpace servers that were accessed. Prosecutors allege Drew was aware she was breaking the rule MySpace established for use of its computers.

The St. Louis-Post Dispatch said Tuesday while Drew has been publicly vilified for allegedly picking on her daughter's former friend, pretrial wrangling has resulted in the possibility of Drew being found guilty of only a misdemeanor count of improperly accessing a protected computer.

Jury selection got under way Tuesday. The Post-Dispatch said the entire trial could wrap up by the end of the week.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
NBA: Boston 107, New York 105 (OT) (43 min)
Florida stays atop the BCS poll (45 min)
NFL: New York Giants 34, Atlanta 31 (OT) (47 min)
NFL: New Orleans 38, Tampa Bay 7 (52 min)
UPI Sports Calendar for Monday, Nov. 23
NFL: Kansas City 27, Pittsburgh 24 (OT)
NFL: Dallas 7, Washington 6
fark
Congratulations to the unnamed motorist who received Virginia's first $1,000 traffic ticket for...
If you are in Salinas, CA on Tuesday night and find yourself at a DUI checkpoint, you will either...
Next on the docket: Case No. 1950cv05050: Mouse vs. Duck for trademark infringement. Bonus: The...
The coolest Human-Powered Road-Going Viking Boat you'll see today
Kid with terminal cancer is close to death and doesn't want to burden his family with restoring...
Georgia's Supreme Court made it legal for 16-year-olds to fark their teachers last year, but wouldn't...