Mom cleared on MySpace suicide felonies

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles jury convicted a Missouri woman on misdemeanor charges stemming from a MySpace hoax that allegedly drove a teenage girl to suicide.

Lori Drew was found guilty Wednesday on charges of illegally accessing a computer, but the federal court jury acquitted her on felony computer hacking charges and couldn't reach a verdict on a felony conspiracy charge, KNBC-TV, Los Angeles, reported.

The judge in case has yet to rule on a defense motion to dismiss the misdemeanor counts due to a lack of evidence.

Drew was indicted after it was revealed that she had been behind the fictitious suitor who first wooed and then jilted 13-year-old Megan Meier over the Internet in 2006. The girl, a former friend of Drew's daughter, killed herself a short time later.

Missouri authorities were unable to find a crime to charge Drew with amid the public uproar. Federal authorities in Los Angeles eventually brought charges of breach of contract and conspiracy based on the fact MySpace maintains its servers in Southern California.