FILE - In this Aug. 24, 2015 file photo, Michelle Carter listens to defense attorney Joseph P. Cataldo argue for an involuntary manslaughter charge against her to be dismissed at Juvenile Court in New Bedford, Mass. Carter is charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly pressuring Conrad Roy III, 18, of Fairhaven, Mass., to commit suicide on July 13, 2014. Judge Lawrence Moniz is deliberating Carter's fate following a jury-waived trial that provided a disturbing look at teen depression and suicide. It is not clear when the judge will issue his verdict. (Peter Pereira/The New Bedford Standard Times via AP, Pool, File)
The Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) - A juvenile court judge finds himself at the center of a legal quagmire in a case that provides a disturbing look at teen depression and suicide.
Judge Lawrence Moniz is deliberating the fate of Michelle Carter. The Massachusetts woman is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the 2014 suicide of her boyfriend, Carter Roy III.
Prosecutors allege that Carter caused Roy's death by relentlessly badgering him with text messages urging him to kill himself.
Carter's lawyers say Roy had made up his mind to take his own life and Carter did not cause his death.
The case is being closely watched in the legal community. If the judge convicts Carter of manslaughter, it could set a legal precedent in Massachusetts. The state does not have a law against encouraging someone to kill themselves.
FILE - In this Aug. 24, 2015 file photo, Michelle Carter listens to defense attorney Joseph P. Cataldo argue for an involuntary manslaughter charge against her to be dismissed at Juvenile Court in New Bedford, Mass. Carter is charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly pressuring Conrad Roy III, 18, of Fairhaven, Mass., to commit suicide on July 13, 2014. Judge Lawrence Moniz is deliberating Carter's fate following a jury-waived trial that provided a disturbing look at teen depression and suicide. It is not clear when the judge will issue his verdict. (Peter Pereira/The New Bedford Standard Times via AP, Pool, File)
The Associated Press