This is a complex story that is based upon a hoax and apparently caused a 13-year-old to commit suicide. A woman linked to an online hoax played on a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide and has been vilified for it may be the subject of a deception – someone on the Internet is posing as her and blogging about the case. Lori Drew’s attorney said Friday that she is not the writer. The St. Charles County sheriff’s department is investigating who is behind the blog postings on Blogger.com to see if a crime has been committed, a spokesman said. The family believes the postings are an effort to damage its reputation following the death of the Megan Meier.
”An Internet message that purports to be a member of the Drew family is being managed by an imposter and undoubtedly is being done for the purpose of further damaging the Drews’ reputation,” the family said in a statement.
A blog entitled “Megan Had It Coming” surfaced more than two weeks ago. Earlier this week, the person writing the blog claimed the messages were being written by Lori Drew. …
A Google spokesman said the company is currently reviewing the impersonation allegation. …
When messages from the fictional boy and others on the Internet turned cruel, including one stating the world would be better off without her, Megan hanged herself in October 2006. Details of the case emerged last month, and the story drew international attention. Since then, the Drews have been besieged with negative publicity, and Meier’s death prompted her hometown of Dardenne Prairie to adopt a law engaging in Internet harassment a misdemeanor. … The prosecutor said Internet harassment and stalking are crimes in Missouri under state law, but noted the sheriff’s department is still investigating if a crime has been committed.
The town where an Internet hoax apparently led to a teenage girl’s suicide unanimously voted to make online harassment a crime today, according to The Associate Press.
The vote makes Internet harassment a misdemeanor and punishable by up to a $500 fine and 90 days in jail, according to the report.
The ruling is a result of an incident that occurred last year, where 13-year-old Megan Meier hanged herself inside her parents’ home in Dardenne Prairie, Ill. The apparent cause of her suicide, her parents have said, was the sudden decline of her online relationship with a 16-year-old boy they thought was named Josh Evans. But, soon after their daughter’s death, Tina and Ron Meier discovered that there was no Josh Evans. They say the boy who pretended to be Megan’s friend and then sent her nasty messages was the creation of an adult neighbor who still lives down the street from Ron Meier. Though police and prosecutors have investigated, a year later, no criminal charges have been filed against the woman who allegedly created the online profile, and it’s unclear whether any will be brought. …
Lighthouse Journal 