The Megan Meier suicide controversy concerns the suicide of Megan Meier (6 November 1992 – 17 October 2006), who was an American teenager from Dardenne Prairie, Missouri.

Meier's suicide has been attributed to cyber-bullying through an account on the social networking website Myspace. The account, purportedly belonging to a 16-year old boy named "Josh Evans", was created and monitored by the mother of a friend of Meier's,^[1] whom a police report identified as Lori Janine Drew.^[2][3][4] The case has caused several jurisdictions to consider legislation prohibiting harassment over the internet.^[5]

Background

Meier participated in several activities, including swimming, boating, and fishing. She had been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and depression, and considered herself overweight.^[1] She was described as being a "bubbly, goofy" girl who enjoyed spending time with her friends and parents.^[6]

Meier had attended Fort Zumwalt West Middle School,^[7] in O'Fallon,^[8] for grade seven, and Immaculate Conception School,^[7] in Dardenne Prairie, for grade eight.

The Drew and former Meier residences are located in the City of Dardenne Prairie,^[9] and the house addresses are rendered as Dardenne Prairie addresses in some instances and O'Fallon addresses in some instances.^[10]

Death

Soon after opening an account on Myspace, Meier received a message from a boy named "Josh Evans". "Evans" said he was 16 years old and Meier thought he was attractive.^[11] Meier began to exchange messages with Evans, and was described by family as having had her "spirits lifted".^[1] He said that he had just moved to the nearby city of O'Fallon, was home schooled, and did not yet have a phone number.^[6] On October 16, 2006, the tone of his messages changed, ending with a message that, according to Ronald "Ron" Meier (Meier's father) and a neighbor who had discussed the hoax with Lori Drew, ended, "The world would be a better place without you."^[1][12] Meier was found twenty minutes later, hanging by the neck in a closet. Despite attempts to revive her,^[13] she was pronounced dead the following day.^[1]

Six weeks after her death, Megan Meier's parents were informed that the mother of one of their daughter's friends - with whom Megan had had a falling out - had created the "Josh Evans" account.^[1] The parent, Lori Drew, who created the fake account,^[4] was quoted at length in a police report soon after the Meiers' discovery of her role in their daughter's death.^[14] Drew admitted that she and her daughter had the password to the account, and characterized the hoax to a reporter as a "joke", though she told the police that the account was aimed at "gaining Megan's confidence and finding out what Megan felt about her daughter and other people".^[1] No criminal charges have been filed in relation to the hoax.^[11] The neighborhood mother who had informed the Meiers' that Drew had been responsible for the hoax account said "Lori laughed about it", and that Drew said she had intended to "mess with Megan".^[15] According to Megan's parents, Drew later told the Meiers to "give it a rest" when they tried to discuss the matter with her.^[16] Drew's name was excluded from most early news stories; her name was disclosed on many blogs and by CNN through the inclusion of the police report during their broadcast of the story.^[16]

Reaction to news story

Megan's story was first reported in the St. Louis Suburban Journal.^[1] When the story first appeared, reader comments focused on Lori and Curt Drew. Later, the focus was on the St. Louis Suburban Journal's decision not to print the name of the Drews who were responsible for the hoax. The reporter stated in an interview that the names were withheld out of concern for the minor child of the hoaxer.^[17] The identity of the perpetrator, Lori Drew, was revealed by angry webloggers, who reported finding the names of the parents within minutes from the information given in the article,^[18][19] with the media eventually revealing Lori Drew's name and photograph.^[12] The Drews' property was targeted with vandalism, paintball attacks and prank phone calls, including one to the local police which led to "as many as 15 deputies [drawing] weapons and [charging] the home of Lori and Curt Drew," the people identified as the hoaxers.^[3] Due to the vehement public reaction, police added additional patrols to the neighborhood, and the Drews have installed security cameras and recording devices on their roof.^[20][21] Angry neighbors complained that "there's never been any sense of remorse or public apology from the Drews, no 'maybe we made a mistake.'". ^[21]

The Board of Aldermen for the City of Dardenne Prairie, passed an ordinance on 22 November, 2007, in response to the incident. The ordinance prohibits any harassment that utilizes an electronic medium, including the internet, text messaging services, pagers, and similar devices. Violations of the ordinance are treated as misdemeanors, with fines of up to $500 and up to 90 days imprisonment.^[22] The city of Florissant, Missouri, has also passed a 'Cyber Harassment' law,^[23] with other municipalities, counties, and states considering following suit.^[24]

See also

• Cyberbullying
• Cyberstalking
• Harassment by computer
• Wanda Holloway
• Online predator
• Internet fraud

References