I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth Vs. Michelle Carter S1

In 2012, teens Michelle Carter and Conrad Roy fell in love. They lived hours apart and met in person no more than five times, but exchanged thousands of texts over a two-year period. After Roy was found dead in his car in July 2014, what appeared to be a standard case of suicide by carbon-monoxide intoxication took a shocking turn when investigators discovered alarming text messages on his phone. Carter, 17 at the time, had urged Roy to kill himself, even after he had second thoughts and removed himself from his car.

In an attempt to prove that she was not solely responsible for boyfriend Conrad Roy’s suicide, Michelle Carter’s legal team begins their defense by focusing on Conrad’s relationship with his parents. A deeper dive into texts between the teenagers reveals a more complicated relationship than meets the eye; the defense argues that Michelle took Conrad’s lead when encouraging his suicide and looked to pop culture for inspiration in building up a fantasy around her troubled romance. As the surrounding community remains split on whether Michelle is a murderer or a victim, the judge reaches a verdict in a complex case that could have significant legal consequences.