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DARDENNE PRAIRIE — Megan Meier thought she had made a new friend in cyberspace when a cute teenage boy named Josh contacted her on MySpace and began exchanging messages with her.
Megan, a 13-year-old who suffered from depression and attention deficit disorder, corresponded with Josh for more than a month before he abruptly ended their friendship, telling her he had heard she was cruel.
The next day Megan committed suicide. Her family learned later that Josh never actually existed; he was created by members of a neighborhood family that included a former friend of Megan's.
Now Megan's parents hope the people who made the fraudulent profile on the social networking Web site will be prosecuted, and they are seeking legal changes to safeguard children on the Internet.
The girl's mother, Tina Meier, said she doesn't think anyone involved intended for her daughter to kill herself.
"But when adults are involved and continue to screw with a 13-year-old, with or without mental problems, it is absolutely vile," she told the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, which first reported on the case.
Tina Meier said law enforcement officials told her the case did not fit into any law. But sheriff's officials have not closed the case and pledged to consider new evidence if it emerges.
Megan Meier hanged herself in her bedroom on Oct. 16, 2006, and died the next day. She was described as a "bubbly, goofy" girl who loved spending time with her friends, watching movies and fishing with her dad.
Megan had been on medication, but had been upbeat before her death, her mother said, after striking up a relationship on MySpace with Josh Evans about six weeks before her death.
Josh told her he was born in Florida and had recently moved to the nearby community of O'Fallon. He said he was homeschooled, and didn't yet have a phone number in the area to give her.
Megan's parents said she received a message from him on Oct. 15 of last year, essentially saying he didn't want to be her friend anymore, that he had heard she wasn't nice to her friends.
The next day, as Megan's mother headed out the door to take another daughter to the orthodontist, she knew Megan was upset about Internet messages. She asked Megan to log off. Users on MySpace must be at least 14, though Megan was not when she opened her account. A MySpace spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment.
Someone using Josh's account was sending cruel messages. Then, Megan called her mother, saying electronic bulletins were being posted about her, saying things like, "Megan Meier is a slut. Megan Meier is fat."
Megan's mother, who monitored her daughter's online communications, returned home and said she was shocked at the vulgar language her own daughter was sending. She told her daughter how upset she was about it.
Megan ran upstairs, and her father, Ron, tried to tell her everything would be fine. About 20 minutes later, she was found in her bedroom. She died the next day.
Her father said he found a message the next day from Josh, which he said law enforcement authorities have not been able to retrieve. It told the girl she was a bad person and the world would be better without her, he has said.
Another parent, who learned of the MySpace account from her own daughter who had access to the Josh profile, told Megan's parents about the hoax in a counselor's office about six weeks after Megan died. That's when they learned Josh was imaginary, they said.
The woman who created the fake profile has not been charged with a crime. She allegedly told the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department she created Josh's profile because she wanted to gain Megan's confidence to know what Megan was saying about her own child online.
The mother from down the street told police that she, her daughter and another person all typed and monitored the communication between the fictitious boy and Megan.
A person who answered the door at the family's house told an Associated Press reporter on Friday afternoon that they had been advised not to comment.
Megan's parents had been storing a foosball table for the family that created the MySpace character. Six weeks after Megan's death, they learned the other family had created the profile and responded by destroying the foosball table, dumping it on the neighbors' driveway and encouraging them to move away.
Megan's parents are now separated and plan to divorce.
Aldermen in Dardenne Prairie, a community of about 7,000 residents about 35 miles from St. Louis, have proposed a new ordinance related to child endangerment and Internet harassment. It could come before city leaders on Wednesday.
"Is this enough?" Mayor Pam Fogarty said Friday. "No, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it's something, and you have to start somewhere."
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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- Regions: United States , Saint Louis
 | MySpace fraud: Parents say fake online 'friend' led to girl's suicide | CNN | Sat Nov 17 | 1 |
| Mom: Girl killed herself over online hoax | msnbc.com | Mon Nov 19 | 42 |
| Megan Meier MySpace Suicide: Cruel Hoaxers Outed, Let The Lesser Outrage Begin | Nicklaus | Mon Nov 19 | 0 | |
 | Teen dies after adult's joke | slsummer | Sat Nov 17 | 15 |
| MySpace hoax victim's kin seek justice | msnbc.com | Tue Nov 20 | 1 |
- Public Discussion (16)
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{"commentId":1192610,"authorDomain":"London1943"}
That's intense. I always pray for the parents, even though I'm not very religious. I have had suicidal family members, and it is a very difficult situation to deal with, even if it is only a cry for attention. I hear that most suicides don't intend to kill themselves, truly. It's usually an accident when trying to get that attention they need, taking it further each and every time. I wish them the best, but I'm not so sure suing will solve anything. There is enough of that in the world.
{"commentId":1192610,"threadId":"177097","contentId":"1102822","authorDomain":"London1943"}
- 4 votes
#1 - Fri Nov 16, 2007 8:04 PM EST{"commentId":1193195,"authorDomain":"silkmesh"}
I hate chat rooms and young people being involved in there use. I have never seen the lure as most what said there is low quality, rude and stupid. I think there is a need to rid chat rooms from the Internet.
{"commentId":1193195,"threadId":"177097","contentId":"1102822","authorDomain":"silkmesh"}
- 2 votes
#2 - Sat Nov 17, 2007 2:06 AM EST{"commentId":1193984,"authorDomain":"tompopp"}
Babel Fish,
Unfortunately, you have misinformed this thread in your flippant comment on a very outrageous, sad and important story. Megan Meier was not in a chat room. The adult mother who meditatively made a "fraudulent" Myspace profile - taking the steps to start an account on Myspace, create a fictitious boy with an age, personality, history (and quite possibly pictures - haven't found that information yet) then contact Megan Meier (a young teen who lives down the street from her) through her account, seduce her the way a teen boy might (at least in this conniving mother's mind) flirt with her for weeks, telling her things like We are so lucky to have met each other (all the while knowing of not only the fragility of a 13 year old girl but also one that is already bullied at school) continuing an ongoing dialogue, creating a relationship then breaking it off one day with, (YES!!! QUOTED INFORMATION!) "The world would be a better place without you . . . have a @!$%#ty rest of your life." !!!!!!!!! is much more than having a quick back and forth in a chat room that she might later think was a stupid thing to do. This woman manipulated a minor in a very calculated way and is negligent in Megan's death. She should be held accountable. There are probably no laws yet to follow through on this. At the very least this is endangering a minor. I lean toward trying her for manslaughter.
{"commentId":1193984,"threadId":"177097","contentId":"1102822","authorDomain":"tompopp"}
- 5 votes
{"commentId":1194134,"authorDomain":"adventurebooks"}
I have to agree with TomPopp on this one.
There is also another angle to this story. AB has discovered that Megan Meier was a published author with three works at Lulu.com. This account was created by Megan herself, some time ago while she was still alive. (We verified this with Lulu) One small book of poetry, two pictures. They are still available there.
{"commentId":1194134,"threadId":"177097","contentId":"1102822","authorDomain":"adventurebooks"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1193290,"authorDomain":"seward"}
A tragic story. Babel Fish, like yourself, I also dislike Chat Rooms. I am only a Member of one, for the over fifties, and that is childish and silly at times, so I shudder to think what more General Chat Rooms must be like!
{"commentId":1193290,"threadId":"177097","contentId":"1102822","authorDomain":"seward"}
- 1 vote
#3 - Sat Nov 17, 2007 4:17 AM EST{"commentId":1193389,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
What a tragic ending to a girls life because of a chat room's "fake friend". Very Sad to hear this.
{"commentId":1193389,"threadId":"177097","contentId":"1102822","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
#4 - Sat Nov 17, 2007 7:03 AM EST{"commentId":1193393,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
What a tragic ending to a girls life because of a chat room's "fake friend". Very Sad to hear this.
{"commentId":1193393,"threadId":"177097","contentId":"1102822","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
- 1 vote
#5 - Sat Nov 17, 2007 7:04 AM EST{"commentId":1194309,"authorDomain":"jaredstory"}
There should be a law against cyberfraud. People can't do this to each other face-to-face and get away with it. They would be put in jail. Why is it okay on the internet?
If a person comes to me and represents that they are something they are not, and I am harmed in any way because of that misrepresentation and fraud, I can have them charged and arrested. What's the difference between having it happen in person or on the net?
And what about Extortion? Extortion doesn't have to be financial. These cyberfrauds extorted information out of Megan by fraud. They admitted to their acts when they said they fraudulently made up a "hot-looking" boy so they could get Megan to talk about their daughter to see what she would say.
Definition of "extortion" - to obtain by force or threats; extract; illegal compulsion; unjust extraction - Yup, at least one of these apply to this case.
Brenda - Founder & Co-Director of Bully Police USA, www.bullypolice.org; Mom of Jared, www.jaredstory.com, who died by bullycide, a suicide attributed to the affects of bullying.
{"commentId":1194309,"threadId":"177097","contentId":"1102822","authorDomain":"jaredstory"}
- 1 vote
#6 - Sat Nov 17, 2007 3:23 PM EST{"commentId":1198338,"authorDomain":"sphinx"}
An excellent point.
I can definitely see a legal basis for cyberfraud. It's already heavily prosecuted in financial matters, so I can see how it can be extended to non-monetary damages.
However, the precise definition of such cyberfraud seems, to an outsider like me, a bit vague. Would it simply be misrepresentation of oneself?
Further, for extortion, just from your definition, it seems that this case falls under only "unjust extraction," which is rather vague.
Interesting perspective, though.
{"commentId":1198338,"threadId":"177097","contentId":"1102822","authorDomain":"sphinx"}
{"commentId":1194351,"authorDomain":"jaredstory"}
There should be a law against cyberfraud. People can't do this to each other face-to-face and get away with it. They would be put in jail. Why is it okay on the internet?
If a person comes to me and represents that they are something they are not, and I am harmed in any way because of that misrepresentation and fraud, I can have them charged and arrested. What's the difference between having it happen in person or on the net?
And what about Extortion? Extortion doesn't have to be financial. These cyberfrauds extorted information out of Megan by fraud. They admitted to their acts when they said they fraudulently made up a "hot-looking" boy so they could get Megan to talk about their daughter to see what she would say.
Definition of "extortion" - to obtain by force or threats; extract; illegal compulsion; unjust extraction - Yup, at least one of these apply to this case.
Brenda - Founder & Co-Director of Bully Police USA, www.bullypolice.org; Mom of Jared, www.jaredstory.com, who died by bullycide, a suicide attributed to the affects of bullying.
{"commentId":1194351,"threadId":"177097","contentId":"1102822","authorDomain":"jaredstory"}
#7 - Sat Nov 17, 2007 3:42 PM EST{"commentId":1194378,"authorDomain":"shpigford"}
The woman who created the fake profile has not been charged with a crime. She allegedly told the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department she created Josh's profile because she wanted to gain Megan's confidence to know what Megan was saying about her own child online.
This "woman" sounds like she's got the maturity level of a 10 year old. Gain her confidence so she could know what Megan was saying about her children? This woman should be locked away simply for existing.
{"commentId":1194378,"threadId":"177097","contentId":"1102822","authorDomain":"shpigford"}
- 4 votes
#8 - Sat Nov 17, 2007 3:54 PM EST{"commentId":1194875,"authorDomain":"inghar2004"}
The plan they carried out sounds like revenge for some injury purportedly done by Megan. Isn't that a case of manslaughter? Or reckless endangerment? There should be some kind of consequence for such callous behaviour that causes someone's death.
{"commentId":1194875,"threadId":"177097","contentId":"1102822","authorDomain":"inghar2004"}
- 2 votes
#9 - Sat Nov 17, 2007 7:29 PM EST{"commentId":1194885,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
That parent should be held responsible for her actions, there is no excuse for what she did at all. I think at least reckless endangerment.
{"commentId":1194885,"threadId":"177097","contentId":"1102822","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
- 5 votes
#10 - Sat Nov 17, 2007 7:34 PM EST{"commentId":1198965,"authorDomain":"tompopp"}
AMENDMENT TO MY COMMENT ABOVE:
I took the quote, "The world would be a better place without you . . . have a @!$%#ty rest of your life." from a CNN on-line video. Megan's father recited that line while the video showed other printed parts of the messages sent by the fictitious josh evans which insinuated it was part of the recovered evidence. Later, when I saw the full interview produced for television there was clarification that the police have yet to find that message since the josh evans account has been canceled/deleted. Messages do get lost in the sometimes shotty Myspace cyberspace. Myspace really needs to step up to the plate on this and find that message. It's crucial to the case. Myspace has been subpoenaed before over messages sent and needed in pedophile cases, and they put up a good fight and ended up calling the shots on what they would release. I hope they do the right thing here.
Also, one interesting aspect of the story that has yet to be reported or I haven't found it is, did the josh evans profile have pictures? If so, where did they get them from? That could be an actual law they broke.
{"commentId":1198965,"threadId":"177097","contentId":"1102822","authorDomain":"tompopp"}
- 2 votes
#11 - Mon Nov 19, 2007 1:24 PM EST{"commentId":10404655,"authorDomain":"breelaboy"}
{"commentId":10423580,"authorDomain":"brianalampton"}
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