Commonwealth v. Carter

481 Mass. 352 (2019)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Roy’s body was found in his truck. D and the victim met in 2012. They maintained a long-distance relationship through text messaging and cell phone conversations. They frequently discussed Roy's fragile mental health, including his suicidal thoughts. Between October 2012 and July 2014, Roy attempted suicide several times, including overdosing on over-the-counter medication, drowning, water poisoning, and suffocation. Roy abandoned each attempt or sought rescue. D urged Roy to seek professional help for his mental illness. In June 2014, D was planning to go to a hospital for treatment of an eating disorder, asked Roy to join her, saying that the professionals there could help him with his depression and that they could mutually support each other. Roy rebuffed these efforts, and the tenor of their communications changed. Roy continued researching suicide methods and sharing his findings with D. D helped plan how, where, and when he would do so and downplayed his fears about how his suicide would affect his family. D chastised Roy for his indecision and delay. Roy secured a water pump that he would use to generate carbon monoxide in his closed truck. Roy drove his truck to a local store's parking lot and started the pump. While the pump was operating, filling the truck with carbon monoxide, D and the victim were in contact by cell phone. D sent a text to a friend “he just called me and there was a loud noise like a motor and I heard moaning like someone was in pain, and he wouldn't answer when I said his name. I stayed on the phone for like 20 minutes and that's all I heard.” she again texted that friend: “I think he just killed himself.” D later texted the same friend that the victim got scared from the effects of carbon monoxide and he got out of the truck and she again told him to get back in. The judge found that the victim got out of the truck, seeking fresh air, in a way similar to how he had abandoned his prior suicide attempts. The judge found that when D realized he had gotten out of the truck, she instructed him to get back in, knowing that it had become a toxic environment and knowing the victim's fears, doubts, and fragile mental state. Roy followed that instruction. Thereafter, D took no steps to save him. She did not call emergency personnel, contact Roy’s family, or instruct him to get out of the truck. Roy died. D was convicted as a youthful offender for involuntary manslaughter. D appealed.