Note: this article contains discussion of suicide that some readers may find upsetting.
Elle Fanning leads a star-studded cast in The Girl from Plainville, a true crime drama series based on the real-life ‘texting-suicide’ case that dominated news headlines in 2017.
The Hulu synopsis for the eight-part series reads: “The Girl from Plainville is inspired by the true story of Michelle Carter’s unprecedented ‘texting-suicide’ case.
“Based on the Esquire article of the same name by Jesse Barron, the limited series explores Carter’s relationship with Conrad Roy III and the events that led to his death and, later, her conviction of involuntary manslaughter.”
Read on for the true story behind the Hulu true crime series The Girl from Plainville.
Who is Michelle Carter?
Michelle Carter was a teenager living in the eponymous middle-class suburb Plainville in Massachusetts, when she struck up a long-distance relationship with Conrad Roy, another teen who lived an hour away and who, like her, experienced mental health struggles.
Two years later on 13th July 2014, 18-year-old Conrad Roy died by suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in his truck.
Carter, now 17-years-old, contacted Roy’s mother (who was only vaguely aware that Roy had had a girlfriend prior to his death), before introducing herself to Roy’s family at his memorial.
Less than a year later in February 2015, Carter would be indicted for the involuntary manslaughter of Conrad Roy, after his phone – and the text messages exchanged with Carter – was discovered by the police.
What is the true story behind The Girl from Plainville?
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The unprecedented ‘texting-suicide’ case proved a landmark one, as it was the first time a person went on trial for manslaughter via text message.
As detailed by Esquire, the judge was presented with 317 pages of messages between Michelle Carter and Conrad Roy. The latter frequently brought up the topic of suicide, but Carter did not attempt to dissuade her then-boyfriend from death by suicide – in fact, quite the reverse.
“If u don’t do it now you’re never gonna do it,” she wrote in one message (via CNN).
On the evening of the 12th July 2014, shortly before Conrad Roy’s death, he had two phone calls with Carter.
Although detectives had no record of what was said during the phone calls, they tracked down a text message Carter sent to a friend, in which Carter appeared to confess to encouraging Conrad Roy to climb back into his truck.
“I could have stopped him,” the text read. “I was on the phone with him and he got out of the car because it was working and he got scared and I f**king told him to get back in. I could of stopped him but I f**king didnt. All I had to say was I love you [sic].”
During the trial, assistant district attorney Katie Rayburn argued that Roy had died while still on the phone with Carter.
Following a two-week trial, Judge Lawrence Moniz declared Michelle Carter guilty of involuntary manslaughter, stating that her “failure to act [and prevent Conrad Roy’s death], where she had a self-created duty, constituted each and all wanton and reckless conduct”.
Carter was sentenced to two and a half years of prison time and five years of probation. The case was subsequently the subject of HBO documentary I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth vs Michelle Carter.
Carter was released in January 2020 – just over three months early due to good behaviour – while her probation period ends this August 2022, after which she is allowed to leave the US and profit monetarily from her story.
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