{"id":18027,"date":"2022-07-06T14:33:28","date_gmt":"2022-07-06T12:33:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1673707"},"modified":"2022-07-06T14:53:10","modified_gmt":"2022-07-06T12:53:10","slug":"the-girl-from-plainville-true-story-the-real-life-case-behind-drama","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/the-girl-from-plainville-true-story-the-real-life-case-behind-drama\/","title":{"rendered":"The Girl from Plainville true story: The real-life case behind drama"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\"><\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Flora Carr\n                \t\t<\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Wednesday, 06 July 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><p><em>Note: this article contains discussion of suicide that some readers may find upsetting.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Elle Fanning leads a star-studded cast in <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/drama\/girl-from-plainville-uk-release-date\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">The Girl from Plainville<\/a>, a true crime drama series based on the real-life \u2018texting-suicide\u2019 case that dominated news headlines in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>The Hulu synopsis for the eight-part series reads: \u201cThe Girl from Plainville is inspired by the true story of Michelle Carter\u2019s unprecedented \u2018texting-suicide\u2019\u202fcase.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBased on the Esquire <a href=\"\/\/classic.esquire.com\/article\/2017\/10\/1\/the-girl-from-plainville&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">article of the same name<\/a> by Jesse Barron, the limited series explores Carter\u2019s relationship with Conrad Roy III and the events that led to his death and, later, her conviction of involuntary manslaughter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read on for the true story behind the Hulu true crime series The Girl from Plainville.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Who is Michelle Carter?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Two years later on 13th July 2014, 18-year-old Conrad Roy died by suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in his truck.<\/p>\n<p>Carter, now 17-years-old, contacted Roy\u2019s mother (who was only vaguely aware that Roy had had a girlfriend prior to his death), before introducing herself to Roy\u2019s family at his memorial.<\/p>\n<p>Less than a year later in February 2015, Carter would be indicted for the involuntary manslaughter of Conrad Roy, after his phone \u2013 and the text messages exchanged with Carter \u2013 was discovered by the police.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is the true story behind The Girl from Plainville?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"&quot;image-handler__container\" image-handler__container--aspect=\"\" style=\"&quot;padding-bottom:\" calc=\"\"> <picture><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/07\/The-Girl-From-Plainville-4-b1043b0.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;resize=299%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/07\/The-Girl-From-Plainville-4-b1043b0.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=299%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/07\/The-Girl-From-Plainville-4-b1043b0.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;resize=354%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/07\/The-Girl-From-Plainville-4-b1043b0.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=354%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/07\/The-Girl-From-Plainville-4-b1043b0.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;resize=404%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/07\/The-Girl-From-Plainville-4-b1043b0.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=404%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/07\/The-Girl-From-Plainville-4-b1043b0.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/07\/The-Girl-From-Plainville-4-b1043b0.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/07\/The-Girl-From-Plainville-4-b1043b0.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/07\/The-Girl-From-Plainville-4-b1043b0.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/07\/The-Girl-From-Plainville-4-b1043b0.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;resize=407%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/07\/The-Girl-From-Plainville-4-b1043b0.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=407%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/07\/The-Girl-From-Plainville-4-b1043b0.jpg?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;resize=555%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/webp&quot;\"><source media=\"&quot;(min-width:\" data-srcset=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/07\/The-Girl-From-Plainville-4-b1043b0.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=555%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\"&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;\"><img class=\"&quot;wp-image-1674761\" align=\"\" size-landscape_thumbnail=\"\" image-handler__image=\"\" image-handler__image--aspect=\"\" no-wrap=\"\" js-lazyload=\"\" data-src=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/07\/The-Girl-From-Plainville-4-b1043b0.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=620%2C413&quot;\" width=\"&quot;620&quot;\" height=\"&quot;413&quot;\" alt=\"&quot;&quot;\" title=\"&quot;&quot;\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><div class=\"&quot;caption-hold&quot;\"><figcaption class=\"&quot;wp-caption-text&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;caption-copy&quot;\"><i class=\"&quot;icon-arrow\" icon-camera-circle=\"\"\/> Elle Fanning as Michelle Carter and Colton Ryan as Conrad Roy in The Girl from Plainville<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\"&quot;im-image-caption&quot;\"> <i>Photo by: Steve Dietl\/Hulu<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<p>The unprecedented \u2018texting-suicide\u2019 case proved a landmark one, as it was the first time a person went on trial for manslaughter via text message.<\/p>\n<p>As detailed by <a href=\"\/\/www.esquire.com\/news-politics\/a57125\/michelle-carter-trial\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">Esquire<\/a>, 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 \u2013 in fact, quite the reverse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf u don\u2019t do it now you\u2019re never gonna do it,\u201d she wrote in one message (via <a href=\"\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2017\/06\/08\/us\/text-message-suicide-michelle-carter-conrad-roy\/index.html&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">CNN<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>On the evening of the 12th July 2014, shortly before Conrad Roy\u2019s death, he had two phone calls with Carter.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI could have stopped him,\u201d the text read. \u201cI 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].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During the trial, assistant district attorney Katie Rayburn argued that Roy had died while still on the phone with Carter.<\/p> <p>Following a two-week trial, Judge Lawrence Moniz declared Michelle Carter guilty of involuntary manslaughter, stating that her \u201cfailure to act [and prevent Conrad Roy\u2019s death], where she had a self-created duty, constituted each and all wanton and reckless conduct\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Carter was released in January 2020 \u2013 just over three months early due to good behaviour \u2013 while her probation period ends this August 2022, after which she is allowed to leave the US and profit monetarily from her story.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Looking for something else to watch? Check out our <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0or visit our dedicated\u00a0<a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/drama\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">Drama<\/a>\u00a0hub for the latest news.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0<a href=\"\/\/radiotimes.com\/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0and get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0<a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/podcasts\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">Radio Times podcast<\/a> with Jane Garvey.<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Flora Carr Published: Wednesday, 06 July 2022 at 12:00 am 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 \u2018texting-suicide\u2019 case that dominated news headlines in 2017. The Hulu synopsis [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":18028,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/07\/the-girl-from-plainville-true-story-the-real-life-case-behind-drama.jpg",1240,840,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/07\/the-girl-from-plainville-true-story-the-real-life-case-behind-drama-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/07\/the-girl-from-plainville-true-story-the-real-life-case-behind-drama-300x203.jpg",300,203,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/07\/the-girl-from-plainville-true-story-the-real-life-case-behind-drama-768x520.jpg",768,520,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/07\/the-girl-from-plainville-true-story-the-real-life-case-behind-drama-1024x694.jpg",800,542,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/07\/the-girl-from-plainville-true-story-the-real-life-case-behind-drama.jpg",1240,840,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/07\/the-girl-from-plainville-true-story-the-real-life-case-behind-drama.jpg",1240,840,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Flora Carr Published: Wednesday, 06 July 2022 at 12:00 am 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 \u2018texting-suicide\u2019 case that dominated news headlines in 2017. The Hulu synopsis&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/18027"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}