MySpace Suicide Hoax Mom Says Messages Not Hers
Lori Drew said she did not send any messages to girl who killed herself.
Dec. 7, 2007 — -- The woman linked to a MySpace hoax that apparently led to the suicide of Megan Meier said she only learned of the cruel messages that were being sent to Meier after the 13-year-old took her own life.
A statement released Friday by Lori Drew's lawyer said that Drew never sent any messages to Meier through a fake MySpace account. Meier hanged herself last year shortly after receiving nasty messages from a person she believed to be a boy named "Josh Evans," who had contacted her through the social networking site.
The statement includes no direct apology for what happened, except to say "the Drew family is also sorry that their family, friends and neighbors have had to endure the stresses associated with the harassment directed toward the Drews." It also said that the Drews expressed their sympathies to the Meier family.
Evans never existed, and the extent of Drew's involvement in the hoax has been unclear. Meier's parents have blamed Drew for the fake MySpace profile, and for their daughter's death.
"[T]he Drew family mourns the death of Megan every day," the statement said. "Lori Drew has been a high-profile target of extreme criticism for things she did not do."
According to a police report filed last year, police say Drew told them she instigated and monitored the Josh Evans account so she could see what Megan Meier was saying about Drew's own teenage daughter. The local prosecutor has told ABC News that he believes the police report overstated Drew's involvement in the incident.
On Friday, Drew said she did not create "or direct anyone to create" the MySpace page, though she was aware that her daughter and an 18-year-old employee created the account. She said she never sent any messages to Meier.
Meier and Josh developed a virtual friendship that lasted more than a month before things inexplicably took a downward turn.
According to the local prosecutor, Jack Banas, the 18-year-old employee named Ashley admitted that she created the fake MySpace account.
"Megan gets an e-mail, or a message from Josh on her MySpace Oct. 15, 2006, saying, 'I don't know if I want to be friends with you any longer because I hear you're not nice to your friends,'" Tina Meier, Megan's mother, said on "GMA."
