Parents: Cyber Bullying Led to Teen's Suicide
Mother creates fictitious male profile to gain teen's confidence and learn info.
Nov. 19, 2007 — -- The parents of a 13-year-old girl who believe their daughter's October 2006 suicide was the result of a cruel cyber hoax are pushing for measures to protect other children online.
Tina and Ron Meier, who are now separated and plan to divorce, have taken up the cause of Internet safety after a bizarre twist in their daughter Megan Meier's death.
The mother of a former friend of Megan's allegedly created a fictitious profile in order to gain Megan's trust and learn what Megan was saying about her daughter. But the communication eventually turned hostile.
"There needs to be some sort of regulations out there to protect children. Parents can only be in so many places and so many times," Tina Meier said on "Good Morning America Weekend Edition" Sunday. "I wish there were regulations with these forums. There's got to be something."
The Meiers said they are unsure why someone would do such a thing.
"We don't know. How do you get in the mind of somebody? We just have no idea," Tina Meier said.
While the Meiers do not believe it was the woman's intent to have Megan commit suicide, they do hold her solely responsible for the death.
"I believe they are the ones who took her to the edge of the cliff and forced her to go over," Ron Meier said on "GMA." "Everything that we found out so far -- it was the sole idea of the mother."
He added that he did not believe the mother was acting on her daughter's behalf.
Megan Meier sometimes suffered from low self-esteem and was on medication at the time of her death. But her family said she looked forward to her 14th birthday and having her braces removed.
When a cute boy befriended Megan on the social networking site MySpace, the two formed a quick connection during their more than month-long relationship.
"She got this e-mail from this boy named Josh Evans," Tina Meier said.
Evans claimed to be a 16-year-old boy who lived nearby and was home schooled. But what began as a promising online friendship soon turned sour, as compliments turned to insults.
