Conrad Roy III

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Tragedy struck the Roy family of Mattapoisett, Massachusetts on July 13, 2014.  Lynn and Conrad Roy were facing one of every parent’s worst fears.  Their son was missing.  Then another fear became reality… their son was dead.  Conrad Roy III had committed suicide.


Conrad Roy III graduated from Old Rochester Regional High School with a 3.88 GPA.  He also earned his captain’s license from Northeast Maritime Institute.  Roy had been accepted to Fitchburg State University and planned on attending with his best friend.  He was an excellent, all-around athlete.  He played football, baseball, rowed crew and ran track.  He worked with his father, grandfather and uncle for Tucker-Roy Marine Towing and Salvage, Inc.  It seems that he had everything going for him, right?  It seems like the life of a normal teenager.  So, what happened?  What was hiding just under the surface?

There seems to be a bit of a troubled past dealing with depression and a hospitalization for an acetaminophen overdose in October of 2012, according to an article I found. This same article talks about the relevance of a domestic violence document dealing with Roy’s parents in 2011, before their divorce.  

Conrad Roy III met Michelle Carter in Naples, Florida while on vacation in 2012.  Their relationship consisted of text messages and phone calls.  I’m a little confused about their relationship though.  They lived about 35-40 miles apart and only met up in person a couple of times after they met on vacation.  It seems odd to me.  Michelle Carter, if I’m not mistaken, claims a 2 year relationship, but I’ve read quotes from Roy’s mother and best friend that they didn’t know her or know of an ongoing relationship.   In my opinion, the relationship doesn’t add up.  You’ve got Carter claiming a 2 year “relationship” and Roy’s best friend not knowing about her… hmmm.  An article from the Boston Herald (https://www.bostonherald.com/2015/03/01/teens-family-girl-is-not-the-villain/) states that friends interviewed by police described Michelle as someone who “requires a lot of attention” and “has a history of being the ‘girl who cried wolf'”.

Let’s look at July 12, 2014, the day before his body was found.  He spent the day with his family at the beach.  An article on masslive.com states there have been two stories about that day at the beach.  One story is that the day went fine and Roy spent quality time with family.  He walked the beach with his mother discussing college and other future plans.  Another story, given by Roy’s mother to New York Magazine, states that Roy was distracted and more interested in texting than speaking with her.  It was discovered later that he had been texting Michelle Carter.  According to those text messages, Carter was urging Roy to end his life.  It appears that Roy had second thoughts about ending his life, but Carter just wouldn’t let it go.  Texts from Carter state, “You said you were gonna do it.  Like I don’t get why you aren’t.  So I guess you aren’t going to do it then.  All that for nothing.”.   Here’s messages I found from deadstate.org (https://deadstate.org/here-are-the-disturbing-texts-from-michelle-carter-pressuring-her-boyfriend-to-commit-suicide/

Carter acted as if she was devastated about losing Conrad. She was so consumed by her grief and sadness that she enjoyed her prom and visited Disney World. (I promise I’m rolling my eyes so hard at the moment!) Anyway, as the investigation unraveled, it was brought to light Michelle’s role in Conrad’s suicide. Carter opted for a bench trial. A bench trial is when a judge, not a jury, would decide the punishment. She was convicted in 2017 of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 15 months with 5 years probation. She was just released, 3 months early, for her good behavior. One of the conditions in her release is that she cannot profit from her story.

 

My personal opinion about this case probably won’t mean much to most but I like adding my two cents worth anyway! Michelle Carter, in my opinion, is an attention-seeking monster. She met Conrad while they were both on vacation with their families and decided right then and there that she had found a “puppet”. She took the next two years, sending thousands and thousands of text messages, grooming him for his death. Conrad had dealt with depression in the past and did have a suicidal past…BUT he was doing better and making progress. Carter came along and seemed to enjoy pulling strings and calling the shots. The constant messages to Conrad demanding that he commit suicide and the “effort” to help his family find him afterward proves she’s evil as hell. She posted so many “sad” updates on social media and arranged little remembrance events for him…all the while knowing she was the one who convinced him to take his own life. Serving 12 months has taught her NOTHING, in my opinion. She’s going to go on with her life. She’s going to have all the experiences in her life that she stripped from Conrad. It’s completely ridiculous that her punishment wasn’t more severe. We have to have more consequences for crimes like this.

With that said, I implore anyone dealing with sadness and/or suicidal thoughts to seek help. Please talk to someone. Talk with a trusted friend and/or adult or call a hotline. There are resources available! You matter! Don’t let others make you feel “less than”.

National Suicide Hotline- 1-800-273-8255 or text ANSWER to 839863

Text HELLO to 741741 for Crisis help

Click this link for hotlines for any and all situations- https://psychcentral.com/lib/common-hotline-phone-numbers/

Keaton Jones

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I’m sure, by now, everyone has seen or heard about the bullying video of Keaton. It sparked an “I STAND WITH KEATON” movement on social media. Several movie stars and famous athletes have responded to the little boy. They have all offered words of encouragement and invited him to games and movie premiers.

Recently Joe Schilling, an MMA fighter, reached out to Keaton and his family. He expressed that he’d love to meet Keaton and his family and even invited Keaton to L.A. to watch an MMA fight. The series of messages that came next, screen shots taken by Schilling, were a bit shocking! Keaton’s mother, or someone claiming to be her, apparently only wanted money due to “not being rich” and even made comments along the lines of “us white people sticking together.” What the hell? There is a GoFund me account, presumably by the Jones family, that has raised roughly $60,000 but it has been suspended due to these claims. I read this morning that Schilling has removed his video due to backlash of not knowing whether this was the real Mrs. Jones he was messaging. But still…it’s a shame we live in a world where we have to question things like this. We have to question the “truth” people speak and their motives. It’s sad.

Setting this controversy aside…I really hope this child gets help from his school and community if he’s being bullied. I also hope we all learn to stand together against shit like this!