Michelle Carter guilty in texting suicide trial

TAUNTON, Mass. -- (WBZ) -- A juvenile court judge has found a Plainville teenager guilty of involuntary manslaughter after she was charged with sending her boyfriend a barrage of text messages encouraging him to kill himself.

Michelle Carter had been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Conrad Roy, who was found dead in his truck of carbon monoxide poisoning in 2014.

Carter was in tears as Judge Lawrence Moniz began to read his verdict.

Moniz announced his verdict on Friday in Bristol Juvenile Court.

Carter waived her right to a jury trial, meaning that members of the community did not render the verdict; Moniz acted solely as jury.

“This court finds that instructing Mr. Roy to get back in the truck constituted wanton and reckless conduct by Ms. Carter, creating a situation where there is a high degree of likelihood a high degree of harm would result to Mr. Roy,” Moniz said.

Carter faces up to 20 years in prison after being convicted.

The prosecution asked for Carter's bail to be revoked, but Moniz allowed her to remain out on bail until her sentencing.

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 3.

Prosecutors say the then-17-year-old Carter badgered Roy to act on his suicidal thoughts. During the trial, the prosecution showed dozens of text messages to Roy telling him to kill himself.

Defense lawyers argued that Roy had a history of depression and suicide attempts and was determined to take his own life.