Bloggers Take Charge, Identify Adults Unnamed in Teenage Suicide

Steve "Pokin Around" Pokin, reporter for the St. Charles and owner of a great nickname, wrote this sad story earlier this week. In short, a 13 year old girl named Megan Meier committed suicide after a friend she had met throughMySpace, a good-looking boy named Josh Evans, turned on her and began sending her cruel messages.

As it turns out, Josh Evans was not real, but was in fact the creation of the parents of a former friend of Megan's. They were apparently miffed that Megan decided to end her "lightswitch" friendship with their daughter. A sordid tale, indeed.

In his article, Steve "Pokin Around" Pokin chose not to name the adults who created the false MySpace page, but since then, Bloggin' the Suburbs has released the names of the people responsible. Wired has also picked up the trail.

Many commenters on all three of the articles have called for legal action against the parents who made the MySpace page, and indeed, perhaps such an action would help to assuage the grief felt by Megan's parents (who have since divorced); it remains a question what sort of claim the Meier's could bring (Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress sounds like the strongest, but those claims are notoriously difficult for plaintiff's to win; Wrongful Death would be a long shot here), or if any criminal remedy is available(nothing comes to mind here). The Meier family has repeatedly denounced any intention to file a civil lawsuit, and the authorities have been able to come up with an criminal charges that fit these actions.

In sum: Here's a tragic story, with no highlights or "feel good" moments, and no closure whatsoever.

Happy Friday!