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Net hoax turns deadly, turns town against neighbors
By Tim Jones | Tribune national correspondent
November 17, 2007
A bizarre and cruel Internet hoax that ended with the suicide of a 13-year-old girl has bitterly divided a western St. Louis suburb, provoked a firestorm in the blogosphere and raised troubling questions about how to police traffic on popular social networking sites such as MySpace.com.
The death of Megan Meier in Dardenne Prairie, Mo., went beyond the growing phenomenon of cyber-bullying because the alleged instigators of the hoax were not only adults, but parents of a classmate of Megan's, who lived just down the street from her.
No charges have been filed. A local newspaper's decision not to publish the names of the parents involved has fanned a furious public response.
"People are just totally shocked. ... They can't believe that an adult would have done this," said Pam Fogarty, mayor of the town of 7,000 people.
"The scary part is that when you look at the blogs and listen to the phone calls we're getting, it's very quickly becoming a mob mentality," said Fogarty, who has arranged for additional police patrols in the neighborhood.
Cyber-bullying -- the Internet equivalent of schoolyard bullying -- has gained momentum as adolescents and teens have become Internet savvy. Polls have shown that at least one-third of youngsters reported they had been intimidated or harassed one or more times over the Net. Schools across the nation are now asking that students sign pledges to not send harassing e-mails to other students.
The involvement of adults in the Meier case breaks new ground, said Parry Aftab, an Internet attorney and executive director of Wiredsafety.org, a cyber safety organization.
"When adults act like children there are criminal consequences," Aftab said. "The Internet should not be used as a weapon."
The Meier suicide occurred in October 2006, but it did not become widely known until last Sunday when the Suburban Journals newspapers, which cover the St. Louis suburbs, published a lengthy article detailing the hoax involving a fictitious 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans, who contacted Megan on MySpace.com.
Their communication lasted six weeks, according to the Journal article, and ended with a string of disturbing messages from Josh and postings that read Megan was "fat" and "a slut."
The story reported Ron Meier, Megan's father, saying the final posting on the MySpace account read "The world would be a better place without you."
Late on the afternoon of Oct. 16, 2006, Ron and Tina Meier discovered Megan had hanged herself in her closet. Megan, who died the following day, was a few weeks shy of her 14th birthday.
The Journal added to the controversy by declining to identify the parents involved in the hoax, out of concern for the couple's daughter who had been a classmate and friend of Megan's.
"I've been a reporter for 34 years and this is beyond anything I've experienced," said Steve Pokin, who wrote the article and has been fielding e-mails and phone calls from people criticizing the paper for not identifying the adults.
Pokin said he doesn't always agree with his editors, but said they made the right call in not publishing the identity of the parents.
Regulating behavior on the Internet has proved enormously challenging.
In the year since Meier, who suffered from depression, killed herself, investigators in St. Charles County have not determined that any state law was violated. A spokesman for the St. Charles County Sheriff Department said the case has not been closed, although it has not found a violation. Jack Banas, the county prosecutor, said Friday he is examining an FBI report on the case to see if there is the potential of filing charges.
The Dardenne Prairie City Council this week said it is preparing to enact a law to make cyberspace harassment a crime in the city, punishable by 90 days in jail and a $500 fine.
"It certainly isn't anything with any major teeth," Mayor Fogarty said, almost dejectedly, "but we have to do something."
Aftab said the federal statute designed to prosecute Internet harassment covers direct messages but not postings, even if they are harassing. "That's a hole that needs to be closed," she said.
Tina Meier said it is "vile and disgusting that the law and the government cannot figure out that this is a crime and they can't figure out how to prosecute adults."
She added: "I can go steal a piece of gum at a convenience store and go to jail, but you don't go to jail for doing this? That's horrendous."
Pokin's story in the Journal said the daughter of the parents who instigated the hoax used to be Megan's best friend. But the girls had a falling out. Pokin's story quoted another neighbor as saying the parents encouraged their daughter "to join in the joke" of the Josh Evans ruse.
"They played on the emotions of our daughter and it was a game," Meier said Friday.
Tina and Ron Meier, who have separated since Megan's death, said they hope there will be a prosecution. In the meantime, Tina Meier said, they will push for a new law "to get justice for Megan."
In the absence of legal action, frustration is building online.
"Make them accountable. Anonymity should be awarded to victims, not to people who torment the helpless," wrote one reader in a posting on the Suburban Journals Web site.
"This family that perpetrated this prank is just EVIL ... Please move," read another.
"To the parents who did this to Megan, you're monsters. You are not welcome in our community. Leave now," read another.
Fogarty said she feels "very bad" for both families.
"People here do know who that family is," she said, referring to those who started the hoax. "That daughter has got to be thinking, 'Oh my gosh, Mom, what were you thinking?'"
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tmjones@tribune.com
Net hoax turns deadly, turns town against neighbors
By Tim Jones | Tribune national correspondent
November 17, 2007
A bizarre and cruel Internet hoax that ended with the suicide of a 13-year-old girl has bitterly divided a western St. Louis suburb, provoked a firestorm in the blogosphere and raised troubling questions about how to police traffic on popular social networking sites such as MySpace.com.
The death of Megan Meier in Dardenne Prairie, Mo., went beyond the growing phenomenon of cyber-bullying because the alleged instigators of the hoax were not only adults, but parents of a classmate of Megan's, who lived just down the street from her.
No charges have been filed. A local newspaper's decision not to publish the names of the parents involved has fanned a furious public response.
"People are just totally shocked. ... They can't believe that an adult would have done this," said Pam Fogarty, mayor of the town of 7,000 people.
"The scary part is that when you look at the blogs and listen to the phone calls we're getting, it's very quickly becoming a mob mentality," said Fogarty, who has arranged for additional police patrols in the neighborhood.
Cyber-bullying -- the Internet equivalent of schoolyard bullying -- has gained momentum as adolescents and teens have become Internet savvy. Polls have shown that at least one-third of youngsters reported they had been intimidated or harassed one or more times over the Net. Schools across the nation are now asking that students sign pledges to not send harassing e-mails to other students.
The involvement of adults in the Meier case breaks new ground, said Parry Aftab, an Internet attorney and executive director of Wiredsafety.org, a cyber safety organization.
"When adults act like children there are criminal consequences," Aftab said. "The Internet should not be used as a weapon."
The Meier suicide occurred in October 2006, but it did not become widely known until last Sunday when the Suburban Journals newspapers, which cover the St. Louis suburbs, published a lengthy article detailing the hoax involving a fictitious 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans, who contacted Megan on MySpace.com.
Their communication lasted six weeks, according to the Journal article, and ended with a string of disturbing messages from Josh and postings that read Megan was "fat" and "a slut."
The story reported Ron Meier, Megan's father, saying the final posting on the MySpace account read "The world would be a better place without you."
Late on the afternoon of Oct. 16, 2006, Ron and Tina Meier discovered Megan had hanged herself in her closet. Megan, who died the following day, was a few weeks shy of her 14th birthday.
The Journal added to the controversy by declining to identify the parents involved in the hoax, out of concern for the couple's daughter who had been a classmate and friend of Megan's.
"I've been a reporter for 34 years and this is beyond anything I've experienced," said Steve Pokin, who wrote the article and has been fielding e-mails and phone calls from people criticizing the paper for not identifying the adults.
Pokin said he doesn't always agree with his editors, but said they made the right call in not publishing the identity of the parents.
Regulating behavior on the Internet has proved enormously challenging.
In the year since Meier, who suffered from depression, killed herself, investigators in St. Charles County have not determined that any state law was violated. A spokesman for the St. Charles County Sheriff Department said the case has not been closed, although it has not found a violation. Jack Banas, the county prosecutor, said Friday he is examining an FBI report on the case to see if there is the potential of filing charges.
The Dardenne Prairie City Council this week said it is preparing to enact a law to make cyberspace harassment a crime in the city, punishable by 90 days in jail and a $500 fine.
"It certainly isn't anything with any major teeth," Mayor Fogarty said, almost dejectedly, "but we have to do something."
Aftab said the federal statute designed to prosecute Internet harassment covers direct messages but not postings, even if they are harassing. "That's a hole that needs to be closed," she said.
Tina Meier said it is "vile and disgusting that the law and the government cannot figure out that this is a crime and they can't figure out how to prosecute adults."
She added: "I can go steal a piece of gum at a convenience store and go to jail, but you don't go to jail for doing this? That's horrendous."
Pokin's story in the Journal said the daughter of the parents who instigated the hoax used to be Megan's best friend. But the girls had a falling out. Pokin's story quoted another neighbor as saying the parents encouraged their daughter "to join in the joke" of the Josh Evans ruse.
"They played on the emotions of our daughter and it was a game," Meier said Friday.
Tina and Ron Meier, who have separated since Megan's death, said they hope there will be a prosecution. In the meantime, Tina Meier said, they will push for a new law "to get justice for Megan."
In the absence of legal action, frustration is building online.
"Make them accountable. Anonymity should be awarded to victims, not to people who torment the helpless," wrote one reader in a posting on the Suburban Journals Web site.
"This family that perpetrated this prank is just EVIL ... Please move," read another.
"To the parents who did this to Megan, you're monsters. You are not welcome in our community. Leave now," read another.
Fogarty said she feels "very bad" for both families.
"People here do know who that family is," she said, referring to those who started the hoax. "That daughter has got to be thinking, 'Oh my gosh, Mom, what were you thinking?'"
----------
tmjones@tribune.com
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