<![CDATA[Jezebel: ashley grills]]> http://tags.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jezebel.com.png <![CDATA[Jezebel: ashley grills]]> http://jezebel.com/tag/ashleygrills http://jezebel.com/tag/ashleygrills <![CDATA[MySpace Trial, Day 4: Sarah Drew Says Megan "Was My Best Friend" ]]> Yesterday marked the final day of testimony in the trial of Lori Drew, which may set precedent in cases of cyberfraud and social networking. Today at 9 a.m. a jury of six men and six women will convene to decide the fate of Ms. Drew, whose online bullying of Megan Meier allegedly violated the MySpace terms of use and drove the 13-year-old to suicide. Judge George Wu says he will not decide whether or not to dismiss the case until after the jury has deliberated. In the final day of testimony, Lori's 16-year-old daughter, Sarah, took the stand to complete her testimony, more details came out about Megan's role in the initial rift with the Drew family, and both sides provided their closing arguments.

  • Megan allegedly called Sarah an "ugly lesbian," which is what prompted Lori Drew and her business assistant, Ashley Grills, to create the fake MySpace account in the first place.
  • According to People:
    Drew's now 16-year-old daughter Sarah testified Monday that, on Oct. 16, she was with Grills and, "I told her not to send that last message" to Megan that said that the world would be a better place without her.
    "Did Ashley send that last message?" O'Brien asked.
    "Yes," Drew said as she wept.
    Two of the six female jurors dabbed at their eyes.
    "She was my best friend," the defendant's daughter tearfully recalled.
  • Defense attorney Dean Steward said in his closing statements that Drew can not be guilty of a conspiracy because a conspiracy implies intent. Drew didn't even read the MySpace terms of use, so she could not have intentionally violated them. "Nobody reads these things, nobody," he said. "... How can you violate something when you haven't even read it? End of case. The case is over."
  • More from Steward: "If you hadn't heard the indictment read to you, you'd think this was a homicide case…And it's not a homicide case. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a computer case, and that's what you need to decide."
  • In addition, he added that there was no cyberbullying in this case because "Megan dished it out the same way that she got it," and Steward also said, "[Ashley] Grills, bless her heart, is pathetic."
  • The prosecution focused on the tragedy of the case in order to sway jurors. According to the AP, "Lori Drew decided to humiliate a child," U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien said. "The only way she could harm this pretty little girl was with a computer. She chose to use a computer to hurt a little girl, and for four weeks she enjoyed it."
  • "The tragedy in this case is not just Megan Meier's suicide," U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien said in his closing arguments to jurors, Reuters reports. "It's the fact that it was so preventable. If, as a 47-year-old woman Lori Drew was so upset that Megan Meier had called her daughter ugly or a lesbian, she could have gone over and talked to her mom and we wouldn't be here."

Judge Postpones Ruling On Lori Drew MySpace Trial [Wired]
Jury Gets Case Of MySpace Hoax Tied To Suicide [AP via MSNBC]
Cyber-Bullying Suicide Case Goes to Jury [People]
Jury To Deliberate In MySpace Suicide Case [Reuters]
Lori Drew Case Goes To Jury [Wired]

Earlier: MySpace Trial, Day 1: Megan Meier's Last Words
MySpace Trial, Day 2: Lori Drew Says, "It's Not Like I Pulled The Trigger"
MySpace Trial, Day 3: Lori Drew's Daughter Speaks

]]>
http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5098578&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[MySpace Trial, Day 3: Lori Drew's Daughter Speaks]]> Day 3 of the trial against Lori Drew, accused perpetrator of cyberfraud, continued on Friday with testimony from Drew's daughter and Megan Meier's former friend, Sarah. Sarah, now 16, testified that Megan said to her, "I don't know if I could live anymore." (Sarah burst into tears when Federal attorney Thomas O'Brien asked her why she didn't tell anyone about Megan's confession of suicidal thoughts.) Much of what Sarah said under oath directly contradicted the testimony of her mom's assistant, Ashley Grills, on whom Lori Drew is placing most of the blame. More on Sarah, as well as the possibility that the case may be dismissed today, after the jump.

  • Sarah Drew told the court that her mother Lori thought the MySpace hoax was a good idea only for the first two weeks of tormenting Megan. Sarah claims that Lori told her assistant, Ashley Grills, to delete the "Josh" profile at that time.
  • According to the AP, " Sarah also said she tried to stop Grills from sending the final message. 'I was like, Ashley, no, don't send it,' Sarah said. 'She said she sent it and laughed about it.'"
  • Sarah testified that she never saw her mother use the MySpace account, directly contradicting Grills.
  • Also from the AP:
    Sarah said Megan confided in her on two occasions that she wanted to kill herself. "She was like, I don't know if I could live anymore," she said of one instance. "I told her not to do it." Sarah cried on the witness stand and nodded when O'Brien questioned her about why she didn't tell any adults about the suicide conversations. Defense attorney Dean Steward stood up and lashed out at the region's top federal prosecutor for badgering the teenage girl.
  • After the prosecution rested its case on Friday, Wired reports, Drew's defense asked for an immediate dismissal based on Sarah's testimony that Lori Drew never read or agreed to the MySpace terms of use, and as a result could not have violated these terms. Furthermore, Ashley Grills accepted these terms of use, not Lori Drew.
  • From Wired:
    Wu retired to his chambers to review transcripts of previous testimony and consider the motion. When he emerged 30 minutes later, he asked both sides to file written briefs on the issue. He allowed the defense to proceed with direct examination of its witnesses and said he'd give his decision about the motion to dismiss on Monday.

Daughter Defends Mom In MySpace Hoax Trial [AP via USA Today]
Judge Considers Throwing Out Lori Drew Case [Wired]

Earlier: MySpace Trial, Day 1: Megan Meier's Last Words
MySpace Trial, Day 2: Lori Drew Says, "It's Not Like I Pulled The Trigger."

]]>
http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5097471&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[MySpace Trial, Day 2: Lori Drew Says, "It's Not Like I Pulled The Trigger"]]> Yesterday was Day 2 of Lori Drew's federal trial for cyberfraud in the tormenting of 13-year-old suicide victim Megan Meier. Day 1 focused on the emotional testimony of Megan's mom, Tina, who described her daughter's depression and last words. Day 2 involved Tina's cross examination by defense lawyer H. Dean Steward and the initial testimony of Drew's accomplice in Megan's tormenting, Ashley Grills, who testified with government immunity. Lori Drew's hairdresser also took the stand, and her testimony about Drew's glee while mocking Megan was perhaps the most damning of all.

  • When Lori Drew helped set up the fake MySpace account because Megan had allegedly been mean to her daughter Sarah, she bragged to her hairdresser Christina Chu about it. Chu was so upset over Drew's callousness she had to retreat to the back of the salon.
  • "After Meier's death, on the day of her wake, Drew showed up again to have her hair done. Chu asked Drew why she was going to the wake, given her role in the cyberbullying. Drew's response, Chu said, was, 'It's not like I pulled the trigger,'" Wired reports.
  • In his cross-examination of Tina Meier, Drew's lawyer pummeled her on Megan's past internet behavior. According to Wired, before the Meiers' started monitoring Megan's internet usage closely, "Megan created a MySpace profile as an 18-year-old woman, and swapped sexually-charged banter with other users, he said, citing notes he'd obtained from Megan's psychologist." The lawyer pointed out that Megan had also violated MySpace's terms of service at one point by lying about her age.
  • Drew's lawyer also pointed out that Megan was taking a trio of antidepressants when she died. "One of them, the antidepressant citalopram, has a reported side affect of contributing to suicidal behavior in children and adolescents suffering from depression, he noted."
  • Ashley Grills, the then-18-year-old who was Lori Drew's assistant, said that the creation of the MySpace account was initially her idea, but that Lori Drew agreed and "thought it was funny," the L.A. Times notes.
  • Grills said that Lori Drew was present when they agreed to the terms of service, but neither woman read them.
  • From the L.A. Times:
    Grills testified that she, Drew and Drew's daughter were trying to figure out a way "to expose Megan" for rumors she'd allegedly been spreading about Sarah…She said Drew also helped formulate messages that were sent to Megan and at one point suggested that they have 'Josh' arrange a meeting with Megan at a local mall at which Sarah and her friends would 'pop out' and tease Megan.
  • This part also hurts the case of MySpace fraud against Drew: the final contact between Megan and "Josh" took place on AOL Instant Messenger, according to testimony by Grills.
  • Grills also testified that she had no idea that Megan had had emotional problems in the past, until Drew told her shortly after Megan's death, "We could have pushed her overboard because she was suicidal and depressed.'"
  • When the Drew family and Grills got word that Megan had killed herself, they got off the internet and turned on the TV. Shortly thereafter, Wired reports, "Curt Drew started yelling at them to get rid of the MySpace account. When asked what Lori Drew did at that moment, Grills said at first she sat quietly and was consoling her daughter, then she, too, started yelling at them to delete the account and told them not to say anything to anyone."



Hairdresser: Drew Thought MySpace Hoax Made A 'Funny Story' [Wired]
Dead Teen's Mother Testifies About Daughter's Vulnerability In MySpace Suicide Case — Update [Wired]
Mother Saw MySpace Plan As Clever, Witness Says [LAT]
Witness Recalls Last Messages In MySpace Hoax Case [Breitbart]
Government's Star Witness Stumbles: MySpace Hoax Was Her Idea, Not Drew's [Wired]

Earlier: MySpace Trial, Day 1: Megan Meier's Last Words
Megan Meier's MySpace Hoax Tormenter: "I Just Wanted It To End"

]]>
http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5095538&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Megan Meier's MySpace Hoax Tormenter: "I Just Wanted It To End"]]> Remember back when MySpace tormenting mommy Lori Drew was the worst person in the world? Well, she still is, and here thanks to this morning's Good Morning America we have her 19-year-old co-conspirator Ashley Grills finally confirming it. If you never followed the story: it roughly goes: a thirteen-year-old hung herself after a distressing series of MySpace encounters with a boy she had been "friends" with; the suicide-inspiring boy turned out to be the fictional creation of Lori Drew, the mother of a former friend down the street, the insane saga eventually made its way into the New Yorker and eventually it seemed that maybe Ashley, not Lori, was the mastermind for the hoax. Here Ashley admits she writes the message that drove Megan to hang herself, but says she did it because she knew the joke had gone too far and wanted to erase the account. And why did she think it had gone too far? Because Lori Drew was trying to get her to set up a meeting with "Josh Evans" so that they could show up and laugh at her! [ABC News]

]]>
http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=375342&view=rss&microfeed=true