Suicide of Megan Meier

Megan Taylor Meier was born November 6, 1992, in O'Fallon, Missouri, to Christina "Tina" Meier and Ronald Meier. From third grade, following statements that she wanted to kill herself, she was under psychiatric care and was prescribed citalopram, methylphenidate, and ziprasidone. She was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, depression, and self-esteem issues related to her weight. Meier attended Fort Zumwalt public schools before enrolling at Immaculate Conception Catholic School for eighth grade in 2006.

After creating a MySpace account, Meier began an online relationship with a user claiming to be a 16-year-old boy named "Josh Evans." This account was later revealed to have been created by Lori Drew, the mother of a former friend of Meier's, with help from her daughter, Sarah Drew, and an 18-year-old employee, Ashley Grills. Witnesses testified the account was used to gather information from Meier and later humiliate her over alleged gossip about Drew's daughter.

On October 16, 2006, the tone of messages from "Josh" turned hostile, including messages stating Meier was "not a nice person" and, according to Ronald Meier and a neighbor who discussed the hoax with Drew, a final message stating that the world would be better without her. Megan Meier hanged herself with a belt in her bedroom closet that evening and was pronounced dead the following day, October 17, 2006, less than three weeks before her 14th birthday.

More than a year passed before the hoax became public. Megan's aunt, Vicki Dunn, contacted journalist Steve Pokin after reading his article on internet harassment, prompting the story that spread to national media. The FBI investigated the case. At a December 3, 2007 press conference, St. Charles County prosecutor Jack Banas said Ashley Grills wrote most of the "Josh Evans" messages, including the final one, but that county prosecutors ultimately declined to file criminal charges over the hoax.

Federally, Lori Drew was indicted and, in 2008, convicted by a jury of violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. A federal judge later vacated the conviction, ruling that the statute was not intended to criminalize the conduct alleged, and the government did not appeal.

The case prompted public backlash against the Drew family, including online publication of personal information and vandalism of their property, actions the prosecutor said could constitute internet stalking. It also spurred new legislation: the City of Dardenne Prairie passed an anti-cyberharassment ordinance in November 2007, Florissant, Missouri passed a similar law, and Missouri revised its state harassment statute, effective August 2008, to cover electronic harassment and create a felony for adults who harass minors online. A federal bill, the "Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act," was introduced in Congress in 2009. Tina Meier founded the Megan Meier Foundation to address bullying and cyberbullying.