Yahoo Movies Where is Michelle Carter: The Girl From Plainville?
Warning: This article contains distressing content relating to suicide.
Last year, Hulu dropped a miniseries that explored the infamous 'texting suicide' case, which starred Maleficent's Elle Fanning as Michelle Carter. The Girl From Plainville, titled after the Esquire investigation of the same name, was released in July 2022, but it's still available to watch on Amazon Prime.
News of the series came just months after a Discovery Plus documentary gripped viewers. The two-hour special, titled Michelle Carter: Love, Texts & Death, (which is also currently listed on Prime Video) investigated the suicide of 18-year-old Conrad Roy and the subsequent trial of his 17-year-old girlfriend, Carter, who was convicted of his manslaughter.
But as we take a look back at the events that lead up to Roy's death, we ask, where is Michelle Carter now?
What happened in the Michelle Carter case?
On 13 July 2014, the body of Conrad Roy III was discovered in his truck, parked outside a superstore in Massachussetts – he'd killed himself by attaching a hose from a generator and filling his truck with carbon monoxide. Roy, who was an honour roll student, had been struggling with anxiety and depression.
But, upon investigation, authorities discovered Roy had exchanged a string of texts with his long-distance girlfriend, Michelle Carter, in the weeks leading up to his death. In the texts, Carter encouraged Roy to end his life.
Carter and Roy had met a few years earlier in 2012 while they both vacationed with their families in Florida. Despite only living just a few towns away from each other, they maintained a relationship primarily through texts.
On the day of his suicide, Michelle Carter text Roy: "You keep pushing it off and say you'll do it but you never do. It's always gonna be that way if you don't take action."
In other texts, Carter said "You just need to do it," and "No more pushing it off, no more waiting." Another of Carter's texts told Roy, "If you want it as bad as you say you do, it's time to do it today."
Seven months after his suicide, in February 2015, Carter was indicted for involuntary manslaughter.
What was Michelle Carter's sentence?
At her trial, Carter was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and was initially sentenced to two and a half years in prison, although this was reduced to 15 months. In January 2020, Carter was released early after serving just 11 months of her sentence.
What did the Michelle Carter documentary explore?
A press release for the documentary described the two-hour special as a "delve into the complicated relationship between Michelle Carter and Conrad Roy using an extensive archive of texts and online activity between the two teenagers, including video diaries from Conrad himself that provide a better glimpse into how he was struggling prior to his death."
The documentary also took a closer look at how Michelle Carter's texts landed her "at the centre of a national controversy."
The press release added: "In this landmark case, a court decides whether words could do more than hurt. Could they be so criminal that they would lead a troubled young man to his death?"
Where is Michelle Carter now?
After being released from prison early due to good behaviour, Carter has kept a relatively low-profile and has avoided the public eye. It's possible that she returned to live with her family in Plainville, as she was spotted for the first time since leaving jail in April 2022 doing yard work outside of her home. In the images obtained by the New York Post, Carter was wearing a maroon 'Falmouth' hoody, black shorts, beige walking-style boots and had a head of short bleached blonde hair.
The now 25-year-old is also no longer on probation, following a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Probation Service confirming to MassLive on 8 August 2022 that it ended on 1 August last year.
One of the major conditions of Carter's probation was that she was prohibited from profiting from her story. However, now that it has ended - which means she's free of any of the previous limitations - that is no longer the case.
In terms of social media, all searches for Michelle Carter come up short. Given the high-profile nature of the case, which attracted worldwide media attention, it's likely the 25-year-old steers clear from any kind of internet interaction. It's also possible that Carter has changed her name since being released from prison.
Has Michelle Carter said anything about the miniseries/documentary about her case?
Carter is also yet to publicly address both the Hulu miniseries or the HBO documentary that were made about her case. However, her attorney, Joseph P. Cataldo told PEOPLE in March 2022: "There will come a time for Michelle to speak publicly but now is not that time."
In 2019, HBO also released their own documentary, I Love You, Now Die, exploring the trial.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, contact a GP or freephone Samaritans for confidential support 24 hours a day, on 116 123
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