Together. She gave me a lot of support. Just there for me when i needed her. Was there something about the two that no one new. What are you seeing . They took it all in. Literally shocking. A trail of Text Messages, leading to the darkest of discoveries. Keeping all the lives straight is difficult, she did it masterfully, its not normal. I closed my eyes and i said, this is not real. A twist no one saw coming. And a story that every parent needs to see. We need to know what is going on in our kids lives, can it be very scary when you dont. Hello and welcome to dateline, 18yearold conrad roy battled die presentation a battled depression and anxiety. Then one night the teenager vanished, turns out he a dark secret, one he shared with someone chose to him. What that person did and did not do next would shatter two families. Heres Andrea Canning with reckless. It began as a chance encounter and ended tw year two years l with one of them dead. He was smiling when he was left the house and then he was dead two hours later. He did not seem like he was in danger . Not not awlll. But there was daedanger. The detectives who investigated the case. You are watching her . Yeah, and it keeps getting worse. A grieving father. I feel like i can fix a lot of things but i could not fix this. And distraut family members who feel betrayed. I like kind of just said no. Hi, this is conrad henry our story starts can conrad, his mother said he was a easy child. What kind of a child was he . Did well in school, had friends, loved baseball. Conrad was her first born. Two daughters would come later. Looking back, she remembers his early years as good ones. Every picture i have of him, he looks like a little goof ball, the happiest child, he was always happy. Conrad grew up in and around the old fishing town of new bedford, massachusetts, where his far and grandfather run a tug boat and barge business. His father said it seemed that he was destined to take to the sea from day one. After two or three days old, my dad brought him on the tug boat. I wanted him to follow in my footsteps. I was hoping that he would be able to just, you know, take over the business some day. Not only was conrad the first born in the roy family, he was also the first grandchild. His aunt, chrissie roy, said s. My son would follow him around like a duck. He was the cousin that everyone looked up to. But in high school, the happy go lucky son started to change. His father and i divorced and i dont know any child that is not affected by divorce. He was 16 . Yeah and it was going through the hormones and he anxiety depression. He talked about it in this skroo diary. I feel like im wired different than everyone else. It was while 16, while struggling with anxiety depression, that he found Michelle Carter. They met and conrad and his sisters went and visited family. This was supposed to be r and r . Yeah, a week during school vacation. Had her grandparents were friends with our great aunt, and they all hung out with her for a short while. When they returned from florida, conrad and michelle continued to stay in touch through Text Messages. Michelle lived in plainville, massachusetts, an hour away from conrad, the two had a lot in common. She was a softball player, and he played baseball. Friends described them as quiet and funny and they communicated regularly, but aunt becky said he never mentioned michelle. He other girlfriends where you knew their names and met them. She was not somebody that he talked about. Apparently he kept a lot to himself. By the time he was 17, he checked in to facilities. On the day he was discharged, he attempted suicide by swallowing a bottle of cough syrup. He felt bad and i said, conrad, you have no idea how much you are loved and appreciated. He would never attempt suicide again. And things did seem to be getting better. A year later, by june, 2014, conrad had graduated from high school, gotten a scholarship to college and earned his captains license. That must have been a really big day. Conrad earning his captains license. Are you feeling good about the place he is in . I felt that he was stilg struggling but i felt very positive that he was not going to do anything to harm himself. It was right around this time when conrad recorded that private video sharing his inner most thoughts. I feel like i still have a long way to go to recover from the social anxieties, feeling of insecurity. If i keep talking, keep talking, its going to get better. On july 12th, conrad headed to the beach with his mom and two sisters. Lynn vividly remembers walking the shoreline with her son. He seemed in good spirits that day. We talked about school, and he was like, im not sure where i am right now in my head. I said, well, you just got a captains license, you dont have to worry about anything right now. He is looking toward the future . Yeah. When they returned the beach, conrad drove his sisters to get ice cream. He was laughing and i said something and he was like smiling. Conrad told his mom he was going to his friends house and would not be back for dinner but later that night, lynn said out of the blue, her daughter got a text message from someone quite unexpected. It was around 10 30 that night, michelle is asking where conrad is. And they are boyfriend and girlfriend now. This was news to lynn. She knew conrad and michelle had only seen each other in person a few times. The next morning, lynn woke up at 5 00 a. M. , and noticed conrad was not home. She called around and drove by his friends house but could not finds him. Conrad was missing. A son disappears, a mom worries, and a dad receives a troubling clue. Coupling up. They saw his truck with the caution tape around it. The news is about to go from bad to worse. I said, are you sure . What are you talking about . 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Pronamel is formulated to help deliver minerals to the tooths surface to help reharden and strengthen your enamel. Word spread quickly, conrad roy, ii was missing. His family and friends growing more frantic by the hour, searched everywhere for him. By mid morning, his mom called 911. That evening, about 24 hours after conrad left his house, his father got a call. A family friend said they saw his truck at cank mart can caut tape around it. So you go to the kmart. Yeah, and i think the police told my father that he was gone. An officer found conrad dead behind the wheel of his pickup truck. His dad called lynn to tell her the awful news. I couldnt even see. I felt like i was drugged. I couldnt eat. Slept in the same clothes for days. The rest of conrads family was in disbelief. Are you sure . What are you talking about . Felt like all the blood drained out of your body. Detective scott warden was assigned to the case, it looked like suicide by carbon dioxide. It was clear that he placed a water pump in the rear of the truck and he passed away as a result of the Carbon Monoxide. It did not make sense to those knew him. He seemed hopeful about his future. His grandmother remembered him using that very pump to help out his dad days before. I can still see the smile on his face, just a smirky smile that he. And his father recalled the two of them working on a job together a week earlier, setting up fireworks on a barge. He seemed fine and last thing i said to him was i love you and he said, i love you back. The family wondered what pushed him over the edge. As they struggled with their grief, they got support from a strange place. Did you feel like you were getting support . Absolutely. Or just a connection to conrad. And i told her i loved her. She told me so many great things about myself that he said. I dont know, she was just there for me when i needed her. Conrads aunts remember getting messages from michelle. She sent messages of conolenscences, that she never tried to hard to save someone and she wished she could have saved him. She came through at the wake and introduced herself. I was shocked when she said, im conrads girlfriend. I had no idea, never heard of her name. Among conrads things were goodbye letters that he written to people. Like this one to michelle. It was very positive, keep doing what you are doing, michelle. Keep moving on and doing great things. And after reading the letter, you must have thought that conrad and michelle had a special friendship that he wrote her this letter. Yeah, i was happy that she was in his life. I thanked her for being there for him. Just weeks after conrad died, michelle contacted his family saying she wanted to raise awareness for Suicide Prevention by organizing a baseball tournament, homers for conrad. I was thinking, wow, had this is really impressive. Here is a teenager. High school senior. And she is only a month later starting to plan this large fundraiser. Conrads whole family showed up. Had his aunt chrissie was impressed with michelle, then just 17. I went up to her parents at the fundraiser and i said, you must be so proud of your daughter, she is quite an amazing girl. Unbeknownst, the detective was digging for answers. I found it odd that an 18yearold would do it. The detective figured there were clues on conrads cell phone that was found in his truck. And sure enough, he discovered a string of Text Messages on the phone, they were from just one person. That was Michelle Carter. He deleted all other text conversations with all other people . Correct. And when the detective started to read the texts, he could not believe what he was seeing. It was one of those things where you keep reading and it keeps getting worse. And that put everything in motion. Coming up, the Text Messages no one could fathom. I had to read them a couple of times to really sort of of take it all in. Words that raised a disturbing question, was this a suicide or something else. I closed my eyes and i said, this is not real. When dateline continues. I had shingles. Horrible. A young thing like me . [camera man] actually anyone 50 or over is at increased risk for shingles. The pain, the burning my husband had to do everything for weeks. And the thing is, theres nothing you can do about it [camera man] well, shingles can be prevented. Shingles can be whaaat . [camera man] prevented. You can get vaccinated. Frank they have shingles vaccines whaaat . Thats what i said. Were taking you to the doctor. Not going through that again. [camera man] you can also get it from your pharmacist talk to your doctor or pharmacist about getting vaccinated. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist brad more renters find their place than any other site. As helped by digitally upgrading every one of our employees. Physically. Now, everybody at apartments. Com can, and does, give one hundred and ten percent. [rapid typing and clicking] apartmentsdotcom. The most popular place to find a place. For bathroom odors that linger try febreze small spaces. Just press firmly and it continuously eliminates odors in the air and on soft surfaces. For 45 days. Conrads family was reeling from his suicide. He said goodbye, he focused on other messages that the teens shared, what they uncovered would turn the case on its he had ha on its head. Two days after conrad roys death. Detective scott warden had a clue, a bombshell, a string of Text Messages from michelle cart or on conrads phone. What are you seeing. A series of messages that seemed to be encouraging him to take his own life. Encouraging him to take his own life. To the detective, it was unimaginable. He learned michelle and conrad had been texting like teenagers do for almost two years. But a few weeks before his death. Something changed. It seemed michelle started a campaign to get conrad to commit suicide. She gave him suggestions on how to do it. Jump off a building, stab yourself, i dont know, theres a lot of ways. Gordons partner detective glenn cudmore worked the case also. I remember when he was looking at it. What does she say . You disappointed me. I will take care of your family. The detectives poured over thousand of Text Messages. And the more they read, the more disturbed they became. Like this exchange when the Early Morning hours before conrad died. You cant think about it, you just have to do it. You said that you were going to do it. Like, i dont get why you arent. Conrad responded. I dont get it either. I dont know. Carter typed back. So i guess you arent going to do it then. All that for nothing. Im just confused, like you were so ready and determined. Conrad wrote back, im gonna eventually, i really dont know what im waiting for but i have everything lined up. And this one, on the morning of his death. Okay, im gonna do it today. Do you promise . I promise, babe. I have to now. Like right now . And you cant break a promise, just go in a quiet parking lot or something. Have you ever seen anything like that . No. It was clear to the detectives he had died by his own hand, but what was michelle did actually a crime. Detective gordon contacted assistant d a. He said, i want to send you the Text Messages and if you could please take a look at them and i said is, sure i will. And it was utterly shocking. She checked with her colleague at the time and they agreed toex Text Messages warranted further investigation. I could not believe what was in them. I had to read them a couple of times to sort of take it all in. Clearly its black and white for you that you know its wrong. But is it black and white, we are going to go forward with this . Its a crime . I mean, i would imagine for you its cliomplicated. And its our duty and responsibility to follow the evidence where it takes us. So, the evidence was taking us to Michelle Carter. So the Common Wealths office told detectives to keep digging and find out more about Michelle Carter. First reaction when you see her picture . She is young. She is just a kid. And the words that she was saying in their Text Messages it just didnt seem feasible. During the investigation, detective cudmore went undercover, at the fundraiser, homers for conrad, he took photos of michelles every move, to confirm she was the one that sent the texts. He went a step further, he videotaped michelle as he dialed the number from conrads phone. You are watching her. Yes. We have the right person. Did you hang up . Let it stay on for a few seconds muted and she finally hung up the phone. And i remember calling scott and saying, are we sure we have the right girl. She seems so normal. A few months later as the investigation continued, detective gordon decided to pay Michelle Carter a visit. He found her after school and approached her. Michelle, the reason we came out here is we were look engine to conrads unfortunate passing. All right. And she has no idea she has been watched. She has no idea. Did she look surprised . A little bit. But, you know, at that points, i dont think had she understood really what we had. And where we were going with it. At first, michelle told the detective, she tried to talk conrad out of suicide. How did you help him to try to see that suicide was not the right thing . Well, i told him, that i loved him. And i told him a lot of people loved him. Yeah. And like, i had personal issues that i got help for and i told him that he should come with me and get the help that he needed. But he refused. He said that, no one would be able to help him and it would make him more worse if he got help. Then, the detective asked her about having contact with conrad on the day he died. Do you think you had contact with him that day . Um, i dont think so. Yeah. The detective knew that was a lie. We have a search warrant for your phone. Okay. So, we will be taking it. Wait, so, you are taking my phone . Yes. When we took her phone, i think she started to understand a little bit that we were looking a little more further in to it than she expected. He followed her home and said michelles parents were cooperative. They providesed us everything that we needed. The cell phone and her computer. She has to know, but are her parents . No. Words can harm and you dont have the ability to just say your words are not criminal because they are protected by free speech. And theres precedent for people that have encouraged others to commit suicide to be charged with Involuntary Manslaughter. It involves wonton and reckless conduct. That she could cause and did cause somebody elses death. In other words, she should have are known that encouraging him to kill himself could result in him dying. Now had to tell conrads family what they uncovered. Its unbloefable. You can tell he did not want to die. Her messages over powered him. I closed my eyes and i said, this is not real. How can someone like have an involvement in someones death. And only encouraged it. Did you just just feel like you had been duplicated. She has been consoling you the whole time. Im a forgive be person. And the only thing i can say about t