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Michelle Carter told a friend she was going to hang herself but ‘chickened out’: The latest in the texting suicide case
She also suffered from a severe eating disorder and often self harmed
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Psychiatrist Dr. Peter Breggin, who is testifying for the defense in the Michelle Carter texting suicide case today, claims Carter had mental health issues of her own.
Breggin explains Carter suffered from anorexia and bulimia, and also engaged in self harm by cutting herself.
According to Breggin, Carter told one of her girlfriends she stood on a chair with a rope around her neck, because she was going to hang her herself, but she “chickened out.”
Carter apparently also told friends, but not family, that she cut herself. Her friends tried to stop her from cutting by taking her knife away from her, but Carter used scissors instead, Breggin said.
In the cross examination Assistant District Attorney Katie Rayburn indicated there was no medical evidence to support Breggin’s claims that Carter cut herself.
According to Breggin, Carter willingly went to McLean Hospital, a psychiatric institution, in June of 2014 to receive treatment for her eating disorder.
In a text message exchange, Carter tried to convince her boyfriend, Conrad Roy, to come to McLean with her to receive help.
“You aren’t going to get better on your own. You need professional help like me,” Carter told Roy. “We can go together and be there for each other.”
Breggin read text messages Carter sent to her friend before going to McLean and paints Carter as a loving teenager who was excited to help people at McLean while she was there:
Carter said: I’m happy to help other people, because I’ve had all of the eating disorders haha. So, I can help out everyone struggling with each of them, because I understand them all. I’ve been through them.
“Even going to the hospital she’s imagining how she’s going to help other people,” Breggin said.
Breggin claims Roy’s consistent discussion of his desire to commit suicide likely led Carter to believe his suicide was inevitable, which would be insufferable for Breggin who wants to help.
“She’s a helper. Her whole life is helping,” Breggin said about Carter.
He also said Carter was involuntarily intoxicated by the anti-depressants she was taking, which caused her to become delusional.
According to Breggin, Carter was having nightmares in which the devil was telling her to commit suicide. He said Carter was extremely afraid of the devil, which led her to believe that encouraging Roy’s suicide is the right thing to do.
“She was immeshed in the delusion where she’s thinking that it’s a good thing to help him die,” Breggin said. “She can mitigate the circumstances, reassure him that he’s going to heaven. ”
Michelle Carter is accused of convincing her boyfriend, Conrad Roy, to commit suicide in multiple text message exchanges which can be read here. Carter is currently pleading not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter.
The prosecution alleges Carter pushed Roy to commit suicide as a way of gaining attention for herself.
>babe will be following the Michelle Carter texting suicide case with further updates on the trial.