Fake accounts, be them on myspace, live journal, anywhere, have caused a lot of unecessary pain. What a horrible tragedy.

I'm not even going to address the heinous irresponsibility of the people who created that account.

I'm going to be posting a link to this story over on the Alternative Press message boards, which is where theycallmeboy and I first met. We ended up telling people that we met on that board, but I want to make sure that the kids (and most of them are kids) know that our situation an exception, not necessarily the rule.

I know I got damn lucky - things worked out between the two of us because we're both honest people. Even then, I was always on alert when we talked online, making sure things checked out, watching for anything suspicious, that sort of thing. I was 25 when I met him, and I'd have been pissed if it had been a hoax like the one that took place here. However, I can identify with Megan - if I'd been in that same situation at her age, I would have been devastated.

I don't know what's worse - the fact that the "people" (I use the term loosely) basically got away with murder, or the fact that they show no remorse for what they've done.

That's just awful! You hear a lot about stalkers and pedophiles online, but not this sort of thing. Talk about denial! They should teach how to protect yourself online in schools.

Ok, I haven't RTFA, but did Megan's parents try to figure out what was going on?

Fraud and endangerment to a child aren't crimes?

This is just a horrific story. It reminds me of the Cheerleading thing in Texas a decade? ago- the emotional and intellectual immaturity of these "parents" is disgusting and i hope there is a way to shape laws for this new era.

that poor, poor girl's life is gone. it's just devastating.

An allegedly adult parent who creates a false persona to spy on a 13-year-old former friend of their daughter - and gossip about her. A junior high student. And a very junior high mentality. I wish they had printed the names.

No one forced this girl to kill herself. And the parents made the critical mistake of leaving their depressive daughter alone on MySpace while she was having an emotional breakdown.

"Ron says Tina was as vigilant as a parent could be in monitoring Megan on MySpace."

I'm sorry, but this is not even close to true. The bullies are obviously disgusting people who should be ashamed for the rest of their lives, but Megan's parents are to blame here. Laws which would punish bullies for the acts of their victims are terribly inappropriate. Should the kids who picked on Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris be hauled in for murder, next?

"But it was like someone handed her a loaded gun."

Not in any way.

The single mother was not the one who created the MySpace account, but it was her child that posted the final entry that caused Megan to end her life. The family of Megan's former friend, who lived right on her block, are the creators of the account.

The rules need to change. Freedom of information on the Internet does not mean freedom from responsibility. However, that seems to be the case here.

I don't think people need to be sued as much as I feel that people should go to prison to rot.

You may not need to be physically pushing someone over a cliff to their death to be held accountable.

I hope the family that caused this tragedy suffers for the rest of their lives.

Well, I need to comment here. It probably won't be a very popular comment, but I need to voice my opinion.

I truly feel for the parents of Megan. What an awful way to lose a child. I also feel bad that no legal action can be taken.

But at the same time, I can see why legal action cannot be taken, and why it shouldn't be taken. Unfortunately, Megan's parents are indirectly accountable for Megan's death. MySpace is explicit about children being at least 14 years of age before allowing to create a MySpace page.

This isn't only to protect them from sexual predators or adult content, but to also protect the emotional vulnerability of a child who is under the age of 14. Adolescents are emotionally sensitive to so many different things and are very impressionable. If MySpace were to have different age-levels of membership, that would be great.

Just my opinion.

Think about the innocent boy who's picture was used. Imagine what he has to deal with for the rest of his life. Does he not have any recourse in the matter?

What shocks me is the statement by Lt. Craig McGuire, spokesman for the sheriff's department. "We did not have a charge to fit it,"
I can come up with one. And its a newer one. Conspiracy to commit terrorism.

The St. Charles Journal Posted an update.

http://stcharlesjournal.stltoday.com/news/sj2tn20071113-1114stc_pokin_1.ii1.txt

Oh for crying out loud!

KEEP YOUR CHILDREN OFF THE INTERNET!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe the way to lessen the number of incidents similar to this is to actually take some responsibility as a parent. These "parents" had an emotionally fragile child who wasnt even the age limit required by the site. I am sick of hearing people blame MySpace or Facebook or the "crazy dangerous people out there". Just so we are ALL aware : There are murderers, pedophiles, rapists and sick people who just cant draw the line out there. They may be living next door and they may be online. If you want to keep your kids safe, dont put a computer in their room with internet access. The same goes for things like cellphones, or how you let your children dress. You can't assume that they can handle things with emotional maturity that most adults dont have.

There should be a charge laid against the antagonizers in this situation and it should be stated that I do not condone their irresponsible behaviour. I can just see past the bad people in this and had to voice my opinion.

It breaks my heart to know this poor girl is gone, and the 'adults' who helped pull this hedious 'joke' feel no guilt in the matter. The girlwas close to her 14th birthday and while ,yes, she was not yet 14 she was close. Her mother did not allow her to have the password, and could only be on when her mother knew about it. They did at least monitor her very well. In my eyes something should be done to the 'adults' who would do such a thing to a little girl. IT is NOT ok what they did, and yet by nothing being done they are saying they did no wrong.

I can't believe how cruel people are nowadays.
What, People get so bored in their meaningless lives and have to go and mess with a child's head like that? That's ridiculous. You have to think, you're jokes & insults can hurt someone's feelings so much that they think it's better to not be in this world at all than to go on with the pain you're suffering at the moment. I can't believe adults can be SO IMMATURE.
R.I.P. Megan. <3

I left an earlier reply to a specific comment, but would like to leave this thought for all of you who have said her Megan's parents are to blame-
You are a disgusting human being if you are this complacent about the entire story. Megan’s parents are to blame? So then at the same time you are saying the young men from columbine should be punished through their parents? Those two young men pulled the trigger.....their parents did not instigate the plan, they did not create a situation in which they dropped down to a child’s level to find “ammunition” to provoke their sons! This "parent" might not deserve to be charged with murder, but setting up a fake account to play junior high games is reprehensible. As a middle school teacher it worries me to know there are people who are out there that are so misinformed, ignorant, and irresponsible. How can our youth become productive parts of society if their role models are worse than they are? On another note, suicide is a horrible answer to any situation in which someone feels hopeless. Did you ever cry in you room, have a bad day, get in trouble for breaking the rules but cry and make an excuse? What did you do then? Go to your room probably. Were your parents there EVERY second? No. Guaranteed you have spent at least 20 minutes away from your parents, even in rough times. You may not believe that the other parties were responsible....but to say Megan’s parents were at fault for their daughters death makes me sick. I pray that you have never had to experience the suicide of a friend or family member because it is one of the hardest things to bear. Suicide is something that already leaves everyone behind with the highest amount of guilt, without people like you speculating. Along with my hope that you never have to experience this…..I hope that you never have kids....and if you do....I hope they are NOTHING like you!!!

the parents that did this, and allowed their daughter to participate in this should not be allowed to remain anonymous. They have since filed a police report for damage done by Megans greiving family. That police report is now public info. Release their name so families in the area will know to keep their children away from that home. They are not the type of parents that should be allowed to host slumber parties or be in charge of anyone else's kids. They don't seem to be developmentally older than a teen themselves.

It's a good thing I don't run this country because I would strongly enforce Eye for an Eye, you die the same way you kill someone, and yes, that family killed that little girl.

I live in the suburb right next to Dardenne Prairie. I can even see the "entering Dardenne Prairie" sign from my backyard. This is a very affluent, upper middle class community. These adults who taunted a young teen girl were likely wealthy and highly educated. Shame on them. They most certainly knew better. I am sure that in the end they will get what they deserve.

you can't blame myspace, and i don't think anyone here is. the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the family who created the account (i know their names, btw. very VERY easy to find, but really...what good would it do you?)

keeping kids off the internet is just the ridiculous, knee jerk, fear mongering reaction i would expect of certain types of people.

monitor what they do. more work...but jeez. aren't they worth it?

tina meier did more than most parents do. let's be honest.

Most mothers have their hands full being mothers, and don't have a heck of a lot of spare time and energy. Of those that do, most find something constructive to do with it. But here we have one who had the spare time and energy, and chose to spend it on a calculated deception - on an emotional manipulation of a child who lived a few houses away, a child she knew to have "issues". And then, after it results in suicide, she covers up her deed, and continues to socialize with the victims parents. As bad as all that is, what is even worse is that she continues to breath the same air that decent people breath.

Really, ask yourself, what is it like to be this woman's daughter? If this woman's identity were to be made public, and she were hounded to the point that she herself took her own life, how would her daughter be affected? My guess is she'd soon know peace like she never knew before - that she'd have a shot at growing into a decent human adult.

If there are no criminal charges to be filed, there should be a civil case brought against the adults who did this. It makes you wonder how many more moron parents are so bored with their own lives and participate in the dramas of their kids. It really is one thing if this Josh kid was real, equally tragic. But adults; over a girl spat? My God.

I think this is the most cruel and unusual thing for a single MOTHER to do to an innocent child just to see what the girl was saying about her own daughter. This woman knew full well that she and this brat of a daughter of hers was communicating with a depressed 13-year-old. I think they should bear full responsibility for the child's death and they ought to seek mental help. This makes me wonder what will happen next in the MySpace world. I think the whole site should be shut down. Too many people are corrupted by it and it is a pedophile playground. I am ashamed that GROWN people would do so much as emotionally or sexually abuse a child online, or in any way inflict physical harm on a child. In my opinion this woman and her daughter ought to be locked up in prison for the rest of their lives just like I think a pedophile should.