Taunton, Massachusetts CNN
A woman on trial for urging her boyfriend to kill himself was delusional after becoming “involuntarily intoxicated” by antidepressants, a psychiatrist said Monday.
Michelle Carter “was unable to form intent” after switching to a new prescription drug only weeks before her boyfriend committed suicide in July 2014, Dr. Peter Breggin testified. She even texted his phone for weeks after he died, Breggin said.
Carter, 20, is on trial for involuntary manslaughter in the death of Conrad Roy III, who was 18 when he poisoned himself by inhaling carbon monoxide in his pickup truck.
Prosecutors have argued that while Carter played the role of a loving and distraught girlfriend, she had secretly nudged Roy toward suicide by sending him numerous text messages encouraging him to take his own life.
Prosecutors say the texts prove Carter badgered Roy to his death. But defense attorneys argue he already was intent on killing himself and that Carter had urged him to get help.
Legal experts are watching the trial closely because it could set a legal precedent on whether it is a crime to tell someone to commit suicide.
A switch in drugs
Breggin, testifying for the defense, said that Carter had no nefarious intent but genuinely thought she was helping Roy. She had been on Prozac for years before switching to another antidepressant, Celexa, in April 2014 – three months before Roy’s death, Breggin said.
Such drugs can impair judgment, wisdom, understanding, love and empathy, he said – especially in the adolescent brain, which is still developing and is “more susceptible to harm and all intrusions.”
At the time of Roy’s death, Carter was 17.
Breggin, who did not treat Carter, told Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz that he reached his conclusions after reviewing Carter’s educational records, text messages and police files and interviewed a half-dozen people who knew her.
Carter is being tried as a youth because she was a minor when her alleged crime took place. She waived her right to a jury trial, so the judge will render a verdict after testimony concludes.
Before age 12, Carter had seemed to be loving, caring and helpful. But as a teen she became “a very troubled youngster,” Breggin said.
Carter began taking Prozac in 2011, when she was 14, after developing anorexia, Breggin said. She later transitioned to Celexa, which he said can increase suicide risk in people younger than 24 along with agitation, panic attacks, grandiosity and not understanding the trouble one is getting into.
Adverse changes also can occur when doses change, Breggin said.
Breggin testified that Carter began cutting herself between April and June of 2014.
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