Judge Puts Off Decision in MySpace Suicide Case
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Los Angeles federal judge has put off a decision on a motion to dismiss the case against a Missouri mother accused of orchestrating an Internet hoax that targeted a neighbor girl who later committed suicide.
U.S. District Court Judge George Wu on Monday cited a rule under which he may wait until after a verdict before deciding the motion.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wu says the trial of 49-year-old Lori Drew will go forward. Drew has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and accessing computers without authorization.
The defense dismissal motion claims Drew could not be held responsible for violating the service rules of the MySpace social networking site because she never read them.
Prosecutors say Drew, her daughter and business assistant created a MySpace profile of a fictional teen boy in September 2006 to befriend 13-year-old Megan Meier to learn if Megan was spreading rumors about Drew's daughter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Megan, who had been treated for attention deficit disorder and depression, hanged herself in October 2006 after receiving a message saying the world would be a better place without her.