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DARDENNE PRAIRIE, Mo.-Waterford Crystal Drive is one of those suburban streets that seem so new as to have no history at all. But the suicide of a teenage girl-and allegations she had been tormented by a neighbor over the Internet-have brought a reaction that is old, almost tribal, in its nature.Residents on the middle-class subdivision have turned against the neighbor, Lori Drew, and her family, demanding the Drews move out. In interviews, they have warned darkly that someone might be tempted to "take matters into their own hands.""It's like they used to do in the 1700s and 1800s. If you wronged a community, you were basically shunned. That's basically what happened to her," said Trevor Buckles, a 40-year-old who lives next door to the Drews.Drew became an outcast after she admitted inventing "Josh Evans," a good-looking teenage boy who chatted online with 13-year-old Megan Meier. Megan received cruel messages from Josh that apparently drove her to hang herself in her closet in 2006.Through her lawyer, Drew, a mother of two in her 40s, has denied saying hurtful things to the girl over the Internet, and prosecutors have said they found no grounds for charges against the woman. Neverthess, the community reaction has been vengeful and the pressure on the Drews intense.Hundreds of residents gathered in front of their home on a recent evening, holding candles and reciting stories about Megan.Last December, after neighbors learned of the Internet hoax, someone threw a brick through a window in the Drew home. A few weeks ago, someone made a prank call to police reporting that there had been a shooting inside the Drew's house, prompting squad cars to arrive with sirens flashing.Someone recently obtained the password to change the Drew's outgoing cell phone recording, and replaced it with a disturbing message. Police would not detail the content.Clients have fled from Drew's home-based advertising business, so she had to close it. Neighbors have not seen Drew outside her home in weeks.Death threats and ugly insults have been hurled at Drew over the Internet, where she has been portrayed as monster who should go to prison, lose custody of her own children, or worse. Her name and address have been posted online, and a Web site with satellite images of the home said the Drews should "rot in hell."Some of the threats "really freak me out," Buckles said while standing on his front porch after dark Tuesday night. As he spoke, a car slowed and stopped in front of Drew's home. It sat there idling for a few long minutes, then sped away. Buckles said it is a common occurrence.To read more go to:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,315823,00.html
PS:This is a horrible tragedy and I hear more and more about cases like this....more than what I'd like to hear.Is not this woman that played "Josh" liable at all????What kind of world are we living in that a suburban mother of 2 impersonates a teen age boy and torments a young 13 yo girl over the internet???Isn't this woman a freak case?or I missed something in this story???May God help and comfort the thousands of families all over the world that are going thru the grief of a teen suicide.....which IS AVOIDABLE....
As in the days of Noah...
