A Missouri woman knew her 13-year-old neighbor was depressed and suicidal when she sent cruel World Wide Web messages to the teenager, her former assistant testified. The girl killed herself after being told the world would be better off without her.

Ashley Grills, 20, told jurors Thursday she helped Lori Drew set up a fake MySpace profile of a 16-year-old boy to lure Megan Meier into an online relationship. Testifying for the prosecution under a grant of immunity, Grills additionally said she sent the final note from the fictitious “Josh Evans” to Megan in October 2006 on the day the girl hanged herself.

When she learned of Megan’s death, Grills said Drew told her, “We could have pushed her overboard considering she was suicidal and depressed.’”

Testimony was to resume Friday in the case against Drew, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing computers without authorization. Each count carries a potential

Prosecutors say Drew, 49, her then-13-year-old daughter, Sarah, and Grills created the MySpace alias in September 2006 to befriend Megan to find out whether she was spreading rumors about Sarah.

The case is believed to be the nation’s first cyberbullying trial. Its results could set a legal precedent for dealing with the issue of online harassment.

Defense attorney Dean Steward told jurors that Drew did not violate the Computer Use and swindle Act — used in the past to address computer hacking — and reminded them that she was not facing charges dealing with the suicide. Steward has repeatedly asked U.S. District Judge George Wu to exclude testimony about Megan’s suicide and twice sought a mistrial.

Grills, who helped Drew with her coupon magazine commerce, testified that she told Drew they might get in trouble for the scheme, but that Drew replied, “It was…

Original post by Daniel Pye