Lawyer Wants Manslaughter Case Put on Hold in Mattapoisett Teen’s Suicide

BOSTON (AP) — A lawyer for a Massachusetts teen charged with manslaughter for allegedly encouraging her boyfriend to kill himself has asked a judge to put the case on hold.

Michelle Carter's lawyer argued Tuesday in Taunton Juvenile Court that the criminal case shouldn't move forward until the state's highest court decides on an appeal of a judge's refusal to dismiss the manslaughter charge.

Carter, then 17, is accused of sending 18-year-old Conrad Roy III dozens of text messages encouraging him to take his own life. Roy's body was found in his pickup truck in Fairhaven on July 13, 2014. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The state Supreme Judicial Court is expected to hear Carter's appeal in May.

Prosecutors argued that the case should move forward even thought the appeal is pending.