Trial of woman charged in texting suicide case starts
By Associated Press
Jun 6, 2017 9:20 AM CDT
Attorney Joseph Cataldo talks to his client, Michelle Carter, before meeting at a side bar at the beginning of the court session at Taunton Juvenile Court in Taunton, Mass., on Monday, June 5, 2017. Carter is charged with manslaughter for sending her boyfriend text messages encouraging him to kill...   (Associated Press)

TAUNTON, Mass. (AP) — Opening statements are underway in the bench trial of a Massachusetts woman charged with manslaughter for sending her boyfriend text messages encouraging him to kill himself.

Michelle Carter's trial got underway Tuesday in juvenile court in Taunton.

The 20-year-old Carter on Monday waived her right to a jury trial, meaning a judge will hear the testimony and issue the verdict.

Carter is charged in the 2014 death of 18-year-old Conrad Roy III, who was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in his pickup truck.

Prosecutors released transcripts of text messages the then-17-year-old Carter sent to Roy. In one, she allegedly wrote: "The time is right and you're ready, you just need to do it!"

Carter's lawyer says the texts are protected free speech and Roy had previously tried to kill himself.