People_USA_June_26_2017

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out,” friend Evelyn Murdock said of Roy in a 2015
interview with People. “He had a great sense of
humor. He knew he wanted to work on boats and
got his certification to become a captain. He knew
what he wanted and went for it.” Still, Roy’s emotional
struggles were known to some of his friends,
as well as his alleged previous suicide attempt. “I
knew he had a history,” his pal Louie Pina told
People in a 2015 interview. “Whenever I asked him
about it, he would never give me details. I just told
him if he ever needed someone to talk to, he should
never feel like he was alone. I wish I was the one he
talked to, instead of talking to Michelle.”
Roy’s body was found in his truck on July 13,
2014. The portable gas-powered generator found
in the backseat supplied the carbon monoxide that
police say killed him. In the final moments before
Roy’s death, Carter clearly seemed to understand
that what she was doing was wrong and urged Roy
to “delete the messages” she’d sent him. Days later,
she texted a friend to say, “If they read my messages
to him, I’m done.” Her parents issued a statement
when charges were brought against their daughter
insisting she would be found innocent. “Our
hearts have and remain broken for the Roy family,”
they wrote. “For everyone that does not know our
daughter, she is not the villain the media is portraying
her to be. She is a quiet, kind and sympathetic
young girl. She tried immensely to help Mr. Roy in
his battle with depression.”
Whether or not a judge agrees will determine
whether Carter ends up doing jail time for her
texts: If she is found guilty of manslaughter, she
faces up to 20 years in prison. Legal questions
aside, one fact is painfully clear, according to
Roy’s friend Murdock. “In the moment he needed
a friend the most, when he needed the most help,
she did the opposite,” Murdock said. “She’ll have
to live with that for the rest of her life.”
With reporting by Chris Harris, Steve Helling and
Jeff Truesdell
ENDLESS PAIN
Top: Roy’s mother,
Lynn (in December
2016), testified
she thought Roy
“was doing great”
and had bought
his sisters ice
cream the day
he died. Bottom:
John and Becky
Roy, Conrad’s
uncle and aunt
(on June 6), fight
back tears during
the trial as crimescene
photos are
revealed.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide,
call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at
800-273-TALK or text the Crisis Text Line at 741741.