A Midwestern mother accused of using a fake MySpace account to torment a teenager who later committed seems to have thought the plan was a clever and funny way to deal with a girl she suspected was spreading lies about her daughter, according to witnesses Thursday. Ashley Grills, who was testifying under a grant of immunity, said that Lori Drew was directly involved in creating the bogus MySpace profile of a 16-year-old boy, profile that was used to trick Megan Meier, a 13-year-old, into an online relationship. Grills also said she came up with the idea and Drew agreed, thinking it was funny.

Prosecutors alleged that Megan Meier has hanged herself two years ago after receiving an e-mail from the fictitious “Josh Evans”, saying “the world would be a better place without you.” Now, Lori Drew is accused of violating federal law by providing false information to MySpace to set up the account, obtaining information about Megan in violation of MySpace rules and using the account to inflict emotional distress on the girl. Last year, authorities in Missouri concluded that there was no statute under which Drew could be charged, but U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien indicted Drew in Los Angeles on the computer charges this spring based on the fact that MySpace is based in Beverly Hills and, therefore, his office had jurisdiction.

On the other hand, Drew’s attorney, Dean Steward, said that Megan was already a deeply troubled teen who had considered suicide before and who was taking antidepressant medication, which warned of suicidal tendencies as a potential side effect. Grills also mentioned that Drew helped formulate messages that were sent to Megan and that she also warned Drew that they might get in trouble for fabricating the Josh Evans account. Most importantly, Grills said she sent the final e-mail from an AOL instant messaging service, not MySpace, a fact that was a blow to the government’s claim of jurisdiction.