In what promises to be one recent times’ most convoluted cases, 49 year old Lori Drew is accused that in 2006 she created, in conspiracy with her daughter Sarah (then 13) and her assistant Ashley Grills (18 years old at the time), a fictitious identity on MySpace – a young attractive teenage boy called Josh Evans, who was new to town – by which they manipulated and harassed Megan, the 13-year-old daughter of Drew’s neighbour and friend Tina Meier to ultimately commit suicide.

The case, which is the first ‘cyberbullying’ trial in the U.S. is tried under the Computer Use and Fraud act (usually used to prosecute hackers) and if won, will set a legal precedent in the area of legal harassment.

Opening arguments in the case were made today, and they show that it may be difficult to keep the case centered on the actual computer fraud charges, instead of Drew’s liability for Megan Meier’s suicide.

According to press, federal prosecutor Tom O’Brien’s opening statement went as follows:

Drew had “hatched a plan in order to prey on the psyche of a vulnerable 13-year-old.” The goal, Mr. O’Brien said, was “to embarrass her, to humiliate her, to make fun of her and to hurt her.” Ms. Drew knew of Megan’s history of depression and attention-deficit disorder, he said, because Ms. Drew had given Megan her medicine when she vacationed with the Drew family.

Drew’s attorney Dean Steward depicted Drew as not internet-literate, but aware that Megan was taunting her own daughter Sarah:

“There are two sides to every story,” said Dean Steward, Ms. Drew’s lawyer, who depicted Megan as a fickle friend who had taunted Sarah Drew by spreading “horrible” rumors about her. Mr. Steward implored jurors to remember that “this is a computer abuse and fraud case, not a homicide case.”

Despite Steward’s emphasis that "This is not a homicide case," it is a complex matter that will inevitably involve the Meier girl’s death, and will be a closely-watched precedent-setting event. We’ll keep you posted as the situation develops.