The Girl from Plainville true story: What happened to Conrad Roy and girlfriend Michelle Carter?

The Girl from Plainville is a true crime drama series about the disturbing case of Conrad Roy, an honour roll student who took his own life, and his girlfriend, Michelle Carter, who encouraged him to do so.

Elle Fanning plays Carter in the Hulu series which was released in the US in March last year, and is now airing on Channel 4. She is joined by Poker Face star Colton Ryan as Roy.

The series is inspired by the infamous ‘texting suicide’ that led to the tragic death of Conrad Roy, and the subsequent trial of his girlfriend, Carter.

This is everything you need to know about the case and what happened to Roy and Carter:   

What happened to Conrad Roy?

Conrad Roy was a teenager from Massachusetts - he had struggled with anxiety and depression for much of his child and teenage years. 

Roy was a successful student and was admitted to Fitchburg State University, but decided not to pursue his studies immediately after graduating.   

He met his girlfriend, Michelle Carter, before graduation, and despite living around an hour apart, they mostly kept in contact via phone calls and text message, and only met in person five times. As Roy continued to struggle with his mental health, he confided in Carter. 

Following his parents' divorce in 2012, Roy attempted to take is own life - Carter at first told Roy to seek professional help, but over time she began to encourage him to follow through with taking his own life.

Carter’s texts to Roy were revealed at a trial - messages included her sending him instructions on how to kill himself, pushing him to continue with the attempt, and reassuring him that his family would move on after his death.

What happened to Michelle Carter?

Carter repeatedly told Roy to carry out his suicide, and when he texted her during the attempt saying that he had tried to bring it to a halt, in her final message to her boyfriend she told him to ‘get back in’ his truck.

Carter was arrested in 2015 and charged with involuntary manslaughter - dozens of pages of text messages were used as evidence in her trial. Carter's lawyer argued that she had tried to talk Roy into seeking help, but the text trail showed that this had not been the case for the entirety of their relationship.

She was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in 2017 on the basis that she had a duty to act, and sentenced to two and a half years in prison and ordered to serve 15 months, with the rest suspended. She served at the Women’s Center at the Bristol County House of Corrections and was released after serving just 11 months.