Medical records allowed in suicide trial

TAUNTON, Mass. (AP) — A judge has ruled that a Massachusetts woman charged with manslaughter for sending her boyfriend text messages encouraging him to take his own life can introduce medical records at trial that allegedly show he had been talking about suicide for years.

Michelle Carter faces trial next month in the 2014 death of 18-year-old Conrad Roy III. Carter, now 20, was 17 at the time. A judge ruled Wednesday that Carter's attorneys can introduce records that date to 2011.

The Plainville woman's lawyer says the records show Roy had been "beating the drum" for three years before his death.

Prosecutors argued against use of the records, saying they were irrelevant and Roy stopped seeking help from doctors once he met Carter. Carter's lawyers say her texts were constitutionally protected free speech.