‘The Girl from Plainville’ on Hulu: The True Story Behind Conrad Roy III’s Death and the Michelle Carter Case

It’s one of the most shocking true crime stories of the digital age, and now it’s on Hulu. This week marks the premiere of The Girl from Plainville, Liz Hannah and Patrick Macmanus’s limited series about the death of Conrad Roy III and the case that followed.

It started as a seemingly straightforward suicide case, but it quickly morphed into something far more bizarre. In the middle of the investigation, it was discovered that Roy’s girlfriend, Michelle Carter, repeatedly encouraged Roy to take his own life. Most disturbingly of all, when Roy left his truck in an attempt to back out of his suicide attempt, Carter told him to get back in the vehicle. Before you dive into Hulu’s dramatization, it’s worth getting the facts straight. Here’s the true story behind The Girl from Plainville and the case that followed.

Is The Girl from Plainville Based on a True Story?

Unfortunately, yes. It is.

How Did Conrad Roy III and Michelle Carter Meet?

Roy and Carter first met each other while visiting relatives in Florida. They bonded while on vacation and started to text each other after they returned home. One of the most interesting elements about their relationship has to do with its distance. Though they met hundreds of miles away from home, they lived nearby, roughly 35 miles away from each other in the Boston suburbs. But despite that relatively short distance, the two only met in person a handful of times.

The two developed a romantic relationship of sorts that seemed to stem from their mutual struggles and feeling like they didn’t belong. Carter suffered from an eating disorder from the age of either eight or nine. From the age of 14, she was placed on prescription psychiatric medication, a detail that it would later be argued may have impeded her ability to feel empathy. Roy also had a history with medication. After being hospitalized for an acetaminophen overdose at the age of 17, Roy started taking the taking the antidepressant citalopram. He also suffered from social anxiety and depression and allegedly had an abusive relationship with his father and grandfather. Police reports revealed that Roy’s father, Conrad Roy II, was violent toward him especially during his divorce.

What Happened to Conrad Roy III?

Prior to July of 2014, Roy had a history with suicide. In October of 2012, Roy, who was upset about his parents’ divorce, attempted to kill himself. During this attempt, Carter discouraged him from ending his life and told him to get professional help. He would also repeatedly talk to Carter about the most painless ways someone could die by suicide. A month before his death, Roy texted Carter “We should be like Romeo and Juliet at the end.” When Carter said she’d be his Juliet, Roy emphasized that the play ends with the lovers dead by their own hands.

This is all to say that discussing suicide was not an abnormal aspect of Roy and Carter’s relationship. In July of 2014, Roy texted Carter again about ending his life. Only this time around, Carter encouraged him to go through with it instead of trying to stop him. While in the parking lot of a Kmart, Roy ended his life.

Was Michelle Carter Involved in Conrad Roy III’s Death? What Is The Commonwealth vs. Michelle Carter?

That’s the question this court case attempted to answer. When Roy was first found in his truck, his death was ruled as a suicide. Many of Roy’s friends didn’t know who Carter was, let alone that Roy had a girlfriend. It’s when Carter became more and more involved with the grieving family that people became suspicious of her. She arranged a charity baseball game in Roy’s honor to raise mental health awareness. But instead of hosting the game in Roy’s hometown of Mattapoisett, MA, she hosted it in her town of Plainville.

Carter’s involvement prompted authorities to look closer into her relationship with Roy. That’s how the texts were found. It was discovered that on the day that Roy took his life, Carter had encouraged Roy to do so. At one point, it seemed as though Roy even got out of his truck as he reconsidered what he was about to do. Through text, Carter told him to get back into the vehicle.

In February of 2015, Carter was indicted on counts of involuntary manslaughter. She was 17 at the time of these charges, and the court charged her as a “youthful offender” rather than a “juvenile”, meaning she could be tried as an adult. Carter waived her right to a trial by jury, and in June of 2017 she was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by Judge Lawrence Moniz. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court also upheld this decision. Carter was given a two-and-a-half year prison term with 15 months to be served in the Bristol County House of Corrections. She was also given five years of probation.

Where Is Michelle Carter Now?

In January of 2020, Carter was released three months early due to good conduct. Altogether, she served 11 months and 12 days of her 15 month sentence. She has largely stayed out of the public eye since her release.

Is There a Documentary About the Michelle Carter Case?

There is. Directed by Erin Lee Carr, HBO’s I Love You, Now Die is a thought-provoking and powerful deep dive into this case that alludes clear answers at every turn. For a more thorough and less dramatized take on this case, this is the documentary for you.

If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal thoughts, call 911, or call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

Watch The Girl from Plainville on Hulu