Original subtitles

[narrator] Two outcasts become best friends.

They gravitated towards each other.

[narrator] Until their friendship ignites, a deadly plot for revenge.

It just exploded.

I would have never expected this.

-[911 operator] What is your emergency? -[woman] Please help me. Please help me.

[narrator] Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

[dramatic music playing]

[teacher] Who has a story that they want to share with us?

[narrator] Megan Meier is outgoing, with a loud, in-your-face attitude.

From early on Megan was her own person.

Goofy, funny. Definitely a far out there type girl.

[Emily] This girl had so much spunk.

She was just kind of: "I'm Megan Meier, I'm here, I'm here to stay."

[narrator] But her quirky and impulsive personality,

makes it difficult for her to make friends.

That is until she meets Sarah Drew in the fourth grade.

Soon the girls become best friends.

They gravitated towards each other.

[narrator] Like Megan, Sarah is also lonely and unpopular

Sarah was so ridiculously shy.

I mean it was literally if you said "Boo!" the kid would have been startled.

She was just this really sweet girl.

Just so mild mannered and quiet, and she was very soft-spoken.

[narrator] For the next three years, they’re joined at the hip.

[Tina] Megan and Sarah would spend the night,

they would go like to a baseball game

or go to the movies or go roller-skating

or ride bikes or do different things.

Sarah thought the world of Megan

and Megan was happy to have Sarah as a friend.

They’d like hang out for a whole weekend like inseparable.

[peaceful music playing]

[narrator] Megan and Sarah think they’ll always be close.

But little do they know, their friendship would have deadly consequences.

[children laughing]

[narrator] It all starts in the seventh grade.

Megan and Sarah are no longer just unpopular,

now, they're the target of extreme bullying.

[Emily] People would definitely talk behind Sarah's back.

It would be laughing and giggling and whispering.

[narrator] Sarah keeps to herself and tries to fly under the radar

to avoid being picked on.

But Megan can't.

Her loud and over the top personality,

attracts the attention of more bullies.

They were more aggressive towards Megan.

[narrator] Day in and day out, Megan is bullied without mercy.

They would comment about Megan's appearance,

and they would call her like a slut.

"Megan you are annoying. Megan shut up."

[Emily] She definitely put up a front that it didn't bother her.

But deep down it did bother her.

It really does take a toll on your self-esteem.

When Megan would look in the mirror she thought she was all of those things.

She said: "I hate myself, mom. Everybody hates me."

[narrator] Megan desperately tries to find a way out of her situation.

It was survival, trying to get this bullying to stop.

Megan came up with a plan.

[narrator] And her plan is ambitious.

Megan sets her sights on befriending the popular girls

and joining the in crowd.

[Tina] In her mind she thought if she can befriend them,

maybe these boys who were nice to those girls would stop making fun of her

because she would be included in that group.

[Brittany] She started to wear like more name brand clothes.

In the mornings and stuff before school, she'd freak out

because she wouldn't have anything to wear.

Her room was always a disaster because she tried 5,000 outfits

and she'd put on a bunch of make-up.

[narrator] Megan is willing to do anything to be accepted by the popular girls.

She even tries to buy their friendship by giving them gifts

and decorating their lockers on their birthdays.

Megan would have given them every single thing she owned

if they just would have been friends with her.

[narrator] It seems to work.

When the popular girls begin to invite Megan to parties,

she believes they've accepted her.

Now, Megan is so busy with her new friends that she starts to ignore Sarah.

Sarah kind of felt that:

"Well why? Why are you wanting to be friends with them, I am your friend."

But Megan felt Sarah would have held her back.

[narrator] Sarah and Megan's relationship begins to suffer.

Sarah resents being left behind by the newly popular Megan.

[Allison] When Megan wouldn't hang out with her she'd feel hurt and jealous.

She was so devastated.

And I genuinely felt so bad for her.

Things started to turn.

[narrator] Soon, the girls become so angry and resentful with each other

they start to argue all the time.

One girl was having her feelings hurt. One girl was upset.

When they were in an argument, opposite ends of the room.

Friends one day, not friends the next day.

-I didn't! -You're lying.

[narrator] It gets so bad, that Sarah's mother, Lori, calls Megan's mother, Tina,

to try to salvage the relationship.

Lori was so involved with the friendship that it was overwhelming.

I finally said I can't make Megan want to be friends with her

just like you can't make Sarah want to be friends with Megan.

[narrator] There's nothing anyone can do.

And by the end of seventh grade, the friendship ends.

It was done and over with.

[Tina] Megan just kind of moved on. But Sarah felt abandoned.

[Emily] Sarah was really hurt.

I could only imagine losing someone that had been my best friend for so long.

[narrator] But it's only the beginning. The rejection Sarah feels

would set into motion a chain of events no one could have imagined.

I didn't think someone who had always appeared to be so nice

be capable of doing something so horrendous.

[narrator] Megan has just dumped Sarah, her best friend of four years,

to get in with the popular girls at school.

[Tina] Sarah viewed it as abandonment.

Megan kind of viewed it as moving on.

She thought the popular girls could elevate her

out of this bullying situation that she was going through.

[narrator] But something unexpected happens.

Megan's new popular friends dump her.

-[schoolgirl] I mean look at your shoes. -[schoolgirl] ...your hair!

One minute they were buddy-buddy, the next minute everyone turned on Megan

and she was out

as fast as she was in.

[narrator] Sarah feels secretly vindicated,

that Megan is now getting a taste of her own medicine.

[Emily] Sarah just wanted Megan to feel the same way that she had.

[narrator] But now that Megan is out of the in crowd,

she's bullied worse than before.

And she sees no hope of it ever stopping.

She cried in the mornings going to school. Begging me, do not make her go back.

[narrator] Megan can't take it any longer

and decides to transfer to a different school for eighth grade.

[Tina] And it was just this fresh start.

Megan made these amazing, wonderful friends.

[narrator] Although Sarah is still angry with Megan,

she tries to make new friends too.

[Emily] Sarah tried to just hang out with more people and she replaced Megan.

[narrator] Her new best friend is a girl named Jessica Mulford.

Like Sarah, she has trouble making friends.

Sarah and Jessica were like two outcasts that became friends.

[narrator] But even though Sarah has a new friend,

she still hasn't gotten over what she considers Megan's betrayal.

And her anger would soon boil over.

One day at school, Megan hears a rumor,

that Sarah is talking trash about her on MySpace.

[Emily] Megan was concerned that Sarah was saying things about her on MySpace.

[narrator] A few days later, Sarah hears that Megan has retaliated online.

There was a rumor that was going around that Megan had called Sarah a lesbian.

[narrator] The gossip goes back and forth in cyberspace,

but the two girls never talk face to face.

Soon after, Megan receives a MySpace friend request

from a cute older boy named Josh Evans.

He was 16. He was like really cute, really hot.

And she was so excited. Like she was always talking about him.

He told Megan that she was beautiful and gave her that boost of self-esteem.

[narrator] Megan and Josh talk every day.

She confides in him all her feelings,

even negative ones about girls she's angry with from her old school,

including Sarah.

Josh is always there to lend an ear.

And over the next five weeks, their online relationship blossoms.

He told Megan they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

[narrator] They haven't met in person yet but like most kids their age,

their cyber romance is as meaningful as any.

Megan had learned te amo in Spanish, which is "I love you"

and so, you know, they would say te amo back and forth.

[narrator] By Monday October 16th 2006,

Megan has never been happier.

She's finally free from bullying at school and in a wonderful relationship.

Not only that, she's getting her braces off

and her 14th birthday party is coming up.

Sarah is not on the guest list. But all her new friends are attending.

[Tina] She's like: "Mom, everybody's coming to the party!"

She found this adorable black and white polka dot birthday dress

that she loved

and she was so excited she couldn't stand it.

[narrator] But Sarah is still seething with anger

that Megan dumped her in the first place,

and unbeknownst to Megan Sarah is plotting to make her pay.

Sarah felt that Megan on purpose was trying to hurt Sarah

by not being friends with her anymore.

Sarah wanted to hurt Megan.

[narrator] After school that day, Megan logs into MySpace

and a message from Josh shatters her entire world.

She was like: "What happened? What did I do wrong?"

She didn't know what to do and she didn't know where to turn.

It just exploded.

[narrator] Sarah is secretly plotting revenge, against her ex-best friend Megan.

Megan has no idea.

She is now focused on Josh, her online boyfriend

and absolute dream guy.

Megan finally has somebody who, liked her and told her she's beautiful

and she really was like a lot more upbeat.

[narrator] But from such a high, Megan is dealt a sudden and unexpected blow

when on Monday October 16th 2006

she sees a devastating post on MySpace.

[Tina] It was a message from Josh that said:

"I don't want to be friends with you anymore. You're not a nice person.

No one likes you. No one wants to be friends with you!"

[narrator] Just like that, Josh breaks up with her.

She was devastated.

[narrator] Megan racks her brain, to figure out what suddenly went so wrong,

after a perfect five weeks.

[Tina] Why would he all of a sudden flip and change on her like that?

She was like bawling her eyes out.

It really, really hurt her.

[narrator] But things would only get worse for Megan,

when Josh turns other people against her too.

He digs up Megan's earlier messages containing nasty comments

about the popular girls from her old school.

Then Josh forwards them to those girls.

Then he said: "Look, she's saying things about you."

And then they started attacking Megan.

[narrator] The girls begin calling Megan names on MySpace for everyone to see.

And it doesn't stop there.

When other kids in town see what's being said,

they get whipped into a frenzy, and join in the cyberbullying.

[Emily] "Megan Meier is fat, Megan Meier is not a good friend,

she's a liar."

[Tina] "You're a bitch, you're a slut, you're a [bleep] whore."

Telling her that no one liked her.

[narrator] It's like her childhood bullying all over again,

but this time the barrage of vicious attacks catches her completely off guard.

All of the sudden it started spiraling out of control.

She was hysterical.

Everybody at her old school, everybody at her new school.

And all these people now were against her.

[narrator] It seems everyone has joined in…

everyone except Megan's ex-best friend Sarah, who mysteriously says nothing.

But then, the meanest and most devastating message of them all appears.

And it comes from the person Megan once thought cared about her the most.

Josh said: "The world would be a better place without you

and have a [bleep] rest of your life."

All of a sudden I think for her it came crashing down.

That was just the cherry on top of everything else.

There's so many emotions already, spinning out of control,

and then someone tells you that, you know, you're better of dead, it's terrible.

It set her off and made her think: "Nobody likes me. Nobody cares about me.

I feel like I'm just alone."

And she just lost it.

I knew she was upset. I knew it hurt her feelings.

It was just not something that I even dreamed that Megan would have done.

[narrator] Megan's online boyfriend Josh, has just broken up with her

and caused dozens of kids in town to publicly attack her on MySpace.

Although her ex-best friend Sarah surprisingly doesn't join in,

it seems everyone Megan knows is now cyberbullying her.

It just exploded.

And all the people saying all of the horrible things about her.

[narrator] It's all falling apart for Megan

and family and friends can't seem to help her.

Megan just panicked because she felt that

everybody at her old school, everybody at her new school,

they were going to believe these things.

She instantly saw that flash back to the bullying

and she was petrified of that happening again.

I just think she just hit her breaking point.

What's the matter, what happened?

I was trying to get her to calm down.

But was just so overwhelming and so crushing for her.

That she looked at me crying and started to run up the stairs.

Probably 20 minutes went by

and I just had this horrible feeling that ran through my body. I can't explain it.

[narrator] Tina races to Megan's bedroom

and comes face to face with a mother's worst nightmare.

[Tina] I screamed. My heart is pounding, I'm like completely numb.

It's the most horrible feeling.

[narrator] Megan is hanging from a belt in the closet.

I ran over to try to lift her up. She was lifeless.

Her dad ran upstairs and he got her down and was starting CPR.

I'm running around the house

screaming at the top of my lungs to the 911 operator.

-[991 operator] What is your emergency? -[Tina] My daughter just hung herself!

[911 operator] Calm down, what is going on there?

[Tina] My daughter just hung herself.

Oh my god. Please help me. Please help me.

I remember literally praying like: "Please, please, I will do whatever,

please save her. Please help her."

[narrator] But there's nothing anyone can do.

Just 20 days shy of her 14th birthday, Megan Meier dies.

[dramatic music playing]

A complete part of me died…

along with her.

Walking out of that hospital without your child,

I mean it was...

it's just you can't even understand it.

I still to this day...

look back and think...

I just don't know how it happened.

[narrator] Megan's ex-best friend Sarah finds out

and seems to be in complete shock.

[Emily] Sarah was grieving heavily over it.

I remember her crying a lot.

[narrator] Now, Megan's parents are desperate

to understand the events leading up to Megan's suicide.

After Megan took her own life, I think I remember

the question was "Why?" I mean, it was "Why?"

and I would literally scream it inside: "Why?"

Losing a child to suicide I questioned myself a million and one times.

[narrator] Tina starts by questioning what happened with Josh.

His relationship with Megan had started out so well.

Hoping for answers, she decides to contact him on MySpace.

I remember looking on the computer and searching,

looking for this Josh Evans account.

[narrator] But Josh's entire account, has been deleted.

All of a sudden it just went away.

How in the world did he just disappear?

[narrator] Megan's parents ask all of Megan's friends for information

but strangely they can't find anyone who has ever met Josh in person.

What was going on? Why did all this stuff happen?

[narrator] Then on November 25th 2006,

Tina gets shocking information from an unlikely source.

The mother of Sarah's new best friend Jessica.

She shook her head and started having tears roll down her face and said:

"I just need to tell you this Josh Evans account is fake."

[narrator] There is no Josh Evans.

Megan's boyfriend was made up by her ex-best friend Sarah

along with her mother Lori, and Lori's work assistant, Ashley Grills.

I would have never expected this,

if I didn't know, I would have never believed it.

[narrator] Incredibly, they had created the fictional Josh character

to start a fake relationship with Megan.

I thought: "How in the world could you do that?

Why would somebody do that?"

I was filled with the most hatred and anger

I've ever felt in my entire life

along with the most deeply saddened feeling

thinking Megan had no clue that these... they were fake.

She had no idea.

They knew that Megan was boy-crazy.

It was absolutely a trap and Megan walked right into it.

[narrator] Once Megan cared about Josh,

Sarah's plan for revenge was finally set in motion.

They had him dump her, so she would feel

the same hurt and rejection that Sarah had.

[Tina] It was a way for them to say:

"You didn't want to hang out with her, we're getting you back."

But I don't think their original intention was Megan's going to take her own life.

[narrator] Still, what happened to Megan

had its roots in the cyberattack they had planned.

And I think for Lori,

she was trying to defend her daughter.

And for Sarah, I think she thought:

"Since my mother is in on this too it can't be that bad."

I don't think anyone ever thought that it would come to this.

What they did was irresponsible and unforgivable,

but it's easy to see how someone could be so swept up into

just so much emotion and so much anger that they don't foresee the consequences.

[narrator] Although they didn't mean to drive Megan to suicide,

ultimately, their actions did play a part.

The Meier's report the Drew's deadly deception to the authorities.

Lori Drew is charged with violating the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

We went to trial in November of 2008. The jury found Lori Drew guilty

on three misdemeanors, which carried a year a piece.

I absolutely wanted her to face every single day. This is justice.

[narrator] But unfortunately for Megan's family, the conviction is overturned.

In the eyes of the law, it isn't illegal to make up a fictitious online account.

The judge would have to convict anybody else who lied on social networking sites.

So unfortunately, there was nothing they could do.

[narrator] As word of the case spreads, the community is up in arms.

[Tina] Society itself was absolutely outraged

and they went at them with a vengeance.

They closed her business down, bricks were thrown through their windows.

People were hacking into their cells phones.

Sarah was more alienated than ever and their life was just under a microscope.

Everyone was so swept up in the media frenzy.

[narrator] The Drews even receive death threats.

Sarah and her family ultimately move away.

In 2007, Tina starts the Megan Meier Foundation

to tell children "Suicide is not the answer"

and raise awareness about how fatal bullying can be.

It's like still something I deal with, every day.

I don't think...

I'll ever find anybody that can take her spot.

Megan was this amazing, wonderful girl with a great spirit.

I feel so blessed to be a mom

because some people don't have all of that through a lifetime

and I was able to get that with Megan for almost 14 years, so...

She was an amazing kid.

[narrator] In this case, best friends Megan and Sarah

were both victims of bullying.

And in the end, to seek revenge, Sarah became a bully herself

and helped push Megan over the edge.

There is definitely two sides to every story

and this story is unfortunately a tragic one.