SCMP reports that a Korean woman has been charged for encouraging her boyfriend to commit suicide.
Inyoung You, 21, was described by Boston’s top prosecutor as being “physically, verbally and psychologically abusive” to her boyfriend Alexander Urtula.
Both You and Urtula were students at Boston College at the time of Urtula’s suicide and had been involved in an 18-moth relationship.
Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said at a news conference on Monday that You had “complete and total control” over her boyfriend.
You had sent Urtula 47,000 text messages over the last two months with some messages encouraging him to “go kill yourself” or “go die”.
The South Korean woman reportedly isolated Urtula from his friends and family. She was fully aware of his depression and suicidal thoughts.
You had tracked the biology major and was nearby when the New Jersey student killed himself on 20 May, which was his graduation day.
“Many of the messages display the power dynamic of the relationship, wherein Ms You made demands and threats with the understanding that she had complete and total control over Mr Urtula both mentally and emotionally,” Rollins said.
You has since fled to South Korea but prosecutors are in negotiations with her counsel for her to return to the US. If she does not return voluntarily, extradition proceedings will begin.
