Boston College student's girlfriend charged over his suicide

A former Boston College student has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to the suicide of her boyfriend in May.

The indictment of Inyoung You, 21, over the death of Alexander Urtula, 22, was announced in the US state of Massachusetts on Monday.

A local attorney said Ms You, a South Korean national, had been abusive towards Mr Urtula.

Mr Urtula died hours before his graduation on 20 May.

Ms You, who is currently in South Korea, has so far made no public comment on the case.

What are the accusations?

At a news conference on Monday, Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins announced that Ms You had been charged with involuntary manslaughter by a Suffolk County grand jury.

The attorney revealed that after an "extensive investigation" police determined that she "was physically, verbally and psychologically abusive towards Mr Urtula during their 18-month-long tumultuous relationship".

"The abuse became more frequent, more powerful and more demeaning in the days and hours leading up to Mr Urtula's death," the attorney said.

She said that the couple had exchanged more than 75,000 text messages in the two months prior to Mr Urtula's death.

In her posts, Ms You urged Mr Urtula to "go kill himself" and "go die", the attorney said.

She added that on 20 May Ms You "was tracking Mr Urtula's location and went to the Renaissance garage" where he killed himself.

 

 

Vocabulary

1. manslaughter

noun

the crime of killing a human being without malice aforethought, or otherwise in circumstances not amounting to murder.

2. indictment

noun

a formal charge or accusation of a serious crime.

3. Renaissance

noun

the revival of art and literature under the influence of classical models in the 14th–16th centuries.

4. tumultuous

adjective

making a loud, confused noise; uproarious.

5. attorney

noun

a person appointed to act for another in business or legal matters.

 

Discussions

1. What was Ms.You's crime?

2. How long Ms.You and Mr. Urtula have dated before Mr.Urtula killed himself?

3. Do you think she actually have contributed to Mr.Urutla's death?

4. Discuss your thoughts about one being verbally abusive toward one another.