Boston College student's girlfriend charged over his suicide

Alexander Urtula (left) Inyoung You. File photoImage copyright
Urtula family via Suffolk DA’s Office/CBS Boston

Image caption

Alexander Urtula (left) and Inyoung You dated for 18 months before his death

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.

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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’s 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.

Where to get help

From Canada or US: If you’re in an emergency, please call 911

You can contact the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255 or the Crisis Test Line by texting HOME to 741741

Young people in need of help can call Kids Help Phone on 1-800-668-6868

If you are in the UK, you can call the Samaritans on 116123

For support and more information on emotional distress, click here.

source: bbc.com