Mandie Reusch (via Westmoreland District Attorney's Office) and Kevin Metzger (via obituary).
A woman has been arrested for continuously sending her estranged boyfriend "heinous and graphic" messages that authorities say encouraged him to kill himself and ultimately contributed to him taking his own life two years ago.
Mandie Rose Reusch, 35, was taken into custody in Pennsylvania on Tuesday and charged with one count of with aiding suicide, a felony, and one count of harassment, a misdemeanor, in connection with the death of 37-year-old Keven Metzger, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a press release from the Westmoreland District Attorney's Office, Reusch's arrest came after a two-year investigation led by detectives with the Pennsylvania State Police in collaboration with investigators in the the DA's office.
The charges against Reusch stem from her relationship with Metzger, who died by suicide on June 18, 2021. During the investigation, authorities discovered a letter believed to be written by Metzger himself "detailing a trail of torment and solicitation." Messages posted to his public Facebook page told a similar story, authorities say. Prosecutors have described the messages sent by Reusch to Metzger as "heinous and graphic."
In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, District Attorney Nicole W. Ziccarelli emphasized the potential impact of these messages on Metzger's decision to take his own life.
"Mr. Metzger may still be here today if those messages did not influence and encourage him to take his own life," she said. "These messages from Mr. Metzger's estranged girlfriend were continuous and unrelenting for months, until it finally stopped when the victim took his own life."
Prosecutors said that the "level of bullying, harassment and threats rose to a criminal level in this particular case."
Expressing condolences to the Metzger family for their loss and the grief they have endured since his death, Ziccarelli said Reusch's abhorrent conduct would not be tolerated without consequences.
"We will not allow or tolerate this kind of egregious behavior," she declared.
Reusch remained in custody at the Westmoreland County Prison as of Tuesday afternoon. She appeared before Magistrate Judge Rebecca C. Tyburski for her arraignment on Tuesday morning and is currently scheduled to appear in court again for her preliminary hearing on June 27.
Reusch's defense attorney, Phillip P. Dilucente, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The DA's office stressed that suicide is never a solution and encouraged those in need to seek help through resources such as the National Suicide Prevention hotline at 800-273-8255 or by texting TALK to 741741.
The charges against Reusch are reminiscent of the high-profile Massachusetts criminal case of Michelle Carter, who was convicted in 2017 of involuntary manslaughter in the 2014 suicide of her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III. Carter, then 17 years old, had sent text messages to Roy, 18, encouraging him to take his own life; he ultimately died by carbon monoxide poisoning.
Carter served 15 months of a two-year prison sentence before being released in 2020.