Suicide admitted as evidence

A federal judge ruled Friday that evidence of a girl’s suicide can be used by prosecutors against a woman charged in an Internet hoax.

The ruling came just days before the start of trial for Lori Drew, 49, of O’Fallon, Mo., who has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing computers without authorization.

Prosecutors said Drew helped create a false-identity MySpace account and harassed Megan Meier, her daughter’s former friend.

Meier, who was being treated for depression, hanged herself after allegedly receiving messages saying the world would be better off without her.

Drew’s lawyer had argued the suicide evidence would lead jurors to focus on that rather than the question of whether Drew violated the terms of service of MySpace.

Jury selection in the case is set to begin Tuesday.