Father of teen who killed himself to run marathon for suicide prevention
Conrad Roy Jr. is training for his first Boston Marathon as he works through the painful suicide of his son and the high-profile trial in which the teenager's girlfriend was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Roy is using his run to raise money for suicide prevention.
"Every day, every day I run and sometimes I start crying but it feels good you know? It鈥檚 not a painful cry. It feels like a good, thorough cry," he said.
Roy's son, who shared his name, killed himself in 2014 after receiving dozens of text messages from Michelle Carter urging him to end his life. Her high-profile trial was painful for the Roy family.
That pain is helping to motivate a grieving father to run 26.2 miles.
"I鈥檓 doing this because I don鈥檛 want anyone going through the pain that I had to deal with," Roy said. "It鈥檚 better than losing a son and losing a son to suicide is the worst thing imaginable and if raising money for this foundation can save one life and stop the pain I鈥檝e had to deal with then it鈥檒l definitely be worth it."
Roy's goal is to raise $25,000 for suicide prevention, and so far he's about halfway there. You can to support the cause.
He's also spreading a message of hope.
"You can always push through it; no matter how bad you鈥檙e feeling, there鈥檚 people that care, there鈥檚 people who want to talk to you, there鈥檚 people that want you alive and it鈥檚 never the answer to end a life," Roy said. "You have to get through it and I recommend running. Just get out there, get some exercise meet some people."
The is 800-273-8255 and the number is 508-532-2255.
Carter was convicted of manslaughter last year, but the judge granted a defense motion that will keep her out of jail until her appeals in state courts are exhausted.