Internet suicide case woman pleads not guilty

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Missouri woman has pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles federal court to charges in a MySpace hoax allegedly linked to a 13-year-old girl's suicide.

Forty-nine-year-old Lori Drew stood quietly beside her attorney Monday as U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Abrams asked if she understood the charges and conditions under which she was being released on bond. She said she did.

Drew pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and accessing protected computers without authorization to get information used to inflict emotional distress.

Drew allegedly helped create a MySpace account that pretended to be for a 16-year-old boy. The account was used to send cruel messages to Megan Meier. The girl, who had a history of attention deficit disorder and depression, hanged herself at home in 2006.