DARDENNE PRAIRIE, Mo. — Waterford Crystal Drive is one of those suburban streets that seem so new as to have no history at all. But the suicide of a teenage girl — and allegations she had been tormented by a neighbor over the Internet — have brought a reaction that is old, almost tribal, in its nature.
Residents of the middle-class subdivision have turned against the neighbor, Lori Drew, and her family, demanding the Drews move. In interviews, they have warned that someone might be tempted to “take matters into their own hands.”
“It’s like they used to do in the 1700s and 1800s. If you wronged a community, you were basically shunned. That’s basically what happened to her,” said Trever Buckles, a 40-year-old who lives next door to the Drews.
Drew became an outcast after she participated in a hoax that was started after a friendship soured between her daughter and 13-year-old Megan Meier, who lived nearby. A fictional teenager named “Josh Evans” exchanged online messages with Megan that went from friendly to cruel, and apparently drove her to hang herself in her closet in 2006.
Through her attorney, Drew, a mother of two in her 40s, has denied saying hurtful things to the girl over the Internet, and prosecutors have said they found no grounds for charges. The woman admitted she knew of the hoax. The community reaction has been vengeful and pressure on the Drews has been intense.
More than 100 residents gathered in front of their home on a recent evening, holding candles and reciting stories about Megan.
Last December, after neighbors learned of the Internet hoax, someone threw a brick through a window in the Drew home. A few weeks ago, someone made a prank call to police reporting that there had been a shooting inside the Drews’ house, prompting squad cars to arrive with sirens flashing.
Someone recently obtained the password to change the Drews’ outgoing cellphone recording and replaced it with a disturbing message. Police would not detail the content.
Clients have fled from Drew’s home-based advertising business, so she had to close it.
Death threats and ugly insults have been hurled at Drew over the Internet. Her name and address have been posted online, and a website with satellite images of the home said the Drews should “rot in hell.”
Some of the threats “really freak me out,” Buckles said while standing on his front porch after dark Tuesday night. A car slowed and stopped in front of the Drews’ home. It sat there idling for a few long minutes, then sped away. Buckles said it is a common occurrence.
“I just really hope that no one comes out here and does something insane,” Buckles said. “If they do, I hope they get the right house.”
