Girlfriend Charged In Suicide Of College Student From NJ

BOSTON — A 21-year-old woman faces an involuntary manslaughter charge after subjecting her boyfriend, a college student from New Jersey, to "unrelenting abuse" until he took his own life the day he was set to graduate, the city's top prosecutor said.

Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins announced the indictment Monday of Inyoung You, who Rollins said urged Alexander Urtula, 22, "thousands of times" to kill himself. You was with Urtula when he jumped off a Roxbury garage on May 20, hours before his graduation from Boston College, Rollins said.

Urtula, of Cedar Grove, was subject to physical, verbal and physiological abuse during his 18-month-long "tumultuous relationship" with You, according to Rollins. She sent tens of thousands of text messages to Urtula, many of which showed her abuse "more frequent, more powerful and more demeaning" in the time before he killed himself, Rollins said.

The abuse was witnessed by friends and documents in Urtula's journal, Rollins said.

"Students come to Boston from around the world to attend our renowned colleges and universities," Rollins said. "They are eager to learn and experience our vibrant city. Their families and loved ones do not expect them to face unending physical and mental abuse."

You, who withdrew from BC during her junior year, is currently in South Korea. Rollins said she is hopeful You turns herself in.

You sent 47,000 texts to Urtula in the two months before his suicide, many saying things pushing for him to "go die" and saying the world and his family would be better without him, Rollins said. You allegedly continued the abuse after finding out Urtula was depressed and suicidal, threatening him with self-harm in an effort to keep control over him.

The case recalls that of Michelle Carter, the young woman convicted of involuntary manslaughter for encouraging her boyfriend to kill himself. Carter is currently serving a 15-month prison sentence; her parole was denied after a September hearing.

Carter's attorneys are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has not yet decided whether to take up the case.