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Drews list home on the market
By Steve Pokin
Thursday, June 19, 2008 12:55 PM CDT


Lori Drew, who on Monday pleaded not guilty in federal court in Los Angeles, has placed her Dardenne Prairie home for sale, prompting one neighbor to ask: What took you so long?

"My personal opinion is that they should have done it a long time ago," said neighbor Lisa Ferrante. "She knew she did something wrong, and then to put your kids through that."

Drew, 49, and her husband, Curt, have a 15-year-old daughter and a younger son. Lori Drew could not be reached for comment. On Tuesday a Journal reporter left a note on her front door seeking comment.Drew faces three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization and one count of conspiracy. Prosecutors allege that Drew defrauded MySpace by violating the company's Terms of Service when she used false information to create a MySpace account for a fictitious boy named Josh Evans.

Thomas P. O'Brien, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, claims jurisdiction in the case because MySpace is located in Beverly Hills, near Los Angeles.

The MySpace hoax led to the 2006 suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier, who lived four houses down the street from Drew.

The Drews' home was listed last week for $234,900. They bought it in April 2005 for $188,900, according to county records. The Drews made the purchase with the assistance of Megan's mother, Tina Meier, who at the time worked as a real estate agent.

Another neighbor, Christie Kriss, also wants the Drews to leave.

"I can't wait for them to be gone," Kriss said. "We hope she stays in California for like the next 20 years."

Drew faces a maximum 20 years in prison, but her attorney has told the Journal that if he does his job well she won't spend a day in jail.

Another neighbor, 18-year-old Blaine Buckles, said Tuesday he was glad the Drews are trying to leave.

"I don't really like living next door to them," he said.

Buckles attempted to revive Megan the night she ran up to her bedroom closet and hanged herself after receiving hurtful messages on MySpace from the fictitious Josh Evans. She died the next day.

Drew appeared briefly in court Monday. Neither she nor her attorney spoke to reporters following the hearing. She posted a $20,000 signature, or non-secured, bond, meaning she did not have to provide cash or property to be free pending trial.

The case was assigned to U.S. Circuit Judge George Wu, with a July 29 trial date.

Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for prosecutor O'Brien, said Tuesday via e-mail that next month's trial date was necessitated by the Speedy Trial Act. He added that the date could be pushed back.

Mrozek has said previously that to the best of his knowledge there is no other similar case in which an adult has been charged with misidentifying herself or himself on a social networking site for the purpose of inflicting emotional distress on a juvenile.

Drew and her daughter, then 13, and a woman named Ashley Grills, then 18, were involved in creating the phony account. Grills at the time was a temporary employee of Drew's and worked in Drew's home.

On April 1, Grills appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America." She said Lori Drew was more involved than she has acknowledged. But Grills also admitted that she was the person who wrote - as Josh Evans - what is believed to be, according to Ron Meier, Megan's father, the final message Megan saw before taking her life:

"Everybody in O'Fallon knows who you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a (expletive) rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you."

Drew has told police the Josh Evans account was created to see if Megan was saying anything mean about Drew's daughter. The two girls had been friends but had a recent falling out.

According to Megan's parents, Josh quickly sought out Megan as a MySpace friend. Megan was thrilled that this good-looking young man - based on his photo - was interested in her. Megan for much of her life had battled depression and struggled to keep her weight down. Josh and Megan flirted for several weeks before Josh suddenly turned mean.