A Pennsylvania woman is accused of leading her estranged boyfriend to take his own life after she allegedly sent him "heinous" text messages and video of her engaging in sex with another man.
Mandie Reusch, 35, is charged with the felony crime of aiding suicide and the misdemeanor crime of harassment in connection with the investigation that began two years ago, the Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office said in a press release.
The district attorney's office said Kevin Metzger, 37, committed suicide on June 18, 2021, in response to Reusch sending him "heinous and graphic" text messages. Metzger spoke about the series of tormenting messages in a suicide letter and Facebook posts before ending his life.
"Mr. Metzger may still be here today if those messages did not influence and encourage him to take his own life," District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said in a statement.
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Reusch sent a number of harassing messages to Metzger when he was at military training, and she was at home with their child, police said, according to Pennlive.com. She repeatedly threatened to keep their daughter from him, court documents revealed, according to the outlet. She told him over WhatsApp that she was moving in with a new man, who she said would be their child's new father. She also informed Metzger that he would never see his child again.
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"I hope for [the child's] sake that you do kill yourself," Reusch allegedly texted him. "She would be better off not even knowing you."
She also told him that she would have sex with her new man on Mother's Day "while your daughter calls him daddy."
At another point, Reusch allegedly sent a video of her having sex with another man after Metzger sent her $200, which she said was not enough.
In a message from 2020, Reusch told him, "Go kill yourself. You aren't a real [expletive] human."
Ziccarelli said in her statement that her office extends its "condolences to the Metzger family for their loss and the grief they have experienced since his death. We will not allow or tolerate this kind of egregious behavior."
The district attorney said the level of bullying, harassment and threats rose to a "criminal level" in this case, and that her office will prosecute it "to the fullest extent of the law."
Reusch was arraigned Tuesday morning and held on bail. Her next court appearance is scheduled for June 27.
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She was previously charged with harassment for the alleged harassing messages, but the case was dropped when Metzger died, according to Pennlive.com.
Metzger told Reusch the day he ended his life that he was going to post her messages online after she said he could not see his daughter for Father's Day.