Mandie Rose Reusch, 35, was arrested in Pennsylvania on Tuesday and charged with one count of aiding suicide, a felony, and one count of harassment, a misdemeanor, for her involvement in the death of 37-year-old Keven Metzger. This arrest was the result of a two-year investigation led by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Westmoreland District Attorney’s Office.
The charges against Reusch are due to her relationship with Metzger, who took his own life on June 18, 2021. A letter believed to be written by Metzger and messages posted on his Facebook page described the “heinous and graphic” messages that Reusch sent to him, which the Westmoreland District Attorney’s Office believes contributed to his suicide.
District Attorney Nicole W. Ziccarelli addressed the tragedy, saying, “Mr. Metzger may still be here today if those messages did not influence and encourage him to take his own life. … We will not allow or tolerate this kind of egregious behavior.”
Reusch is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison and is scheduled to appear for her preliminary hearing on June 27. Her defense attorney, Phillip P. Dilucente, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The District Attorney’s Office also urged those in need to seek help through the National Suicide Prevention hotline or by texting TALK to 741741.
The charges against Reusch are similar to the case of Michelle Carter, who was convicted in 2017 of involuntary manslaughter in the 2014 suicide of her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III. Carter, then 17 years old, sent text messages to Roy, 18, encouraging him to take his own life; he ultimately died by carbon monoxide poisoning. Carter served 15 months of a two-year prison sentence before being released in 2020.