judge denied a motion to dismiss the case last week and - perhaps most tellingly - also said the government could present evidence of Megan's suicide. The defence had argued that the suicide had nothing to do with the computer abuse charges and would only inflame the jury.

According to court papers, Megan and Drew's daughter had once been friends but by the summer of 2006 had drifted apart. Concerned about Megan's supposed rumour-mongering, Drew, her daughter and Ashley Grills, an 18-year-old employee of her shopping coupon business, allegedly devised a scheme in September 2006 to approach Megan online as Josh Evans, an "attractive male teenager" who was new to Dardenne Prairie. Once they had gained Megan's confidence, they would be able to find out what she was saying about Drew's daughter on MySpace.

When ‘Josh’ told Megan the world would be better without her she hanged herself

The plan went so well that Megan became "smitten" with 'Josh' - allegedly giving Drew the idea of luring her to a shopping mall where she and her confederates would humiliate her by revealing that her suitor was a cyber-fiction. But before things got that far, 'Josh' abruptly broke off the relationship on October 16, 2006. Grills, still in character, messaged Megan "that the world would be a better place without [Megan] in it," a court brief says.

The CFAA makes it a federal crime to "intentionally access ... a computer without authorization", use information obtained from the computer and commit the offence "in furtherance of any ... tortious act". Drew's computer access was allegedly unauthorized since MySpace's terms of service prohibit members from soliciting information from anyone under 18 and using information obtained from the site to "harass, abuse or harm" other people. As for the "tortious act", prosecutors say Drew intended to inflict emotional distress on Megan.

One law professor has called the case a "travesty", and Drew defence lawyer Allen Steward has warned that: "If violating user agreements is a crime, millions of Americans are probably committing crimes on a daily basis and don't know it." As for Drew, she faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of all four charges in the indictment.