Tragic suicide leaves many unanswered questions

The apparent suicide of a Rutgers University freshman after his roommate surreptitiously broadcast him engaging in a sex act on the internet has drawn national attention and left many questions unanswered. What is known is that 18-year-old Tyler Clementi jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge three days after his roommate, Dharun Ravi, and Molly Wei, another student, used a webcam to stream an encounter between Clementi and an unidentified male student.

The Middlesex County prosecutor’s office has charged Ravi and Wei with two counts of invasion of privacy. Ravi also received additional charges for trying to broadcast a second feed two days after the first. The charges carry a maximum sentence of five years. Some gay rights groups are also calling for Ravi and Wei to be charged with hate crimes, or even manslaughter.

The incident has also cast a dark cloud over Rutgers’ “Project Civility,” a two year appeal to students to behave more civilly when using technology and online social media.

Lisa W. Foderaro, metro reporter for The New York Times, has been following the story and gives us the latest.