michelle carter , 18 , appeared in new bedford court thursday over the involuntary manslaughter of conrad roy ii , 18 , who killed himself last july .
carter ` sent roy a series of texts encouraging him to take his own life '
her lawyers claim she is ` bewildered at the charges ' and have asked for the case to be moved because the district attorney is the victim 's third cousin .
they claim she was actually trying to help roy .
roy was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in his idling truck .
carter told a friend she was worried that the police were checking his text messages , saying : ` i 'm done ... i could go to jail '
after he died , she raised money for suicide prevention and wrote on twitter about how much she missed him .
carter , who was 17 at the time , is free on bail but ca n't text or use social media .