Dhruv Trivedi
‘The Girl from Plainville’ follows the tragic story of teenager Conrad Roy III’s death and the events surrounding it. The Hulu miniseries details the months leading up to the event, delving into Conrad’s relationship with Michelle Carter, while a parallel narrative follows the aftermath of his death by suicide.
The show’s opening episode depicts heartbreaking moments of Conrad being discovered in his pickup truck in a parking lot, having passed away from asphyxiation from inhaling carbon monoxide. Subsequent episodes show how the truck that he was found in was a gift from his grandfather and how Conrad’s father cannot stand the sight of the vehicle after his son’s death. We dug around to see what we could discover about Conrad’s truck and whether it actually belonged to his grandfather. Here’s what we found.
What Happened to Conrad Roy III’s Truck?
Michelle Carter’s involvement in Conrad Roy III’s death and her subsequent indictment (of which she was found guilty) was marked by the (now infamous) text message she sent her friend saying: “Sam, his death is my fault like honestly I could have stopped him. I was on the phone with him, and he got out of the car because it was working, and he got scared, and I (expletive) told him to get back in Sam because I knew he would do it all over again the next day and I couldn’t have him live the way he was living anymore I couldn’t do it I wouldn’t let him.”
In the case against Michelle, prosecutors argued that she urged Conrad to get back into his truck even as it was filling up with carbon monoxide. Conrad, who was 18 at the time, was discovered asphyxiated in his truck in a Kmart parking lot in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, on July 13, 2014. The vehicle in question, a black Ford F-250, was found by the police, and shortly afterward, the victim’s father, Conrad II, called Lynn, Conrad’s mother, and said, “There’s yellow tape around our son’s truck.”
At the moment, it seems like there are no publicized records of what happened to the truck, though images of it were used as exhibits during the legal proceedings and in press coverage. The vehicle was likely investigated for potential clues (Conrad’s phone with its battery dead was found in the car) before being returned to the grieving family.
Did Conrad’s Truck Really Belong to His Grandfather?
‘The Girl from Plainville’ episode 4 depicts that Conrad’s truck was a gift from his grandfather, Conrad Roy Sr. Getting the truck visibly uplifts the teenager’s mood and even sparks in him the hope of running away to California. The part about Conrad thinking of going to California is actually true, as was revealed in one of his messages to Michelle. However, it is unconfirmed whether the truck was actually a gift from his grandfather.
Considering Conrad had recently graduated from high school when he passed away, it is unlikely he would’ve bought the truck himself. However, Conrad’s father did refer to the vehicle as “our son’s truck.” Thus, it is likely that the car was a gift, making it quite possible that it belonged to Conrad Roy Sr., who subsequently gifted it to his grandson.
That being said, we cannot verify the same, and the truck could have been a gift from someone else. Despite drawing inspiration from real-life events and an Esquire article by Jesse Barron, the Hulu show also clearly states that aspects of the narrative are dramatized. Thus, the part about the truck being a gift from Conrad’s grandfather could be fictionalized.
Read More: Are Sydney and Paige Roy Based on Conrad Roy’s Real Sisters?
