TAUNTON, Mass. (AP) — Opening statements are underway in the bench trial of a Massachusetts woman charged with manslaughter for sending her boyfriend text messages encouraging him to kill himself.

Michelle Carter’s trial got underway Tuesday in juvenile court in Taunton.

The 20-year-old Carter on Monday waived her right to a jury trial, meaning a judge will hear the testimony and issue the verdict.

Carter is charged in the 2014 death of 18-year-old Conrad Roy III, who was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in his pickup truck.

Prosecutors released transcripts of text messages the then-17-year-old Carter sent to Roy. In one, she allegedly wrote: “The time is right and you’re ready, you just need to do it!”

Carter’s lawyer says the texts are protected free speech and Roy had previously tried to kill himself.