BOSTON — Michelle Carter and Conrad Roy III are both sad figures in a teenage tragedy that ended with Roy killing himself and Carter charged with manslaughter.

A juvenile court judge now finds himself at the center of a legal quagmire: Should he set a legal precedent in Massachusetts by convicting Carter of manslaughter for encouraging Roy to take his own life through dozens of text messages? Or should he acquit her and risk sending a message that Carter’s behavior was less than criminal?

Judge Lawrence Moniz began deliberating Carter’s fate Tuesday in the jury-waived trial. A court clerk said Thursday that the judge will announce the verdict today.

The case has been closely watched in the legal community, in part, because of the dozens of text messages Carter sent Roy in the days before he was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in his truck.

“You’re finally going to be happy in heaven. No more pain. It’s okay to be scared and it’s normal. I mean, you’re about to die,” Carter wrote in one message.

Her texts later became more insistent after Roy appeared to delay his plan.

Carter is accused of involuntary manslaughter, a charge that can be brought in Massachusetts when someone causes the death of another person when engaging in reckless or wanton conduct that creates a high degree of likelihood of substantial harm.