A Texas cheerleader is in serious trouble after allegedly poisoning her rival's pet goat. She is facing felony charges and jail time as a result.
17-year-old Aubrey Vanlandingham, a 17-year-old cheerleader, allegedly poisoned her vial's pet goat after getting jealous. Aubrey competes in livestock shows with her own pet goat. She allegedly confessed to poisoning the competition, Willy, on October 23.
According to CBS Austin, Vanlandingham used pesticide and a drench gun to force-feed Willy. The pet goat died less than 24 hours later from respiratory distress. The cheerleader allegedly killed the goat, calling his rival "a cheater." It apparently wasn't the first time she tried to kill the animal.
"She admitted to poisoning him multiple times over several days. So it's a pretty rough situation. We don't believe there is any remorse there, we hope that she has to serve jail time and she gets some kind of mental help," the mother of the teen's rival told the DailyMail.
Texas Cheerleader Faces Jail Time
"It's all bizarre. We want justice served, we don't want a slap on the wrist. We want to make sure that she is punished. At this point, we don't feel like she thinks she's going to be punished and she needs to be. She needs to take ownership for what she's done."
According to a caprine pathologist, the animal died from organophosphate intoxication from phosmet. It's a pesticide often used for parasites in livestock.
A necropsy of the goat performed by a caprine pathologist confirmed the cause of death as organophosphate intoxication from phosmet, a pesticide often used for external parasite control in livestock, according to the arrest report. Additionally, police found that the cheerleader allegedly searched for questions about bleach and poisoning animals.
Prior to the crime, the cheerleader was the president of the school's Future Farmers of America. She competed in shows with her own pet goat, Lacey. However, apparently jealousy played a factor.
"She's saying it's because of cheating. But from what we've deciphered, she was just really jealous," the mother said. "You can't even cheat when it comes to showing goats. It makes no sense, so that's where the jealousy really kind of falls into place."
She's been charged with cruelty to livestock animals. She faces up to two years in prison.
