A Texas cheerleader who rose to become president of her Future Farmers of America chapter faces felony charges for allegedly poisoning a rival's goat.
Aubrey Vanlandingham, 17, faces felony charges after allegedly spraying "Willie" the goat with a pesticide.
The incident occurred Oct. 23 at a barn at Vista Ridge High School. An arrest affidavit states that Vanlandingham confessed to deliberately poisoning the goat, stating that its 15-year-old owner was a "cheater," KEYE-TV reported.
Security footage reportedly showed Vanlandingham use a drench gun on the "Willie". Within 21 hours later "Willie" entered respiratory distress and began to have convulsions.
The mother of the 15-year-old girl who owned Willie spoke to the Daily Mail.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, she told the outlet "[Vanlandingham's] saying it's because of cheating. But from what we've deciphered, she was just really jealous. 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. They weren't friends, and my daughter is a lot younger, so they didn't really interact at all, so that's what's even more bizarre," the woman told the Daily Mail.
The website reported that Vanlandingham had her own show goat "Lacey." In an email Vanlandingham's attorney told the news outlet: "My minor client and her family are working hard to resolve any legal issues and non-legal issues raised by these allegations, and we are thankful for a judicial process that will let us tell our story."
A necropsy performed by a caprine pathologist confirmed Willie's cause of death. The examination identified organophosphate intoxication from phosmet, a pesticide commonly used for external parasite control in livestock, in Willie's system, CBS Austin reported.
The TV station reported that the arrest affidavit states that police found various searches related to lethal doses of bleach for animals and other methods of poisoning animals.
She also allegedly searched, "How to clear search history."
She was arrested on Nov. 22 and charged with cruelty to livestock animals (torture), a state jail felony. She was released on $5,000 bond.
