A 17-year-old Texas lady has been charged with animal cruelty after she killed some other teen’s goat via force-feeding it pesticide as a result of she believed the goat’s keeper used to be a “cheater,” in step with the government.
The woman, Aubrey Vanlandingham, used to be puzzled at Vista Ridge Prime Faculty in Cedar Park close to Austin, Texas, via a regulation enforcement officer. The varsity has a cattle barn the place the goat used to be discovered lifeless on Oct. 24, 2024. The varsity additionally has a powerful partnership with Future Farmers of America, an agriculture training nonprofit that permits scholars to care for animals and enter their livestock into competitions. The goat’s keeper gave the impression to be part of the crowd.
Ms. Vanlandingham at the beginning denied duty however later confessed to having fed pesticide to the multicolored goat, named Willie, which resulted within the goat’s swift and painful demise, in step with a sworn statement and arrest warrant filed via a detective in Williamson County in November.
Ms. Vanlandingham used to be arrested on Nov. 22 and later posted a $5,000 bond, in step with courtroom data. She agreed not to have any touch with the circle of relatives that owned and saved Willie. She additionally agreed not to take care of any animals however might take care of her personal pets underneath grownup supervision.
Ms. Vanlandingham’s attorney didn’t straight away reply to a telephone name in search of a touch upon Friday night. Ms. Vanlandingham is scheduled to look in courtroom on Jan. 15.
Cruelty to cattle animals, a prison, carries a most sentence of 2 years in jail and a $10,000 penalty.
It used to be no longer straight away transparent who had first referred to as the government to analyze Willie’s demise. However Ms. Vanlandingham got here onto the detective’s radar largely on account of a dialog that the detective had with Willie’s keeper and the keeper’s mom, the affidavit presentations.
On Oct. 23, the keeper fed a superbly wholesome Willie within the college’s barn, she informed the detective. Later that day, the keeper’s mom won a decision and a textual content from Ms. Vanlandingham, who mentioned that “Willie used to be performing humorous and shaking or convulsing,” the affidavit mentioned. The mum went to the college’s barn, discovered Willie struggling and took Willie to a veterinary medical institution. The medical institution supplied directions, and the mummy then returned the goat to the barn. Willie’s situation worsened, the mummy informed the detective, and the goat died the following day in her kid’s hands.
All the way through a necropsy, the goat’s abdomen used to be opened, and straight away, “the scent of pesticide permeated the room,” the veterinary physician informed the detective. The tummy’s contents had been despatched to a veterinary laboratory at Texas A&M College, and the reason for demise used to be showed to be intoxication from one of those pesticide referred to as phosmet, the affidavit mentioned.
The detective additionally reviewed video photos from the highschool’s barn on Oct. 23 that confirmed a lady retaining the goat’s head “as she forces the syringe like merchandise into the goat’s mouth,” the affidavit mentioned. In different circumstances, she held the goat and force-fed it an unknown substance during the syringe. She additionally perceived to take pictures or movies of the goat, in step with the affidavit.
On Oct. 29, the detective met with Ms. Vanlandingham at Vista Ridge Prime Faculty. She informed the detective that “she injected pesticide into Willie’s mouth as a result of” the goat’s keeper “is a cheater” and Ms. Vanlandingham “doesn’t like cheaters,” the affidavit mentioned. The cause of the dishonest allegation used to be no longer straight away transparent.
A assessment of Ms. Vanlandingham’s telephone data confirmed that she had appeared up other insecticides, the affidavit mentioned. She additionally searched words that integrated “How a lot bleach can kill an animal,” “Can directly bleach kill goats,” “How a lot bleach kills a goat” and “Learn how to transparent seek historical past.”
In a statement to KXAN, a neighborhood tv station, the Texas Long term Farmers of The us department mentioned, “Texas F.F.A. does no longer condone any conduct that compromises moral requirements, animal welfare or the integrity of its methods.”
The varsity district that incorporates Vista Ridge Prime Faculty declined to remark at the specifics of the case in a remark to KXAN.
