CEDAR PARK, Texas – A teenager is facing a felony charge after allegedly poisoning and killing a classmate’s show goat, according to multiple reports.
CBS Austin first reported that security footage captured Aubrey Vanlandingham, 17, administering a toxic pesticide to a goat using a drench gun at the school’s barn facility in Cedar Park on Oct. 23.
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The goat, Willie, later died after experiencing symptoms including convulsions and respiratory distress, TMZ reported.
Vanlandingham confessed to police that she poisoned the goat because she believed the animal’s owner’s daughter was “a cheater,” according to CBS Austin.
Vanlandingham allegedly confessed this was her second attempt to poison the animal, TMZ shared.
A caprine pathologist confirmed the cause of death as organophosphate intoxication from phosmet, a pesticide commonly used for external parasite control in livestock.
A show goat can be worth thousands of dollars. For example, the winning show goat at the 2024 San Antonio Live Stock and Rodeo was worth over $75,000.
Investigators learned that Vanlandingham’s search history on her phone included questions about lethal doses of bleach for animals and methods of poisoning pets, according to several reports. She then allegedly searched “How to clear search history.”
Vanlandingham was arrested on Nov. 22 and charged with cruelty to livestock animals, a state jail felony, CBS Austin reported. She was released on the same day on a $5,000 bond.
