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#1
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04-10-2011, 12:49 PM
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Acid Attack 'victim' Bethany Storro Sentenced After Admitting It Was Hoax
By Daily Mail Last updated at 3:59 PM on 10th April 2011 The woman who gained sympathy around the world after claiming a stranger threw acid in her face has been sentenced after making the shocking confession that she made the whole thing up. Bethany Storro, 28, from Washington state, received a suspended one-year sentence after pleading guilty to making false statements to police. She admitted that she had splashed her own face with drain cleaner and then falsely claimed a black woman had attacked her. Wearing a black suit and a clear mask strapped over her scarred faced, Storro apologised in court in Vancouver, saying she was genuinely and desperately sorry. She said: ‘To the residents of Clark County and specifically the African-American community, I am totally sorry for my hurtful actions. ‘Words cannot express how emotional I feel towards those who have generously given of their money, time, and concern.’ Prosecutors will drop a felony theft count if she completes community service, continues mental health treatment and repays nearly $4,000 in police overtime. Two other theft charges were dismissed. She had pleaded not guilty to stealing thousands of dollars from Good Samaritans who donated more than $28,000 after hearing about the bogus attack. Storro claimed she was attacked last August in a Vancouver park. Her confession came after police, suspicious at the holes in her story, turned up the pressure by searching her house. Storro had said a black woman in her late twenties came up to her as she walked into a Starbucks coffee shop and hurled the acid in her face after saying: ‘Hey pretty girl, do you want to drink this?’ She suffered severe burns, her eyesight saved only by a pair of sunglasses she had allegedly bought earlier that day. But after she held a press conference about her horrific experience, doubts began to emerge about her story. A reporter for the Vancouver Voice visited a park where Storro claims she was attacked and talked to a number of homeless people who had witnessed the incident. They claimed she was 'clearly alone when she dropped to the ground screaming.' There were also questions about how Storro - who has been almost deaf since having spinal meningitis as a child - could have heard what her assailant said. The internet was soon rife with rumours that the attack was a hoax. Then Storro pulled out of an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show, claiming the interview 'was going to possibly turn into another direction, so my family and I decided not to go on.' Police began to find holes in Storro’s story soon after she posed with bandages covering her head. There was no question that she had been badly burned by strong caustic acid, possibly hydrochloric or sulphuric acid. But doctors suggested the splash pattern of the acid wounds looked like liquid had been poured or rubbed on the skin, rather than thrown. And hard as they tried, police could not find any witnesses to back up Storro’s version of events. Vancouver police said that 'during the course of the investigation, several discrepancies began to emerge regarding the alleged attack.' That led police to search her home and question her again. During the interview Storro admitted the injuries were self-inflicted. The court heard that Storro told police her original plan was to commit suicide, but she changed her mind as she dabbed the acid on her face. She allegedly told police: ‘When I realised it wasn’t killing me, I thought maybe this was the answer to all my problems - to have a completely different face. ‘I thought there would be no evidence of me doing it to myself. I thought that you guys would give up trying to find the person and it would be done.' |
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#5
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04-11-2011, 03:28 PM
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Re: Acid Attack 'victim' Bethany Storro Sentenced After Admitting It Was Hoax
This is a really interesting case. Posted my thread as a sort of response to this one http://www.documentingreality.com/fo...yndrome-75712/ |