Aubrey Vanlandingham, 17, was a well-known name in Austin, Texas. Vanlandingham was popular for being a cheerleader at her school and the president of the school’s Future Farmers of America.
Now, she is known for a whole other reason: she is being charged with animal cruelty for poisoning a fellow student’s goat. She could face up to two years in prison if convicted.
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Vanlandingham and Lacey
Vanlandingham owned a pet goat, Lacey, and she paraded her around in animal shows across the state for cash prizes and certificates.
The teen would even post her pet on social media. She expressed her excitement about heading up Vista Ridge High School’s FFA in Cedar Park in a now-deleted post.
The prosecution’s point of view
The prosecution claims that Vanlandingham was thinking “the end justifies the means.” She wanted to win, so much so that she poisoned her rival’s goat to secure the win. In addition, she showed no remorse about the killing, allegedly telling authorities: “I don’t like cheaters.”
What she has done
At first, she denied targeting the goat. Later, though, she admitted to cops that she had injected the pet goat with pesticide at the school’s barn facility, leaving him “bellowing” in pain before dying in his 15-year-old owner’s arms.
It was all thought-out
There are claims that Vanlandingham Googled how to clear her search history to cover her tracks. Allegedly, she looked up: “How much bleach kills a goat,” “If goats inject bleach do they die,” and “Poisoning pets, what you should know.”
Willy’s last moments on tape
Officers recovered a video of six-month-old Willy, the late pet goat, running for his life from Vanlandingham and convulsing after the alleged poisoning. Not only this, but she also sent the heartbreaking footage to the mother of his freshman owner.
The charges and what they mean
Vanlandingham is facing the charge of one felony of torturing an animal. Under Texas law, this means that the teenage girl could face up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine. Vanlandingham has yet to enter a plea.
Initially, the vet couldn’t figure out what happened
Vanlandingham was the one to report that Willy was “convulsing” and “acting funny.” He died 21 hours after being poisoned, with a vet initially being unable to figure out what was going on with the poor goat. Willy’s owners are now demanding justice.
The family is traumatized
The mother of the 15-year-old who owned Willy told DailyMail.com her family wants “justice” for her daughter and Willy. They are taking the necessary actions to call for a judge to give Vanlandingham jail time for the “very traumatic” experience.
The owner’s mother wants justice
The mother continued, saying: “We hope that she has to serve jail time and she gets some kind of mental help. 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.” They also want to ensure that Vanlandingham takes “ownership for what she’s done.”
What the necropsy concluded
The necropsy confirmed the cause of death as organophosphate intoxication from phosmet. Phosmet is a pesticide commonly used for external parasite control in livestock. The mother confirmed that Vanlandingham “admitted to poisoning him multiple times over several days.”
