Teen cheerleader faces felony charges for poisoning rival’s goat

A 17-year-old Texas cheerleader allegedly poisoned a competitive show goat out of jealousy, leading to felony charges.

A 17-year-old cheerleader in Texas is facing felony charges after allegedly poisoning and killing a rival’s competitive show goat out of jealousy, according to an arrest affidavit and the goat’s owner.

Aubrey Vanlandingham, a senior at Vista Ridge High School, reportedly confessed to intentionally poisoning the goat, Willy, on October 23. Vanlandingham, who also competed in livestock shows, was caught on security footage at the school’s barn facility using a drench gun to force-feed Willy a toxic pesticide. Despite the 6-month-old goat’s efforts to escape, the footage shows him being trapped and forced to drink the poison.

The student, identified by investigators as Vanlandingham, left the barn but returned twice within two hours to check on Willy before contacting the goat's owner’s mother to inform her that their pet wasn’t feeling well.

Vanlandingham allegedly told police she killed Willy because she believed the goat's owner’s 15-year-old daughter was “a cheater,” according to the affidavit. She also admitted to having tried to kill Willy once before without success, poisoning him multiple times over several days. "We don’t believe there is any remorse there, we hope that she has to serve jail time and she gets some kind of mental help," the mother of the 15-year-old told DailyMail. "It’s all bizarre. We want justice served."

A necropsy performed by a caprine pathologist confirmed that Willy’s cause of death was organophosphate intoxication due to phosmet, a pesticide commonly used to control parasites in livestock. Police investigation also revealed that Vanlandingham’s phone search history included inquiries about lethal doses of bleach for animals and other poisoning methods, followed by a search for "How to clear search history" in an attempt to cover her tracks.

Despite recently being named the president of her school’s Future Farmers of America chapter, Vanlandingham was reportedly jealous of her younger competitor. “She’s saying it’s because of cheating. But from what we’ve deciphered, she was just really jealous,” the 15-year-old’s mother added, explaining that there’s no such thing as cheating in livestock shows.

Vanlandingham was arrested on November 22 and charged with cruelty to livestock animals, a felony in Texas. She was released the same day on a $5,000 bond. Vanlandingham has been banned from attending her high school while the case is ongoing. Her court hearing is scheduled for January 15. If convicted, she could face up to two years in prison for the crime.