Texas cheerleader, 17, is charged with animal cruelty for ‘poisoning her rival’s present goat’
Pretty and popular, Aubrey Vanlandingham had the world at her feet as she progressed through high school in a well-to-do suburb of Austin, Texas.
Not only was she a cheerleader, but she had also just been made president of the school’s Future Farmers of America.
And she was particularly proud of her pet goat, Lacey, which she paraded in animal shows across the state for cash prizes and certificates.
The 17-year-old posted her beloved pet on her social media, with now-deleted posts seen by DailyMail.com detailing her excitement to head up Vista Ridge High School’s FFA in Cedar Park, in her senior year.
But, prosecutors claim, her desire to win got too much for the teen, and she turned to evil ways to ensure victory – by poisoning a fellow student’s goat.
Vanlandingham is facing the prospect of up to two years in prison if convicted of poisoning six-month-old Willy twice over a three-day period, eventually killing him.
The brazen teenager showed no remorse when authorities launched a probe, allegedly telling cops: ‘I don’t like cheaters’ when questioned.
Initially the brunette denied targeting her rival’s goat, but then admitted to cops that he had injected the white and brown farm animal with pesticide at the school’s barn facility, leaving him ‘bellowing’ in pain before dying in its 15-year-old owner’s arms.
Texas high school senior and goat exhibitor Aubrey Vanlandingham, 17, is accused of poisoning her rival’s goat over several days until it finally died in October
Willy died in agony after being poisoned, allegedly by his owner’s rival, Aubrey Vanlandingham
She is even said to have Googled how to clear her disturbing search history, after looking up ‘how much bleach kills a goat’, ‘if goats inject bleach do they die’ and ‘poisoning pets, what you should know’.
Officers also recovered sickening video of Willy running away from Aubrey and convulsing after she allegedly poisoned him, before sending the twisted footage to the mother of his freshman owner.
The callous mean girl has been charged with one felony of torturing an animal, which under Texas law means she could face up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
She has yet to enter a plea.
Video footage obtained by police allegedly shows the brunette ‘forcing a syringe like item into the goats’ mouth’ on October 23.
The goat then attempted to ‘break free’, before the teenager used the syringe on the animal twice more.
She checked on Willy twice in a two-hour period, checking on his condition, before calling her schoolmate’s mother to say Willy was ‘convulsing’ and ‘acting funny’.
Willy died 21 hours after being poisoned by the teenager, and a vet was initially unable to figure out what was wrong with the goat.
The teen has been charged with one felony of torturing an animal, which under Texas law means she could face up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine
The teenager had been an ambitious animal show competitor and had just been made president of her school’s Future Farmers of America
As a cheerleader and well-involved student, Aubrey had the world at her feet as she progressed through Vista Ridge High School in Cedar Park, a well-to-do suburb of Austin, Texas
The mother of the 15-year-old girl who owned the goat told DailyMail.com her family want ‘justice’ for her daughter and her goat and are calling for a judge to give Aubrey jail time.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, she said: ‘We were there when he passed away. My daughter was actually holding him. So that was very traumatic.
‘She admitted to poisoning him multiple times over several days. So it’s a pretty rough situation.
‘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.
‘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.
‘At this point we don’t feel like she thinks she’s going to be punished and she needs to be.
‘She needs to take ownership for what she’s done.’
A necropsy performed by a caprine pathologist confirmed the cause of death as organophosphate intoxication from phosmet, a pesticide commonly used for external parasite control in livestock.
Her social media shows Aubrey posing with her own goat, Lacey, posting that she was ‘so excited’ to head up the FFA for her high school senior year.
She also bragged about the group’s winning ways, with the FFA placing 6th in a statewide contest in 2023.
Aubrey often flaunted her achievements and prized goat on social media, where she can be seen posing with a wooden plaque after placing 6th in a statewide contest with the FFA in 2023
She was particularly proud of her pet goat, Lacey, which she paraded in animal shows across the state for cash prizes and certificates
Local contests entered by the school FFA have cash prizes of up to $50, with the larger state fairs having a grand prize of $30,000.
Most of the goats shown by the pupils were entered into lower-level contests.
Relatives of the freshman whose goat died claim there is no way too cheat in goat shows.
‘She’s saying it’s because of cheating. But from what we’ve deciphered, she was just really jealous,’ said Willy’s owner’s mother.
‘You can’t even cheat when it comes to showing goats,’ added the mother. ‘It makes no sense, so that’s where the jealousy really kind of falls into place.
‘They weren’t friends, and my daughter is a lot younger, so they didn’t really interact at all so that’s what’s even more bizarre.
Her social media shows Aubrey posing with her own goat, Lacey, posting that she was ‘so excited’ to head up the FFA for her high school senior year
Aubrey has reportedly been banned from attending Vista Ridge High School while the case is ongoing
‘The process has not been as aggressive as we would have hoped, everything has just been so slow.’
Aubrey has only been charged with poisoning Willy, and will next appear in court on January 15.
She was arrested and charged with a felony on November 22, and released on a $5,000 bond the same day.
Aubrey has reportedly been banned from attending Vista Ridge High School while the case is ongoing.
Her victim’s mother added that they never saw anything ‘shifting to this extreme’, saying the whole thing is ‘pretty crazy.’
‘There are of course other things going on,’ she went on. ‘She was in the vet classes, so she knew what she was doing.
‘We wanted to make sure that she was not able to interact with my daughter at all. It’s still pretty difficult for her, she definitely doesn’t trust anybody at this point.’
Aubrey’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment by DailyMail.com, but previously released a statement saying: ‘My minor client and her family are working hard to resolve any legal issues and non-legal issues raised by these allegations, and we are thankful for a judicial process that will let us tell our story.’
The FFA is a national educational organization that allows students to compete in livestock shows across the state with animals the students have raised.
Competitors have opportunities to earn scholarships worth thousands of dollars and also have the chance to receive prizes.
Crestina Hardie, the Chief Communications Officer for Leander Independent School District, which includes Vista Ridge, said in a statement to the Austin American-Statesman that the district is proud of its FFA program but saddened by the goat’s death.
‘The district believes the security measures in place, including surveillance footage as well as routine supervision by agriculture science teachers, provided the evidence law enforcement needed to complete the investigation,’ Hardie said.
‘While the district cannot comment on the status of the student, disciplinary action was taken consistent with policy and procedures.’
