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US acid hoax woman spurs dismay
Source: Agencies |
September 19, 2010, Sunday
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THE scars on her face were real, but her story about being splashed with acid was a horrific hoax.
A day after Bethany Storro's revelation turned the victim who drew worldwide sympathy into a curiosity and the object of much derision, few who banded together to collect money for her medical bills were angry with her on Friday.
They were just puzzled: What could bring the 28-year-old grocery store worker to disfigure herself in such a public way, and invent a tale about a black woman assaulting her with a cup of acid?
Friend John Pax, whose gym hosted a fund-raiser that netted nearly US$1,000, said no one has asked for their money back yet. "No one's angry. We just worry about her."
Storro's parents, Joe and Nancy Neuwelt, apologized on Friday outside their Vancouver, Washington, home, saying they were "deeply sorry" and all money donated to their daughter will be returned.
Joe Neuwelt said they believed their daughter's account until she admitted to police on Thursday that her injuries were self-inflicted.
Nancy Neuwelt said she doesn't know why her daughter fabricated the story but acknowledged Storro is "obviously dealing with some deep internal emotional and psychological problems."
Some in the black community in this leafy city on the banks of the Columbia River were saddened that someone claiming to be a crime victim had again placed an African-American in the role of villain.
"I'm not angry at all, and the reason is that this has happened many times before, unfortunately," said Margo Bryant, president of the Vancouver branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Police were to turn the case over to prosecutors. Storro could face charges of filing a false police report.
Storro told police a stranger in a ponytail accosted her near a small park on August 30, uttering the now-infamous words -- "Hey, pretty girl, want something to drink?" -- before scorching her face.
Instantly, her tale grabbed the headlines. And only grew when she appeared before reporters, her head bandaged and alongside her parents, to ask a nameless, faceless attacker: Why? Police grew more suspicious, as inconsistencies in her story began to add up.
They searched her home and her car. They wanted to know why no witnesses had seen an assailant. Why didn't the splash pattern of the acid jibe with Storro's account. And, finally, why would Storro be wearing sunglasses just after 7pm?
Under questioning, she folded.
A day after Bethany Storro's revelation turned the victim who drew worldwide sympathy into a curiosity and the object of much derision, few who banded together to collect money for her medical bills were angry with her on Friday.
They were just puzzled: What could bring the 28-year-old grocery store worker to disfigure herself in such a public way, and invent a tale about a black woman assaulting her with a cup of acid?
Friend John Pax, whose gym hosted a fund-raiser that netted nearly US$1,000, said no one has asked for their money back yet. "No one's angry. We just worry about her."
Storro's parents, Joe and Nancy Neuwelt, apologized on Friday outside their Vancouver, Washington, home, saying they were "deeply sorry" and all money donated to their daughter will be returned.
Joe Neuwelt said they believed their daughter's account until she admitted to police on Thursday that her injuries were self-inflicted.
Nancy Neuwelt said she doesn't know why her daughter fabricated the story but acknowledged Storro is "obviously dealing with some deep internal emotional and psychological problems."
Some in the black community in this leafy city on the banks of the Columbia River were saddened that someone claiming to be a crime victim had again placed an African-American in the role of villain.
"I'm not angry at all, and the reason is that this has happened many times before, unfortunately," said Margo Bryant, president of the Vancouver branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Police were to turn the case over to prosecutors. Storro could face charges of filing a false police report.
Storro told police a stranger in a ponytail accosted her near a small park on August 30, uttering the now-infamous words -- "Hey, pretty girl, want something to drink?" -- before scorching her face.
Instantly, her tale grabbed the headlines. And only grew when she appeared before reporters, her head bandaged and alongside her parents, to ask a nameless, faceless attacker: Why? Police grew more suspicious, as inconsistencies in her story began to add up.
They searched her home and her car. They wanted to know why no witnesses had seen an assailant. Why didn't the splash pattern of the acid jibe with Storro's account. And, finally, why would Storro be wearing sunglasses just after 7pm?
Under questioning, she folded.
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