Thursday, September 16, 2010

Police say Vancouver acid attack self-inflicted

An investigation indicated that the reported acid attack on Bethany Storro was self-inflicted, Vancouver police said Thursday.

They called the incident a hoax during a Thursday afternoon press conference and the results of the investigation will now be turned over to the county prosecutor's office.

Chief Clifford Cook said discrepancies started to appear as detectives started to investigate the case. Thursday morning, they served a search warrant at her home, then interviewed Storro, who who told them the attack was a self-inflicted hoax, he said.

A motive for the fabrication has not been determined, the chief said.

The chief said the case unfortunately has cast Vancouver, in particular the Esther Short Park area where the hoax took place, as an unsafe area. He called the area "the jewel of the city." He thanked everyone who assisted with the case.

Sgt. Scott Creager, who investigated the case, said frankly that "I'm glad it did end this way." There is no predator that the public needs to fear in what he described as a "happy ending" of sorts. The reason for the press conference today was to allay public concerns about safety.

Commander Marla Schuman said Storro was very upset and remorseful, especially when the story "got much bigger than she expected."

The chief said Storro's parents have not been interviewed since the press conference. It would be "speculative" to characterize their prior knowledge of the new information, he said.

Storro and her parents could not be reached for comment.Read more




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