Texas cheerleader, 17, is charged with animal cruelty for ‘poisoning her rival’s show goat’
Beautiful and popular, Aubrey Vanlandingham had the world at her feet as she went through high school in an affluent suburb of Austin, Texas.
Not only was she a cheerleader, but she had also just been named president of the school’s Future Farmers of America.
And she was especially proud of her pet goat, Lacey, which she paraded around the state at animal shows for cash prizes and certificates.
The 17-year-old posted her beloved pet to her social media, with now-deleted posts seen by DailyMail.com detailing her excitement to lead the FFA at Vista Ridge High School in Cedar Park in her senior year.
But, prosecutors allege, her desire to win became too much for the teen, and she turned to evil ways to ensure victory – by poisoning a fellow student’s goat.
Vanlandingham faces up to two years in prison if convicted of poisoning six-month-old Willy twice in a three-day period, ultimately killing him.
The brash teen showed no remorse as authorities launched an investigation, telling police: ‘I don’t like cheaters’ when questioned.
The brunette initially denied targeting her rival’s goat, but then admitted to police that he had injected the white and brown farm animal with pesticides in the school’s shed, causing him to ‘moo’ in pain before he died in the arms of its 15-year-old owner. .
Aubrey Vanlandingham, a 17-year-old high school student and goat exhibitor from Texas, 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 they die’ and ‘poisoning pets, what you need to know’.
Officers also found sickening video of Willy running away from Aubrey and convulsing after she allegedly poisoned him, before sending the doctored footage to his freshman owner’s mother.
The callous, mean girl has been charged with torturing an animal, which under Texas law means she could face up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
She has yet to enter a plea.
Video footage obtained by police allegedly showed the brunette “forcing a syringe-like object into the goats’ mouths” on October 23.
The goat then tried to ‘break free’, before the teenager used the syringe on the animal twice more.
She checked on Willy twice in a two-hour period to monitor his condition, before calling her classmate’s mother to say Willy was “convulsing” and “acting funny.”
Willy died 21 hours after being poisoned by the teen, and a vet initially couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the goat.
The teen has been charged with torturing an animal, which under Texas law means she could face up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The teen had competed in an ambitious animal show and had just been named president of her school’s Future Farmers of America
A cheerleader and well-involved student, Aubrey had the world at her feet as she attended Vista Ridge High School in Cedar Park, an affluent suburb of Austin, Texas.
The mother of the 15-year-old girl who owned the goat told DailyMail.com that her family wants “justice” for her daughter and her goat and is calling for a judge to give Aubrey jail time.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, she said: “We were there when he passed away. My daughter actually held it. So that was very traumatic.
“She admitted that she had poisoned him several times in recent days. So it’s quite a difficult situation.
‘We don’t believe there is any remorse, we hope she serves a prison sentence and gets some form of mental help.
‘It’s all bizarre. We want justice done, we don’t want a slap on the wrist. We want to make sure she is punished.
“At this point we don’t feel like she thinks she’s going to be punished, even though she needs to be.”
“She needs to take responsibility for what she did.”
A necropsy performed by a goat pathologist confirmed the cause of death as organophosphate intoxication by phosmet, a pesticide commonly used to control external parasites in livestock.
On her social media, Aubrey can be seen posing with her own goat, Lacey, and writing that she was “so excited” to lead the FFA for her senior year of high school.
She also boasted about the group’s winning ways, with the FFA finishing in sixth place in a statewide competition in 2023.
Aubrey often showed off her achievements and prized goat on social media, where she poses with a wooden plaque after placing 6th in a statewide competition with the FFA in 2023
She was especially proud of her pet goat, Lacey, which she paraded around the state at animal shows for cash prizes and certificates.
Local competitions in which the school’s FFA participates have cash prizes of up to $50, while the larger state fairs have a top prize of $30,000.
Most of the goats shown by the students participated in lower level competitions.
Relatives of the freshman whose goat died say there isn’t too much cheating at goat shows.
“She says it’s because of cheating. But from what we deciphered, she was just very jealous,” said the mother of Willy’s owner.
“You can’t even cheat when it comes to showing goats,” the mother added. ‘It doesn’t make any sense, so that’s where the jealousy kind of falls into place.
“They weren’t friends, and my daughter is a lot younger, so they didn’t interact at all, so that’s even more bizarre.
On her social media, Aubrey can be seen posing with her own goat, Lacey, and writing that she was “so excited” to lead the FFA for her senior year of high school.
Aubrey has reportedly been banned from attending Vista Ridge High School while the case is pending
“The process hasn’t been as aggressive as we had hoped, everything has just been so slow.”
Aubrey has only been charged with poisoning Willy and will appear in court on January 15.
She was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor on November 22, and released the same day on $5,000 bail.
Aubrey has reportedly been banned from attending Vista Ridge High School while the case is pending.
Her victim’s mother added that they have never seen anything “so extreme” change, saying the whole thing is “pretty crazy.”
“Obviously there are other things going on,” she continued. “She took the vet classes, so she knew what she was doing.
“We wanted to make sure she couldn’t interact with my daughter at all. It’s still quite difficult for her, she trusts absolutely no one at the moment.’
Aubrey’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com, but previously released a statement saying, “My minor client and her family are working diligently to resolve any legal and non-legal issues raised by this allegations are being raised, and we are grateful for a judicial process in which we can tell our story.”
The FFA is a national educational organization that allows students to compete at livestock shows across the state with animals the students have raised.
Competitors have the opportunity to earn scholarships worth thousands of dollars and also have the chance to receive prizes.
Crestina Hardie, the chief communications officer for the 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 is saddened by the goat’s death .
“The district believes that the security measures in place, including surveillance footage and routine supervision by agricultural science teachers, provide the evidence law enforcement needs to complete the investigation,” Hardie said.
“While the district cannot comment on the student’s status, disciplinary action has been taken in accordance with policies and procedures.”