Aubrey Vanlandingham reportedly poisoned a six-month-old goat named Willie by force-feeding him pesticides because she thought his 15-year-old owner was a "cheater."
Williamson County Sheriff’s OfficeAubrey Vanlandingham, the Texas teen accused of poisoning a fellow student’s goat.
In a bizarre case of rivalry and animal cruelty, a Texas teenager is accused of poisoning her rival’s show goat last October.
Aubrey Vanlandingham, a 17-year-old cheerleader at Vista Ridge High School in Cedar Park, has been charged with animal cruelty after security footage revealed her force-feeding a pesticide to her rival’s goat, Willie, leading to the creature’s death.
Questions about her motives linger, leaving Willie’s owners and the community awaiting answers as the legal case unfolds.
A Goat Poisoning Scandal Rocks A Texas High School
Slamforeman/Wikimedia CommonsVista Ridge High School, where Aubrey Vanlandingham allegedly poisoned another student’s goat.
On Oct. 23, 2024, a Texas cheerleader from Vista Ridge High School outside of Austin reported that one of the school’s show goats, a white and brown goat named Willie, was convulsing and acting strangely.
Aubrey Vanlandingham, a 17-year-old cheerleader and the president of the school’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter, sent videos of the goat’s odd behavior to its 15-year-old owner and her mother.
As part of the FFA, students at participating schools across the United States can raise livestock and compete with them in local shows, with prizes ranging from $50 to $30,000. Vanlandingham often competed with her own goat, Lacey.
InstagramVanlandingham posing with a wooden plaque after winning sixth place in an FFA competition.
Upon hearing about Willie’s illness, the mother of the goat’s owner rushed to the school’s barn facility, where the animals are kept. Unfortunately, Willie was in immense pain and eventually died in his owner’s arms after a veterinarian was unable to save him.
The sudden loss of Willie in such an unexpected way prompted the high school to investigate the incident. When they checked the barn’s security cameras, school officials made a horrific discovery.
The footage revealed Vanlandingham forcing a syringe into Willie’s mouth. The young goat attempted to run away from the teen, but she caught him and fed him more pesticide as he tried to resist. What’s more, when a necropsy was performed on Willie, “the smell of pesticide permeated the room” when the goat’s stomach was cut open.
When authorities questioned Vanlandingham, she eventually admitted to poisoning the goat with phosmet, a pesticide stored in the barn, because Willie’s owner was a “cheater, and I don’t like cheaters.”
Authorities also examined the teen’s phone and found several disturbing searches:
“How much bleach kills a goat”
“If goats inject bleach do they die”
“How much bleach can kill an animal”
“Can straight bleach kill goats”
“Poisoning pets, what you should know”
“How to clear search history”
With this evidence in hand, Texas authorities charged Aubrey Vanlandingham with animal cruelty.
Aubrey Vanlandingham Faces Trial For Animal Cruelty
InstagramAubrey Vanlandingham holding a show goat.
On Nov. 22, 2024, Aubrey Vanlandingham was arrested and charged with felony animal cruelty, which holds a penalty of up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine under Texas law. She has yet to enter a plea for the charge, but she posted her $5,000 bail the same day she was arrested.
In the meantime, Vanlandingham has reportedly been barred from attending Vista Ridge High School until the case is closed. The news of the teen’s actions has shocked her community, most notably her young rival.
The unnamed 15-year-old girl’s mother has stated that she never saw anything “shifting to this extreme” and that it is “pretty crazy,” according to the Daily Mail.
However, the mother believes the attack was premeditated and solely motivated by jealousy.
“She’s saying it’s because of cheating. But from what we’ve deciphered, she was just really jealous,” she told the Daily Mail. “You can’t even cheat when it comes to showing goats. It makes no sense, so that’s where the jealousy really kind of falls into place.”
Strangely, Vanlandingham and her rival did not appear to have a relationship at all, good or bad. The two were in different age groups and rarely spoke to one another.
“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,” said the mother of Willie’s owner.
Despite this, the rival’s mother believes that Vanlandingham could present a danger to her daughter.
“There are of course other things going on. [Vanlandingham] was in the vet classes, so she knew what she was doing,” the mother stated. “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 Vanlandingham is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 15, hopefully bringing answers and closure to this bizarre animal abuse case.
After reading about Aubrey Vanlandingham, the Texas teen who allegedly poisoned a goat, go inside the story of Wanda Holloway and the Texas cheerleader murder plot. Then, learn about Rachel Barber, the teenage dancer killed by a jealous babysitter.
