GUILTY WA - Bethany Storro charged in acid attack hoax, Vancouver, 2010

Blondie in Spokane

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This is my first thread so I hope I'm doing it right....

This woman just parked at Starbucks and was approached by another woman who then threw an acid-like substance onto her. Luckily she had just purchased sunglasses and was wearing them, so she is not blind but has unfortunately suffered terrible injuries. Such a horrible story....


http://www.koinlocal6.com/mostpopul...nce-thrown-at-her/IiN9e-BKU0a1VUoXZFjHGg.cspx
 
What a repulsive crime. Mom seems to be pretty together and I bet this crime goes unsolved. It's clear that there are too many unresolved mental health issues for that perp -- I don't think they will find her -- too many 'just like her'. MOO
 
It seems so strange that a black woman 20-25 would randomly attack another young woman like this. It made me think of the model who's boyfriend hired the person to disfigure her with acid. This poor girl will have a long healing process in front of her. Burns are incredibly painful. Thank god she had bought the sunglasses earlier in the day!
 
weird

how horrible for her

healing thoughts for Bethany
 
It sounds like the perp must have been looking for someone pretty to attack. She said, "Hey pretty girl, want to drink this?" then threw a cup of acid in her face. Why else would you walk around carrying a cup of acid?
 
It amazes me how truly vicious people can be. I mean, this is a complete stranger that she threw acid on! Vicious.
 
I hope I'm wrong here, but my hinky-meter is clanging loudly.

She said she never wears sunglasses, but just happened to buy some 20 minutes before the attack.

It happened near a Starbucks, in broad daylight - while she was retrieving something from her car.

Here's a Street View Map of Columbia & West 8th, near where she parked. It's in a high traffic area, across from a busy park.

Yet, there were no witnesses.

Where's the cup the acid was in?

Would the perp have taken the cup with them?

The victim is so hard-of-hearing that she can't hear her parents in the next room, but can hear someone say "Hey, pretty girl, you want a drink of this?" while she's retrieving something out of her car, on a busy downtown street?

She said it happened WHILE she was retrieving something from her car. Wouldn't you be bent down, away from the person? How would the perp know she was a "pretty girl"? She'd have had to have turned around to face her attacker AFTER the attacker spoke, and stood up straight - because the acid hit her straight in the face.

ETA:
Note that this Oregon Live report mentions that she "read the lips" of the reporters who were asking her questions, before she replied. Yet she heard the words of a stranger on a busy downtown street.

I really hope I'm wrong.
 
Very interesting observations, Laytonian. But, her mother was standing right there. What else could have happened? Why would they both lie? I think you have asked really good questions, but I can't figure out how else it could have gone down or why. I can't imagine that anyone would willing splash themselves in the face with acid.
 
Very interesting observations, Laytonian. But, her mother was standing right there. What else could have happened? Why would they both lie? I think you have asked really good questions, but I can't figure out how else it could have gone down or why. I can't imagine that anyone would willing splash themselves in the face with acid.

Her mother was standing right there when it happened?
I hadn't read that. Do you have a cite?

Everything I've read, says there were no direct witnesses and that the person who called 911, reacted because they heard her screams.
 
It seems so strange that a black woman 20-25 would randomly attack another young woman like this. It made me think of the model who's boyfriend hired the person to disfigure her with acid. This poor girl will have a long healing process in front of her. Burns are incredibly painful. Thank god she had bought the sunglasses earlier in the day!

Sounds like jealousy to me -- jealousy over looks, perhaps with racial undertones. The girl apparently said to her, "Hey, pretty girl, want some of this?", before throwing the acid in her face. I mention race only because one was white, the other african-american, it could have absolutely nothing to do with the attack.

Here's a link to the segment (timestamp 3:53) on the Today Show that mentions the attackers comments before she threw the acid:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/38988686#38988686
 
I think I have misread her mother's statements. As she was the one initially recounting the events, I think I may have assumed that she was present. I'm still looking to see if I can find where I might have seen it, but at this point I think I have misunderstood it. I think if the mother was present, surely she would have been the one to call 911. Sorry for any confusion.
 
I think I have misread her mother's statements. As she was the one initially recounting the events, I think I may have assumed that she was present. I'm still looking to see if I can find where I might have seen it, but at this point I think I have misunderstood it. I think if the mother was present, surely she would have been the one to call 911. Sorry for any confusion.

I've read nearly all the stories, and not one said her mother was present. But I can understand the confusion, since the reports are kinda scrambled.
 
I've read nearly all the stories, and not one said her mother was present. But I can understand the confusion, since the reports are kinda scrambled.

Yes, you're right. I just got confused with her mother relating the story. I don't see anywhere that I could have read it.
 
Here's another story with video of Bethany at a press conference:

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/acid-attack-victim-bethany-storro-says-she-could-hear-her-skin-sizzling/19620043

They've also released a police sketch of the suspect:

100902_sketch_acid_thrower.jpg


The suspect who attacked Bethany Storro is described as an African American woman with slicked-back hair that was pulled into a pony tail. She was wearing a green top and khaki pants.

She is also described as having an athletic build, wore no makeup and may have had three piercings in the top of her ear.
 
Yes, you're right. I just got confused with her mother relating the story. I don't see anywhere that I could have read it.

No her mother wasn't there.
From what's been published, I understand that police haven't found any witnesses to the actual attack. By the way the sketch shows a suspect with piercings in her right ear, while the article said the suspect had piercings in her left ear.
 
Note that this Oregon Live report mentions that she "read the lips" of the reporters who were asking her questions, before she replied. Yet she heard the words of a stranger on a busy downtown street.

Interesting point about her hearing. I am just wondering... if she is so hard of hearing that she had to read the lips of reporters to understand their questions, would that degree of hearing impairment prevent you from getting a driver's license?
 
Interesting point about her hearing. I am just wondering... if she is so hard of hearing that she had to read the lips of reporters to understand their questions, would that degree of hearing impairment prevent you from getting a driver's license?

No, deaf people can get driver's licenses. Hearing test is not part of the exam, only eye test.
 
Having a hearing deficit does not preclude one from getting driver's license in Oregon. There's actually a box to check on the application if you have a deficit or are deaf.

I have a daughter who has a 95% hearing deficit and because she was not fitted with hearing aids while in foster care until age four, she reads lips. She doesn't drive, however, due to cognitive issues. I can actually mouth words to her though a closed window (or across a crowded room) and she can perfectly understand. However, she must be facing a person to communicate. Has it been reported if Bethany wears hearing aids? I've looked at all her photos and not seen them. Often, glasses can be difficult for people who wear hearing aids as they will cause the aids to buzz. My daughter refuses to wear sunglasses on even the brightest days for that reason.

A couple of other things I noticed is that the first article linked above says that Bethany had just gotten a job. She had recently moved from Idaho to Vancouver, which is right over the Columbia River from Portland, OR. It also says:

"Just after 7:30 p.m., Bethany Storro was walking in the area of 8th and Columbia in Vancouver when another female engaged the 28-year-old Storro in a brief conversation.

Storro, who was going to a Starbucks in the area, was getting something out of her car when she heard: "Hey pretty little girl, want to take a drink of this?"

This is a confusing statement with only one possible explanation IMO. It sounds as if Bethany had been walking or shopping in the area or possibly coming from the interview, stopped by her parked car to get something and heard the woman call out to her. This would make sense to me. If my daughter heard someone address her, she would swing around to look. She would then understand perfectly what was said. The walking and getting something out of a car don't really match up IMO unless this was the scenario.

It's been sunny in Oregon and southern Washington this week and possibly Bethany purchased the sunglasses as Vancouver can be pretty gloomy. I just wonder if the sun was brighter than she expected in the downtown area.

I also noticed this:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38981535/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

"Meanwhile, the Vancouver Columbian newspaper reported that law enforcement officials in Vancouver had spoken to officials in another city about a similar attack. The paper said a police lieutenant from Puyallup, Wash., south of Seattle, said his department had spoken to Vancouver officials about the July 30 incident.

In that attack, 23-year-old woman was approached in an apartment complex parking lot by a man who said he'd been locked out of his apartment and needed water for his vehicle. When she returned with a container of water for him, the suspect threw on acidic substance on her using a cup."

The woman suffered severe chemical burns to her face and eyes. Police described the suspect in that case as a husky black man about 5-foot-10 with two distinctive marks on his right cheek...."



This might be of interest as Bethany's brother lives in Seattle and has written about Bethany and her terrible ordeal on his FB page. I wonder if Bethany has recently visited her brother in Seattle. That's only 35 miles from Puyallup, WA, where the other attack occurred.
 

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