The Bethany Storro fake acid attack was a 2010 hoax in which a 28-year-old Washington state woman burned her own face with drain cleaner, told police a Black stranger had thrown acid at her, and collected nearly $28,000 in public donations before a Vancouver Police Department investigation forced her confession. She pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor, received a suspended one-year jail sentence, and spent a year in a mental health rehabilitation program. She later said the act was a suicide attempt driven by undiagnosed body dysmorphic disorder.
What She Claimed and What Actually Happened
On the evening of August 30, 2010, Storro told Vancouver police that around 7:15 p.m., near Esther Short Park on Columbia Street, an African American woman had approached her, asked “Hey pretty girl, do you want something to drink?” and thrown a cup of liquid in her face when she declined. She described the acid sizzling on her skin and burning through her clothing. A key flourish: she said she had bought sunglasses about 20 minutes earlier and happened to be wearing them, which she said saved her eyesight.1CNN. Acid Attack Victim Recounts Assault2ABC News. Acid Attack Victim Bethany Storro Tells Police She Faked Attack
She later admitted to Detective Wallis Stefan that she had smeared drain cleaner on her face with towels in a public restroom near Clark College hours before calling 911. She had believed there would be “no evidence of me doing it to myself” and that police would eventually “give up on trying to find the person.”3The Oregonian. Reports: Bethany Storro Used Paper Towels to Wipe Drain Cleaner on Her Face
The injuries themselves were real and severe. A burn surgeon at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland compared the drain cleaner’s strength to hydrochloric or sulfuric acid, and the chemical burned through her second layer of skin. She was hospitalized for nearly a week.4The Seattle Times. Vancouver Woman in Acid Attack Recounts Agonizing Pain5The Columbian. Victim of Acid Attack Released From Hospital
How the Investigation Unraveled the Story
Vancouver detectives spent more than two weeks working the case, chasing roughly 100 tips without finding a single witness or any physical evidence at the reported scene. The burn pattern on Storro’s face looked more consistent with a substance rubbed on than thrown. The damage was unusually even and had spared her hair, eyes, lips, ears, neck, hands, and upper chest. A physician at the burn center who treated her raised concerns about whether her injuries matched her account.6The Seattle Times. Police: Vancouver Woman Who Burned Face Wanted to Kill Herself
The sunglasses detail collapsed under scrutiny. Storro said she was wearing them at 7:15 p.m. on the shady side of a building despite rarely wearing sunglasses. When Detective Stefan checked the Fred Meyer surveillance footage and sales records, Storro had never been in the store and had never made the purchase. Debit card records did show a different transaction: caustic drain cleaner and a pair of gloves at a local hardware store.6The Seattle Times. Police: Vancouver Woman Who Burned Face Wanted to Kill Herself7The Columbian. Acid Attack Hoax: Vancouver Police
On September 16, 2010, officers executed a search warrant at the home Storro shared with her parents in Vancouver. Confronted with the discrepancies, she waived her Miranda rights and confessed on the record.8CNN. Acid Hoax Charges Filed
Why She Did It
According to a police affidavit, Storro told Detective Stefan that her primary intent was suicide. She had first planned to drink the drain cleaner but could not go through with it. She then applied it to her face, telling investigators that if it did not kill her, she could “get her face redone” and “have a completely different face.”6The Seattle Times. Police: Vancouver Woman Who Burned Face Wanted to Kill Herself
Storro was later diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression. She said the body dysmorphic disorder had been undiagnosed at the time of the incident and that she had been off her medication. She described the disorder as making her see “a distorted monster” in the mirror and said she had obsessed over perceived flaws in her appearance since her teenage years. Before sentencing, she underwent a mental evaluation at Western State Hospital for insanity and diminished capacity; the results were not made public.9The Columbian. Exclusive: Bethany Storro Interview10The Seattle Times. Acid Victim to Plead Guilty, Prosecutor Says
Harm to Vancouver’s Black Community
The fabricated description was specific: a Black woman in her 30s wearing a green top and khaki shorts, with three piercings in one ear. At the time, Black residents made up about 2 percent of Clark County’s population. A Black woman shopping at a Hazel Dell Walmart was reported to 911 simply because she resembled the composite sketch. Leann Johnson, director of equity and diversity at Clark College, told The Columbian she had felt personally vulnerable because her appearance fit the description, and she changed how she dressed and wore her hair to avoid confrontation.11The Columbian. Fabrication Jars, Saddens Blacks, Downtown Dwellers
Attorney Louis Byrd said the false accusation played into “old stereotypes and fears.” The Reverend Joyce Smith of the AME Zion Church asked, “of all the people she could have said did it, why did she say that it was an African American lady?” The Columbian reported that early online coverage drew racist comments and links to white supremacist websites, and the paper shut down its comment section. Storro apologized to African Americans at her sentencing hearing.11The Columbian. Fabrication Jars, Saddens Blacks, Downtown Dwellers12The Seattle Times. Suspended Sentence for Woman in Acid Attack Hoax
Charges, Plea, and Sentence
Clark County prosecutors initially charged Storro with three counts of second-degree theft, alleging she had fraudulently obtained donations from a Safeway employees’ fund, an Anytime Fitness location, and a California resident. Under Washington law, theft against a Good Samaritan is an aggravating circumstance that could push a sentence beyond the standard two-to-five-month range up to a maximum of five years. She pleaded not guilty on September 29, 2010. Prosecutors said she had spent about $1,500 of the donated money on meals, Amtrak tickets to Seattle, clothing, shopping at Target, and part of a $620 cosmetic laser peel treatment.13ABC News. Acid Attack Hoaxer Bethany Storro Faces Charges of Theft14The Oregonian. Bethany Storro Pleads Not Guilty to Theft Charges in Acid Attack Hoax
On April 8, 2011, Storro appeared before Clark County Superior Court Judge John Nichols and pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge of making a false statement to a public servant. Judge Nichols imposed a suspended one-year jail sentence and ordered 240 hours of community service. Two of the three felony theft counts were dismissed. The third was placed in an 18-month felony diversion program, meaning it would be dropped if she completed the program’s terms.15The Oregonian. Bethany Storro Receives Suspended Jail Term for False Report of Acid Attack
The diversion terms required her to follow a mental health treatment plan, report to a felony diversion counselor, and reimburse the Vancouver Police Department $3,982.64 in investigative overtime. She also owed a $500 crime victim assessment fee. By sentencing, she had already repaid $3,000 with her parents’ help, and banks had returned most of the remaining donations to the original donors.16The Columbian. Bethany Storro Pleads Guilty; Plea Bargain Puts Woman on Diversion
What Happened After
Storro moved into Elahan Place, a rehabilitation program run by Columbia River Mental Health Services in Vancouver, where she received daily counseling and medication management for one year. Her attorney, Andrew Wheeler, said she would likely move to a group home after Elahan Place before living independently.9The Columbian. Exclusive: Bethany Storro Interview
She completed the deferred sentencing terms, and the remaining charge was dismissed in March 2012.17The Columbian. Storro Hopes to Shed Light on Mental Illness Issues
In February 2013, Storro, then 30, gave her first broadcast interview since the hoax on Good Morning America, said she was “starting to feel more comfortable in her own skin,” and asked for forgiveness. She co-authored a book with Mona Krueger titled Facing the Truth, which she said was meant to raise awareness of undiagnosed mental illness. Reflecting on the attention that followed the false attack, she said, “In that moment, I felt I was cared for, and I mattered.”18The Columbian. Storro: In Mirror, I Saw a Monster