Acid Attack Was Faked: Bethany Storro Admits to Police She Maimed Herself

Bethany Storro, the 28-year-old woman who got national attention by saying she was maimed by a stranger who splashed acid in her face, has admitted to police in Vancouver, Washington, that her story was a hoax. She told them she splashed the acid on herself.

Police, announcing their investigation was closed, said they had spent hundreds of hours looking for a perpetrator and did not speculate on Storro's motive.

"I think it's obvious to everybody here that she's in a fragile mental state," said police Cdr. Marla Shuman at a news conference in Vancouver late today. "I think prosecutors will take that into account."

"She is extremely upset and very remorseful," said Shuman. "In many ways, this just got bigger than she expected."

Storro had claimed she was attacked outside a coffee shop on Aug. 30.

"A woman approached her and said, 'Hey pretty girl,' and she turned around and she asked if she wanted something to drink, and my daughter said, 'No,'" Storro's mother, Nancy Neuwelt, told reporters at the time. She said the woman then threw a cup of liquid in Storro's face.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/acid-attack-victim-bethany-storro-tells-police-faked/story?id=11658631