Acid 'victim' admits injuring herself

Vancouver, WA — Amid growing speculation, a Vancouver woman who made international headlines for reporting that a black woman threw acid in her face confessed to police today that the attack was self-inflicted.

At a press conference this afternoon, Vancouver Police Department officials said they served a search warrant this morning at a residence where Bethany Storro was staying and took several items. Upon questioning Storro about what they found, police said she confessed the attack was a hoax.

Vancouver Police Chief Cliff Cook said investigators had growing speculation about Storro’s story, prompting them to serve the search warrant. Officials declined to say what they found in the residence.

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

"It seems clear to everyone that we have a person here who is in a fragile mental state," she added.

Schuman said detectives turned their investigation toward Storro after continually coming across aspects of the case that just didn’t add up. For instance, investigators looked at the splash pattern of the acid, she said, and the fact that it didn’t run down Storro’s neck.

Schuman also said the time of day when Storro said the attack happened, 7:40 p.m., raised the question of why she would be wearing sunglasses.

Police officials said the interviews with Storro are ongoing, declining to offer speculation on a motive. They couldn’t say where and when she threw the acid on her face.

Storro had earlier claimed that on Aug. 30, a woman approached her on Columbia Street, just north of Esther Short Park, and said, “Hey, pretty girl, want something to drink?” When she declined, Storro said the woman hurled a cup of caustic liquid at her. -via-