Angela Paterson of Indianapolis has been arrested and charged with aggravated battery after she reportedly threw a bottle of acid at her son’s girlfriend’s face, causing “severe burns and blisters.”
The victim, 19-year-old Jessica Burns, was living with Paterson and her son Joseph Miller, and, according to WRTV, when she refused to give Paterson half of her prescription pain medication (Miller claims his mother is an addict), Paterson “started to yell and chase Burns around the house before grabbing a bottle of gold testing acid and splashing it in Burns’ face.” A 1-year-old child of Burns and Miller reportedly witnessed the incident, but was not harmed by the acid.
It’s hard not to wonder if Paterson’s acid attack is a copycat crime of sorts, as two similar attacks (one of them proven to be a hoax) have taken up space in the national media over the past month or so. Bethany Storro, who claimed she had been attacked with acid in a parking lot, only to later admit that she’d actually burned her own face, will head to court on Wednesday on theft charges, as she accepted nearly $30,000 worth of donations under a false premise. Storro told police that she originally trying to kill herself, but “Then, when I realized it wasn’t killing me, I thought maybe this was the answer to all my problems. To have a completely different face.” The hoax apparently took on a life she did not expect: “”I thought there would be no evidence of me doing it to myself. And then you guys – I thought that you guys would give up on trying to find the person and it would be done.”
Derri Velarde, who was attacked in Arizona days after Storro carried out her hoax, says she does not blame Storro and her hoax for the ordeal she’s been through: “It’s upsetting, you know. I don’t blame her,” said Velarde. “A lot of people are like, ‘it wouldn’t have happened to you if she didn’t do that to herself. I kind of feel like whoever was behind hurting me something was going to happen, so I don’t know if that affected the person’s choice on how they were going to hurt me, but I don’t blame [Storrow]. I feel sorry for her.” Velarde, whose attacker has not yet been identified, is still going through the recovery process, but has a positive attitude: “I will have to look at the scars, but not let it get me down. The scars are the least of my worries. I could’ve lost my sight, or my life. I’ve been through a lot in my life, and I can get through this. I’m just making sure I do all the right things I need to do to keep recovering.”
Police: Woman Threw Acid In The Face Of Son’s Girlfriend [The Indy Channel]
Court Appearance Set Wednesday In Acid Hoax Case [AP]
Acid Attack Victim Leans On Friends, Family, And Her Own Will [East Valley Tribune]
Acid Victim Speaks Out, Doesn’t Place Blame [WHDH]
Acid Attack Hoax Woman Charged With Theft [CBS]
[Image via WRTV.]