Teen Accused Of Putting Bleach In Soda

A teenager accused of spiking a fellow theater student's drink with bleach because she wanted the lead role in a school play surrendered to authorities.

Katherine A. Smith, 18, turned herself in Wednesday, more than a week after a warrant was issued for her arrest. She was charged with tampering with a consumer product, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and was released on $2,500 bail.

A message left Thursday at Smith's home seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Smith is accused of putting bleach in Mountain Dew soda and then handing the drink to a 15-year-old in February, a day after the opening of L.D. Bell High School's production of "Ha!" — a trio of one-act comedies.

Smith was the understudy and wanted the student's role, reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Test results confirmed that the drink contained components of bleach, according to police reports.

The 15-year-old noticed the odor and told an assistant principal, who contacted police. Police said Wednesday that the investigation took more than three months because of problems with testing the drink.

The Tarrant County medical examiner's office could not test the drink because it was unable to break it down to its individual components, reports the Star-Telegram.

"When that happened, we needed to clear it with prosecutors to use another lab," Hurst police Sgt. Craig Teague told the paper. "Once that was done, it didn't take long to get the results.

Smith was placed in an alternative school after she was questioned in the incident and did not participate in prom or graduation, said Hurst-Euless-Bedford district spokeswoman Judy Ramos.