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Bethany Storro, the woman that made headlines with an acid hoax where she claimed someone attacked her, burning her face acid, says she's seeing herself clearly for the first time. (AP Photo/file)

Acid hoax perpetrator seeing self clearly for first time

BY Jamie Skorheim  on March 20, 2013 @ 11:23 am (Updated: 7:54 am - 3/21/13 )

The Vancouver woman that made headlines with a hoax where she claimed someone attacked her, burning her face with acid, says she's seeing herself clearly for the first time.

Bethany Storro tells KIRO Radio's Luke Burbank that the day she applied acid to her face, she thought having no face at all would be better than wearing the face she saw in the mirror.

"I saw a distorted image," says Storro. "I would see this horrific image in the mirror. It was just terrifying. I didn't even want to go on anymore because I thought I looked like that."

Storro bought the drain cleaner she used to burn her face at your typical hardware store. A warning from a store clerk regarding the dangers of the product just reinforced her plans to use it to erase her face, she says.

"I remember her saying, 'You've got to be careful with this stuff. It's very harmful and it can burn,'" says Storro. "I remember when she said that I was a little bit happy inside."

Storro planned to drink and suck in the vapors of the cleaner, as well as apply it to her skin. She witnessed its strength before the real act by dipping in a couple of Q-Tips.

"That Q-Tip just dissolved in front of my face. It was very, very strong."

Drinking the drain cleaner turned out to be too much, but Storro believed the application of the substance to her skin could also kill her. She set up in a park bathroom to end her life. As she applied the harsh chemicals she says it was a flood of mixed feelings, concern for her parents and also a bit of a rush thinking about feeling the pain.

"I was kind of happy. I was really scared how it was going to feel," says Storro. "But I thought this would make me free of this mental illness I was going through."

The pain after applying drain cleaner was unreal, Storro says.

"It's just sizzling through your skin. It's melting. It hurt so bad that it kind of felt good to me to feel it."

As she continued to apply it, she found the pain unbearable. She knew she needed to get help. She wanted to go home, but her parents were out of town. She got in the car and drove to a nearby public place, pulling into an area near a Starbucks. Calling out for help, Storro says soon there were people all around her trying to help and asking her questions.

"It's just natural instinct for someone when they see that, that, 'Oh my gosh somebody hurt her,'" says Storro. "In that instant, when somebody had screamed out, 'Did somebody do this?' I had said, 'Yes.'"

As more and more people became involved in the situation, Storro says it was harder and harder to change the story. The media propelled it to a national audience. Looking at her parents too, she says, made it feel impossible.

"I almost told my parents right there [in the hospital] and then I saw the look in their face when they saw my face," says Storro. "I'm like how could I sit there and say, 'No I did this to myself,' and explain to them this whole story that I've been struggling for many years."

As time passed, Storro says the story snowballed, and she had to come up with lie after lie. There were dozens of times she says she wanted to tell the truth.

"I had so many sleepless nights. I had so many bad thoughts that my family would abandon me. I would always say things like 'tomorrow I will tell the truth. I'm just going to do this.'"

The truth finally came out when the police went to her home while she and her mother were out of area on a trip to get away from it all up in Seattle. Upon arriving home, she saw police officers, and witnessed her father with his head in his hands. She immediately knew he knew the truth.

"My dad met us face to face. It was the first time anyone's ever asked me through the whole thing 'Did you do this to yourself?' And he goes, 'Please, just please tell me, be honest.' All I said was, 'I did. Yes.'"

Storro eventually pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a public official and was sentenced to community service and ordered to continue mental health treatment.

Through her treatment, Storro learned she suffered from body dysmorphic disorder, a disorder where a person can't stop thinking about flaws in their appearance. The flaws that they focus on are often minor or imaginary. The diagnosis, Storro says, was a relief.

"It was the first time that I heard there was a name for what I was going through. It was such a relief that there was an actual name and it exists and it wasn't just me."

It took awhile, but Storro says she finally came to see herself clearly. Looking at old pictures, she finally saw what the rest of the world saw and then regretted what she'd done to herself.

"I had to accept what I did to myself. It was really hard, seeing myself in the mirror and what I'd done," says Storro. "I see reality now when I look in the mirror."

Storro has since written a book about her experience. She co-wrote the book, "Facing the Truth," with Portland burn survivor Mona Krueger. The book is available in bookstores now, and Storro tells Burbank proceeds from the book will go to charity.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jamie Skorheim, MyNorthwest.com Editor
Whether it's floating on Green Lake, eating shrimp tacos at Agua Verde, or taking weekend drives out to the Cascades, she loves to enjoy the Pacific Northwest lifestyle as much as humanly possible.
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Comments (25)


  • Add A Comment

  • shark75 wrote...
    WHO CARES
    March 20, 2013 12:59 pm
    There she goes wanting more even attention. Lady, you're an idiot. You made your bed, now sleep in it.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • thefalsediviner wrote...
    You are ugly inside shark75
    March 20, 2013 1:28 pm
    You have a disorder too. It's called being a self absorbed dung heap of a person.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    This woman is seriously damaged....
    March 20, 2013 1:39 pm
    and i don't mean her face, but her brain. She needs to be in an asylum and ignored by the public. She is a frighin whack job....Luke, you're a moron for giving this crazy B - itch any attention.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    thefalsediviner wrote...
    March 20, 2013 1:49 pm
    Let's keep it relevant. Stupid. Go practice your fake internet psychology somehwere else.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • thefalsediviner wrote...
    shark75......
    March 20, 2013 7:25 pm
    Exactly what's not relevant about calling you out on being mean spirited? How about you go practice being a jerk somewhere else? Nothing fake about me telling you, that you are a butthole....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    Mean Spirited?
    March 20, 2013 7:56 pm
    I was actually concerned about this woman you moron, then we figured out she did it to herself. I hope she, like Lonestar, gets hungry and things of pizza when she looks in the mirror. Good for her, nice handiwork you idiot. At least she has one friend, his/her name is Thefalsediviner, they have "Sucker" stamped on their forehead...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • LibertyOrDeath-MolonLabe wrote...
    thefalsediviner...
    March 24, 2013 5:24 pm
    Butthole? Really? Bwahahaahaha!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Missbrenslaw wrote...
    I have to agree with you!
    March 20, 2013 3:42 pm
    Not buying this!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Newton wrote...
    Sad.
    March 20, 2013 2:02 pm
    A brain dissorder.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    Not to be harsh, but...........
    March 20, 2013 2:57 pm
    I listened to as much of the show as I could stand, and I've read Luke's (Jamie's) blog. And aside from realizing she has some disorder understood only by psychiatric specialists, I don't think she has learned a bloody thing. ... Just what IS she doing to overcome her disorder and better herself? - And what 'wisdom' can she pass to others? ... EG: Who can be helped by her story?

    Seems like all she has learned is how to have a book ghosted for her and go on talk shows where people like Luke can fawn sympathy. In other words - nothing at all.

    .

    And by the way - haven't all her doctor bills and surgery been expensive? ... She can TELL Burbank proceeds from the book will go to charity, but ...???

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • carr wrote...
    Unlikable
    March 20, 2013 3:50 pm
    This story was hard to listen because I could find any feelings of compassion for Bethany Storro. Bethany came across as really unlikable. Her apology during her interview with Luke did not sound sincere and her words just came across as superficial. Furthermore, a few things disappointed me. I wanted to know why she made the decision to falsely accuse a woman of color of throwing the acid in her face, this was never addressed. Also, Bethany never spoke to spending donation money on meals, shopping trips etc. All that was said was the “small amount,” of donation was repaid. This issues was never really addressed either.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Lonestar wrote...
    Makes me hungry
    March 20, 2013 5:19 pm
    I need a pizza.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood wrote...
    I do feel bad for her.
    March 20, 2013 6:15 pm
    I hope she finds peace.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Gaymarriedchristian whatever person
    March 21, 2013 3:31 am
    She'll never find peace because she's a self absorbed narcissist who is willing to committ imaginary hate crimes and self mutilation to gain attention. This girl needs to be put in a supervised mental health care facility before she hurts someone else. She is eF ing CRAZY! She showed little / no remorse in her interview? It was all about her....And again, Luke Burbankis a even more than his usual total dooooschbag idiot self for giving this whack job one second of attention.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood wrote...
    I didn't hear the interview, but I've heard about BDD and it is a nasty mental disorder.
    March 21, 2013 10:16 am
    She obviously needs mental help, but I don't think people with BDD are a danger to anybody but themselves. Maybe she does need to institutionalized. Maybe she won't ever find peace. But the hope spring's eternal.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rangerhawk wrote...
    We and she should be thankful
    March 20, 2013 8:55 pm
    That there wasn't a childs face involved when she lost her mind with that drain cleaner.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dexterjibs wrote...
    cuckoo for cocoa puffs
    March 20, 2013 11:24 pm
    Why does society insist that i need to wrap my brain around stuff that people do?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sweetpea123 wrote...
    and...
    March 20, 2013 11:56 pm
    ...she really expects us to buy this? She was happy inside, but then she got scared, so she jumps in her car (after already being in a public place) and finds another public place where she just happens to be all ready w/ a story of woe and attack? Hmmmmmmm, sorry, not buying it.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • murr wrote...
    Keep giving her attention
    March 21, 2013 2:41 am
    She will suck it up like a liberal finding a new found tax.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }