Girls being held after cake makes students sick
By DON PLUMMER, By MIKE MORRIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/17/04
Two Cobb County middle school students who brought a cake to school that made at least 12 students sick could learn Friday if they will face attempted murder charges, a judge ruled Wednesday.
The cake, reportedly a noxious mix of corn bread meal, Tabasco sauce, glue and possibly bleach, caused more than a dozen students to experience cramps, headaches, vomiting and diarrhea, a detective testified Wednesday during a court hearing.
Juvenile Court Judge Steve Schuster ordered that the 13-year-old girls be held in the juvenile detention center until a hearing on Friday at which prosecutors must formally charge them. Schuster also ordered psychiatric evaluations of both girls.
The girls, who are seventh-graders at East Cobb Middle School, told teachers and police they baked the cake after school on Monday. One of the girls brought the cake to school Tuesday on the bus. She offered a teacher a slice, said Cobb Detective Wayne Delk.
The teacher declined, but allowed her to keep the cake in his microwave until lunch period when the girl served slices to students in the cafeteria, Delk testified in court.
After students had eaten the cake the girl yelled out that it contained bleach and glue, Delk said.
"The other defendant admitted to a teacher that the cake contained bleach and glue," Delk testified.
Neither girl would say why they served the tainted cake to classmates, he said.
Students transported to a Marietta hospital for treatment suffered from stomach cramps, vomiting, nausea and diarrhea, Delk said.
The girls were charged by police with multiple counts of aggravated **** with the intent to commit murder, according to Cobb police spokesman Cpl. Dana Pierce. One of the girls was also charged with one count of terroristic acts and one count of interference with government property, Pierce said.
Both girls' homes were searched for evidence, said Cobb Detective John McCraw. Officers seized two mixing bowls with residue of the cake mix and a green frosting used on the cake, McCraw testified. Other items taken included Tabasco sauce, Crayola School Glue, food dye and household bleach. All of the items except the bleach were found in a kitchen pantry, McCraw said.
Cobb schools spokesman Jay Dillon said the sickened students, mostly seventh-graders, were treated and released from the hospital.
don't eat errybody cake!!!!
