Police say US woman in acid attack disfigured herself

Ms Storro's scheduled appearance on Oprah Winfrey's show was cancelled

A US woman who said an unknown assailant had splashed acid in her face on a city street has admitted to disfiguring herself, police have said. Bethany Storro, from Washington state, had garnered worldwide sympathy, including a since-cancelled invitation to appear on Oprah Winfrey's TV show.

But investigators determined the burn pattern did not conform to her account.

And under questioning on Thursday, Ms Storro admitted inflicting the injury on herself, US police said.

"It's obvious to everybody here that she's got a fragile mental state," Cdr Marla Schuman of the police force in the city of Vancouver, Washington state, told reporters.

'No witnesses'

Ms Storro, 28, initially told police an unknown African-American woman had thrown a cup of liquid into her face after asking, "Hey, pretty girl, want something to drink?"

She underwent surgery and made several media appearances, including a televised press conference with her head wrapped in bandages.

But the case began to unravel when investigators were unable to find witnesses to the alleged 30 August attack.

And police said the pattern of the acid burn appeared to correspond with a liquid being poured or rubbed into the skin, rather than splashed, Cdr Schuman said.

Also, the burn appeared to have spread under Ms Storro's sunglasses, which she said she had purchased minutes before the alleged attack.

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11348423