A Wisconsin teenager allegedly spiked his dairy farmer stepfather’s energy drink with cow tranquilizers for his own amusement.
Authorities charged Tyler Rabenhorst-Malone, 17, with one count of placing foreign objects in edibles and one count of second-degree recklessly endangering safety, according to court documents obtained by KTRK-TV.
The teen allegedly told police he committed the crime because he thought it would be amusing to see his stepdad’s reaction to the concoction. But he reportedly told authorities that he never intended to hurt his father.
Rabenhorst-Malone’s stepfather first began presenting symptoms such as slurred speech and a droopy face back in January 2018, telling doctors at the hospital where he received treatment that he thought his symptoms stemmed from stress, drinking energy drinks, and lack of sleep.
When the stepfather came down with similar symptoms on a different occasion, he reportedly started to watch what he was drinking. The teen’s mother also discovered a box of oxytocin and rompun went missing from the barn in April 2018, authorities said.
The stepfather then suspected that his stepson was behind what caused him to become ill after he found used syringes, according to a criminal complaint.
Officials later tested the liquid in the man’s drinks and the syringes, finding traces of Xylazine, a drug used a tranquilizer for large cattle, the New York Daily News reported.
Officials say the syringes also tested positive for Xylazine.
The teen is expected to appear in court on March 18.