12-Year-Old Girl Charged With Trying to Kill Mom With Bleach for Taking iPhone

We tend not to bestow Schmuck of the Week honors on pre-adults...because who among us hasn't done schmucky stuff when we were kids?

But we're making an exception in this case for a twelve-year-old girl who's now been formally charged (as a juvenile) with attempted murder for trying to poison her mother with bleach.

And what did the mom do to prompt this extreme reaction? She took away the girl's iPhone.

On March 6, according to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, deputies were dispatched to Boulder Community Hospital.


The reason for the call was initially described as an assault. But the BCSO says subsequent investigation revealed that the twelve-year-old Boulder County girl, who isn't being identified due to her age, had tried to kill her mother on two separate occasions, with bleach being the weapon of choice.

The first try allegedly took place on March 2.

The mother began feeling ill after drinking a breakfast smoothie,

Afterward, she noticed the distinct smell of bleach, the BCSO maintains.


At first, she thought the girl had cleaned the glass with bleach and failed to rinse all of it out.

Later that same week, however, she learned differently, owing to attempt number two.

In that instance, the BCSO says the girl poured bleach into a water carafe her mom keeps in her bedroom.

Fortunately, the mom didn't take a big swig of the stuff. After scenting bleach again, she confronted her daughter, who's said to have told her that she had decided to kill her because she'd taken away the girl's iPhone.


The sheriff's office isn't saying what prompted the iPhone confiscation — but they took the girl into custody at the hospital and booked her into the Boulder County Juvenile Center.

This week, Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett formally charged the girl with attempted murder. But he told the Boulder Daily Camera that his office has "no plans to consider moving the case out of juvenile court.

"With a twelve-year-old it is extremely unlikely there will be a significant punitive component," he added. "Punishment is almost never a focus in a case such as this. We are trying to help the young person and the young person's family, and that is the emphasis for both my office and the courts."

Sounds appropriate to us — and we'd like to help. So following a Fox31 report about the incident, we've included a Clorox video called "Bleach for Beginners."

Because what went down has already left enough of a stain.