Police Say High School Student Shared Cookies Laced with Human Ashes

Sarah Le
10/17/2018
Updated:
10/17/2018

A female high school student in Davis, California, allegedly brought cookies laced with her grandparent’s ashes to school and shared them with other students.

The Davis Police Department said that the student is believed to have made the cookies at home and brought them to school on Oct. 4, and at least nine other students may have eaten the cookies. Some of the students knew there may have been cremated human remains in the cookies before they ate them, while others did not.

“Based on the overall circumstances we think it’s credible. Can we confirm it 100%? I don’t think we can say that. We feel it is a credible statement that that happened,” said Lt. Paul Doroshov, Davis Police Department to KTXL.

A student named Andy Knox told KCRA News that he was offered one of the cookies as he was about to go into his Environmental Science class.

“A girl who was also in the class stopped me and asked me if I wanted a cookie. And I knew her, so I figured, ‘It’s a cookie, why not?’” Knox said. “She told me there’s a special ingredient in the cookie … I thought that she put drugs in it or something. So I asked her if like, ‘Is this a weed cookie or something?’ And she said ‘No.’ She said it was her grandpa’s ashes. And then she kind of laughed. And I was really, I was kind of horrified.”

Doroshov said the cookies have not been tested, and the only evidence they have at this time is the students’ statements.

A student allegedly brought cookies laced with cremated human remains to a high school in Davis, Calif. on Oct. 4, 2018. (Screenshot/KTXL)
A student allegedly brought cookies laced with cremated human remains to a high school in Davis, Calif. on Oct. 4, 2018. (Screenshot/KTXL)
The principal of the high school wrote a letter to parents on the school website on Oct. 16, stating there was no health risk to the campus or to any of the students.

“I can say that those who were involved are remorseful and this is now a personal family matter and we want to respect the privacy of the families involved,” read the letter.

Authorities are working with the school and the students are cooperating with the investigation, said Doroshov.