17-year-old puts bleach in adoptive mom’s milk during feud, Florida cops say

A 17-year-old who didn’t want to live with his adoptive mom anymore is accused of pouring bleach in her milk, Florida authorities said.

The teen is now charged with attempted murder, poisoning food or water, and aggravated abuse of an elderly person, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.

The 77-year-old woman poured herself a glass of milk the morning of April 19 and noticed a weird smell and an “intense chemical taste,” deputies wrote in an arrest affidavit.

The woman’s other son said their mom had been “feuding” with her teen adoptive son, and recently the 17-year-old had threatened to break her neck, according to the investigators’ report. He suspected his brother had poured bleach in the milk, deputies said.

He added their mom is the only one in the home who drinks the milk.

A deputy called to the Deltona home reported smelling the milk and noticing a strong odor of bleach, then investigators found a bottle of Clorox bleach in the laundry room.

“The bottle was positioned in a dusty area with a clear outline indicating it had been moved recently,” deputies wrote in the affidavit.

A deputy found the 17-year-old “hiding” in one of the bedrooms, then the teen said during an interview that he had poured bleach into the milk container, intending to make his mother sick, according to investigators.

“He stated he was angry at (his adoptive mom) and no longer wished to live in the home,” deputies wrote.

The woman was taken to a hospital to be evaluated, although she didn’t have an immediate reaction to the bleach, according to the report.

Deltona is about a 30-mile drive northeast from downtown Orlando.

This story was originally published April 23, 2025 at 10:50 AM with the headline "17-year-old puts bleach in adoptive mom’s milk during feud, Florida cops say."