Student jailed for 90 days for putting eyedrops into her room-mate's water after seeing stunt on Wedding Crashers



Jailed: Luciana Reichel was sent to prison for 90 days

A student who repeatedly put eye drops into her roommate's water after seeing the prank in the movie Wedding Crashers has been jailed for 90 days which the judge hopes will serve as a 'wake up call' to the girl.

Fox Valley Technical College Student student Luciana Reichel, 22, from Wisconsin, was charged with a felony count of placing foreign objects in edibles. She was also placed on 30 months probation.



According to the criminal complaint, on 'numerous occasions' late last year Reichel placed Visine in a quart-sized water bottle used by Briannia Charapata, her 20-year-old roommate at her dorm.



As a result of continually drinking the water, Ms Charapata began feeling 'nauseated, suffered from diarrhoea, loss of appetite and was tired for no reason'.

She started to feel unwell at the beginning of October and it was not until two weeks later that she decided to visit a doctor who was unable to explain the cause of her illness.

Ms Charapata had to leave a marketing exam on October 18 and run to the bathroom to be sick.

It was only in November, when she heard another student Laura Gallas had been telling people that Reichel was putting eye drops in her water was the prank discovered.

Ms Gallas told police that Reichel was laughing when she explained how the eyedrops were making her roommate sick.

After seeing this, the student alleged, she 'decided to add more to her water bottle a few days later and the same results happened'.

Though they were staying in a dorm room at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, Reichel was actually a Fox Valley Technical College student.



Scene: The incident happened at a dorm at the University of Wisconsin and Reichel was arrested after they were alerted by another student

Victim: This pciture was taken from the Facebook page of Briannia Charapata who became sick after eyedrops were put in her water bottle

When she was arrested, the 22-year-old confessed and said she got the idea after watching Wedding Crashers where the character actor Owen Wilson plays does the same thing to a love rival, who then becomes violently ill.

Winnebago County Judge Barbara Key said that while Reichel had no previous criminal record, a lengthy history of lying and manipulation, in addition to her alcohol issues, and the severity of putting eye drops into her roommate's water, were concerning.

She said: 'This may seem harsh, but what you did was very serious. And you need to understand there are very serious consequences for your behaviour and you can't just slide by on this.'

Reichel told the court she had a drinking problem at the time the incident occurred, but she has been receiving treatment. She also said she was ready to face the consequences of her actions.



But Judge Key said solely addressing the alcohol issue was not enough. She said Reichel had a history of lying and being manipulative dating back to when she was young and those issues need to be addressed.

She also ordered Reichel, who noted she would like to pursue a career in nursing, to not hold a job in the health care field while she is on probation.

It is unlikely that the student will ever be able to have a career in the health profession, according to police.



Art imitating life: Reichel said her prank was inspired by a scene in the 2005 comedy Wedding Crashers starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn

DANGERS OF INGESTING VISINE

The active ingredient in Visine Tetrahydrozoline is fatal to humans if ingested internally, even in small doses.

According to the warnings on Visine's website, the internal consumption of their products active ingredients will cause laboured breathing, sudden drops in blood pressure, central nervous system failure, seizures, coma, and possibly death.

If is is ingested, even in a small quantity, you should contact a poison control centre immediately.

There is a long history of people putting eye drops in acquaintance's drinks, often with fatal consequences.

In January 2009, Tonia L. Peterson, of Missouri, was charged with first-degree assault after dumping a half a bottle of eye drops in her husband's tea in an attempt to kill him.

Her husband told investigators he had been experiencing stomach problems for the last few months. Poison control personnel informed a detective that 'enough visine would put a person in a coma with other severe symptoms'.

In June 2009, Denise Moyer, of Vermont, was arrested for third-degree assault after police were told she had spiked a co-workers drink with the drops a few days before she became ill and died.

She confessed to doing it at a Halloween party on October 31. Her co-worker, Marceline Jones, died on November 2, of what appeared to be natural cases.



