Photo : Andreas Rentz ( Getty )

Andy Knox, a student at Da Vinci Charter Academy in California, told KRCA-TV how he came across the dead grandpa cookies. “Two weeks ago, I was just about to go into my sixth-period class, environmental science, and 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 went on to eat the cookie.

“I took a bite of it, and 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.”


Knox said it wasn’t even the first time that student had offered him her grandpa’s ashes.

Davis Police Lt. Paul Doroshov told the Los Angeles Times that two students were involved in the papaw cookie rites ; the remains belonged to a man who was the grandfather of only one of the girls. Police have opened a case, although they aren’t sure if there are any applicable charges to press, because the ashes weren’t toxic and no one became sick as a result of eating the possibly haunted snacks. Doroshov also said that at least nine of the girls’ peers were given the baked goods, but not all of them knew what they were getting into. Some knew and were unfazed:



“Some students knew beforehand and still consumed the cookies,” Doroshov said. Asked if the allegation seems credible, Doroshov gave a long sigh. “Yeah.”

Knox explained how the cookies tasted:

“The taste itself wasn’t really any different. But if you ever ate sand as a kid, you know, you can kind of feel it crunching in between your teeth. There was a little tiny bit of that.”


If you’re going to feed your friends your loved ones, you’ve got to at least nail the mouthfeel.

[KRCA-TV | Los Angeles Times]