Police in Minnesota say that a local woman expressed her irritation with neighborhood kids by sending their home a letter inquiring if she could “taste” the children.
The recipients, a family in the town of Champlin with two elementary school kids, say they received the anonymous letter on Sept. 27, CBS Minnesota reports. The full text read, “The children look delicious. May I have a taste?”
The next day, a woman who received the letter posted an incensed response on a community Facebook group, informing the sender that the answer was a definite no:
“To the individual who sent this letter...The answer is NO! NO you may not have my children in any way, shape, or form. And beyond anything physical you may NOT rob them of the security and comfort they feel. The trust they have in other people, or the joy they experience on a daily basis because of who they are. You DO NOT have the right to try to steal this from them by sending an anonymous letter trying to rip their world apart. I will NOT let that happen. What you MAY do, since you were so formal in your letter to ask, is you MAY turn yourself into the police, or you MAY seek help for your sexual and/or homicidal urges. Either way, the children of this community are off limits.”
Shortly thereafter, the family started getting magazine subscriptions addressed to “Your Tasty Children,” according to local news station WTKR.
Champlin police say neighbor Carrie Pernula, 38, admitted that she was behind the letter and address labels. Deputy Police Chief Ty Schmidt indicated that Pernula was motivated by neighborly gripes.
“She was angry because the kids were leaving things in her yard and I think being a little noisy, being kids, the way kids are,” he told CBS Minnesota.
Pernula was arrested Friday, but was released on Monday. Schmidt told The Huffington Post that she’s been charged with stalking and disorderly conduct.
Her attorney, Debbie Lang, told the AP the incident was “an unfortunate and complicated situation for everyone involved.”