A report of Halloween candy containing sewing needles proved unfounded, said the Chester County District Attorney’s Office and Kennett Square Borough Police Department in a press release.
The two children who reported the incident have both recanted their statements, the release said.
“Sometimes proving that a crime did not happen is as important as proving that a crime did happen,” said District Attorney Tom Hogan in the release. “In this case, law enforcement treated the initial report seriously, notified the community for the sake of safety, but kept doggedly investigating the matter. As a result of that persistence, we are now able to assure the citizens of Kennett Square that nobody was trying to harm any children by tampering with Halloween candy.”
Kennett Square Police Chief Edward Zunino concurred. “We are relieved to find out that nobody was trying to hurt kids in Kennett Square,” he said. “We are a safe and vibrant community, and we protect our children.”
The investigation by the Kennett Square Borough Police Department and the Chester County Detectives began at midnight on Nov. 1, after borough police received a report that sewing needles had been found in candy bars by children who had been trick-or-treating on Halloween the night before. One child triggered the report.
Upon learning of the incident, the police informed the public of the potential risk and instructed the community to contact authorities with reports of any further incidents. Shortly thereafter, another needle in Halloween candy was reported to police by a second child from Kennett Square.
Investigating the reports, police interviewed family members multiple times, canvassed the neighborhoods where the kids had been trick-or-treating, re-interviewed the reporting children, processed evidence recovered in the investigation, and even dug through trash bins to recover other candy that had been discarded by the reporting children.
While reviewing the trash, police discovered a spool of thread among the discarded candy from the first reporting child, leading to questions about whether the child may have taken the needles from a home sewing kit. Both families were cooperative throughout the investigation and were helpful in uncovering the truth.
In the first incident, an 11-year old girl took several needles from her mother’s sewing kit and hid them in Twix bars. She did this after seeing a photograph of needles in candy shown to her by an adult who was advising her to be safe while trick-or-treating. She then fabricated the needles in a candy bar story to her parents, who rightfully reported the incident to police.
The second incident involved a 12-year old boy hearing the reports about the first incident and then imitating what had been reported. The young boy inserted a needle inside of a Snickers bar and showed his older sister, who promptly reported it to the police.
Both children fully recanted their initial reports. They both gave complete statements to the police, with the last statement being completed in the evening hours of Thursday, Nov. 5, the release said.
Based on the ages of the children involved, the cooperation of their families, and other mitigating factors, no formal charges will be filed against the children, who will be dealt with by their parents. Both families apologized for the incident, understanding the serious impact it had on the community.
“Law enforcement is always in a difficult situation in these potential hoax cases, which seem to occur every year,” said Hogan. “The public has to be notified immediately as a matter of safety. However, as anybody who has raised kids knows, it sometimes takes some work and time to get the full truth behind an initial story.
Hogan said the investigation is closed. “At this point, we are simply glad that we can assure the parents and children of Chester County that Halloween remains a safe and fun event,” he said.
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