Parent arrested for giving vodka-laced Jell-O shots elementary kids

TYLER – Our news partner, KETK, reports that an East Texas woman was arrested on Monday after reportedly providing Jell-O shots with vodka to 5th graders at a Tyler elementary school Christmas party. According to a Smith County arrest affidavit, multiple children were throwing up, and one was unable to stand up after consuming six shots.

On Dec. 20, 2024, at around 11:15 a.m., a Tyler ISD police officer received a phone call from the Jones Elementary and Boshears Center assistant principal that said she believed a parent had brought Jell-O shots to a class Christmas party. The officer asked the suspect, Teresa Isabel Bernal, to come to the principal’s office. The officer said he saw on the conference table in the principal’s office a cafeteria boat containing four Jell-O shots.

While the officer was interviewing Bernal, she said the Jell-O shots came from a local business she found on Facebook. “The business is run out of a house, so she went by the house and purchased the Jell-O shots and brought them to the school for the Christmas party,” the affidavit said. When asked if the Jell-O shots contained alcohol, Bernal said, “They do taste different.”

Bernal explained to the officer that the Jell-O shots were meant for the students, and she did not know the shots contained alcohol. “Bernal said she discovered the Jell-O shots contained alcohol after the children consumed some of the shots,” the affidavit said.

The document said Dec. 20, 2024, was the last day of school before Christmas break so the officer only briefly talked with 15 students who had consumed the Jell-O shots. “Nearly all of them reported having stomachaches and headaches,” the affidavit said.

On Jan. 20, the officer contacted the teacher regarding the incident. “The teacher said Bernal brought the Jell-O shots to her classroom earlier in the day,” the document said. “She said when it was time for the class to go to the cafeteria, each student would carry the treats they brought for the party to the cafeteria.”

The teacher described the Jell-O shot boxes as being “nice” and looked like a bakery would provide for customers. “When the kids got to the cafeteria, all the treats were placed on tables so the kids could come by and get what they wanted,” the document said. “After about 20 minutes, two teachers came by and tried the Jell-O shots and thought they contained alcohol.”

As the teacher was going to the table to get a Jell-O shot, Bernal came up to her and asked if the Jell-O shots contained alcohol, the affidavit said. “The teacher took the kids back to her class and later sent the kids who had consumed a Jell-O shot to the nurse and only had four kids left in her classroom.”

On Jan. 6, staff returned to work, allowing the officer to conduct interviews with the teachers and administrators.

“During the interviews, I was told, while some of the teachers found it odd that Bernal would bring Jell-O shots to an elementary school party, they were trusting Bernal to not bring anything harmful to the school party,” the document said. “Bernal was an involved parent, and was present at many functions at the school.”

On Jan. 13, the officer interviewed the owners of the local business where the Jell-O shots were purchased. “I told them I thought Bernal knew she was purchasing Jell-O shots that included alcohol,” the affidavit said. “The owner agreed with me and said Bernal ordered one order of Jell-O shots the day before the incident.”

When ordering something from this local business on Facebook, they tap the photo of the item they want to purchase. “In looking at the photo of the Jell-O shots Bernal ordered, it clearly states the Jell-O shots contained Smirnoff,” the affidavit said.

“In my opinion, there is no way Bernal could have missed the fact that the Jell-O shots she purchased from the local business and brought to the Christmas party contained drinking alcohol,” the officer said.

The officer received screenshots of the text thread between the owner and Bernal. “Bernal asks the owner if the shots contain alcohol. The owner texted back that the shots do have alcohol and asked why. Bernal simply said ‘kids,’” the document said.

That same day, the officer interviewed two children who had Jell-O shots at the Christmas party. One student allegedly had six Jell-O shots and got dizzy. The student explained that he fell and felt like he could not get back on his feet. The student said he was “scared” while he was on the floor in his teacher’s room.

The officer also met with another student who said he had two red Jell-O shots, went to the bathroom and vomited before speaking to the officer on Dec. 20, 2024.

“He also said he had to vomit again after we talked that day,” the affidavit said. The officer talked to the student’s mother on Jan. 21, and she said her child was acting oddly after she picked him up. “She said he ‘passed out’ on the floor at home,” the affidavit said.

The affidavit said that the remaining Jell-O shots were delivered to NMS Labs for testing and were found to contain alcohol. Bernal was arrested and booked at the Smith County Jail on Monday for recklessly causing bodily injury to a child and posted her $75,000 bond the same day.