In all, she looked at 82 websites about the corrosive substance, prosecutors said. Some of the sites showed bodies scarred black by the acid. She bought a bottle from Amazon.

About a month after he announced that he was dating again, Wallace lured her ex to her home under the guise of rekindling their relationship. The breakup had been an on-again off-again roller coaster, and van Dongen wanted to reiterate that he was moving on with his new girlfriend. But he ended up staying the night anyway.

And as he lay in bed around 3 a.m. wearing nothing but boxer shorts, Wallace stood over him with a glass mug full of acid.