She wanted to eat out for free — so she slipped glass into her food, cops say

It’s fun going out to eat.

No dirty dishes. A server bringing you whatever you need. Interesting food choices.

But as we all know, dining out can be expensive.

One woman found a way around the expense, Stuart cops say, and took dining and dashing to a whole new level.

Kaitlyn Murphy, of Delray Beach, turned herself in to the Stuart Police Department on Tuesday, admitting to putting glass in her food at restaurants and shaming them into giving her the meal for free.

Over a period of 12 days last month, police said, Murphy ate at nine restaurants, and racked up more than $150 in free grub, according to the arrest affidavit.

She was charged with scheme to defraud, taken to Martin County Jail and booked.

Murphy mostly hit up eateries in and around Stuart. The 31-year-old raised suspicion at establishments that didn’t actually have glass in the kitchen or anywhere on the table, the report continues. Like Anthony’s Coal Fire Pizza, where staffers told police that on Sept. 14, after complaining of glass in her food, she was not charged for her pizza or chicken wings and was given a free pie to go. The thing is Anthony’s doesn’t work with glass near its food. And there are no glasses on the table.

Also Stuart is a small place and word spreads quickly.

“The mistake that she made was this is a tight-knit community,” Sgt. Michael German told WPTV. “A lot of the restaurant owners and employees know each other.”

Murphy was called out publicly on Facebook when Stuart police posted her photo on its page. An employee at one of the places she allegedly duped — Artesian Transitional Housing — recognized the photo and called authorities. Police called Murphy and asked her to come in to the station, where she confessed, according to the affidavit.

Murphy told cops she carried around shards of glass, placing them in the food after most of the dish was down her gullet. The woman even purposely cut her lip to make the ruse look more authentic.

Many of the restaurants either picked up the check or offered gift cards for future free visits.

Police added that the patron told them she stole the idea from a pal in rehab.

This story was originally published October 5, 2017 at 1:45 PM with the headline "She wanted to eat out for free — so she slipped glass into her food, cops say."