A Florida Sheriff said today that authorities are investigating a triple homicide in Pensacola as a possible ritual killing connected to the recent blue moon. The suspect was a Department of Homeland Security employee who worked at a local Naval base, with "ties to witchcraft," whatever that means to the authorities.
There's no talk of terrorism because he was also white.
The sheriff says the suspect was a "Wiccan," but even if you think Wiccans are eccentric weirdos, their well-documented traditions do not involve killing people.
From AP's roundup:
The bodies of Voncile Smith, 77, and her sons Richard Smith, 49, and John Smith, 47, were discovered Friday in their Pensacola-area home, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said. He said investigators believe the family was killed the previous Tuesday, July 28, about 7 p.m.
"Initial research had led us to believe it was a ritualistic killing," Morgan said, adding that police have identified a "person of interest" in the case.
Asked to elaborate, Morgan replied, "The method of the murder — blunt force trauma … positioning of the bodies — and our person of interest has some ties to a faith or religion that is indicative of that. The time of death on Tuesday also coincides with what's referred to as a blue moon, which occurs every three years."
All three victims were struck multiple times with a claw hammer and had their throats slit, and Richard Smith also had a gunshot to his right ear, Morgan said.
That's a little confusing. The recent blue moon (a second full moon within one calendar month) was on Friday, July 31, not the Tuesday date the sheriff referenced. "The sheriff did not explain the discrepancy and his office did not return a telephone call seeking clarification," AP reports.
Smith was a Department of Homeland Security employee who worked at Naval Air Station Pensacola. A Naval Criminal Investigative Services spokesperson today said they "have determined there are no issues involving … national security elements."
