NATION : Drug Cult’s ‘Godfather’ Suspected of Murdering His ‘Witch’-Girlfriend
Authorities said today that Adolfo de Jesus Constanzo, suspected “godfather” of a drug-smuggling cult accused of a series of sacrificial murders, may have killed his girlfriend in Mexico City and fled to Florida.
A purse and other belongings of Sara Aldrete Villareal, 24, known as the “witch” of Constanzo’s ring, were found in a Mexico City residence, along with an occult altar, police said.
Police had believed that Aldrete had been on the run with Constanzo since last week, when the bodies of 11 people believed murdered in cult sacrifices and four others were found buried on ranches near Matamoros.
Police believe that Aldrete, a straight-A college student across the border in Brownsville, Tex., recruited the drug smuggling ring’s members and introduced them to the cult practices by making them repeatedly watch “The Believers,” a movie about cult killings linked to a bizarre form of a Caribbean religion called palo mayombe.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
