No Cult Link Found in Dead Animals
Los Angeles police said Thursday they have no evidence that mutilated animals found this week in San Pedro parks are linked to cults or Satanism.
“We have got nothing to indicate these incidents are other than cruelty to animals. There is no indication that (the animals) have been used in religious or cult sacrifices,” said Harbor Division Detective Robert Espinoza.
On Wednesday, a gardener at Angels Gate Park discovered six decapitated chickens and doves in two plastic bags. It was the fifth such discovery in San Pedro since summer.
And on Sunday, a maintenance supervisor at Friendship County Regional Park discovered the separated heads and bodies of a small goat and 30 roosters, hens, and pigeons in several large plastic garbage bags. The carcasses had been drained of blood.
Animal sacrifice is sometimes associated with satanic cults and the rituals of Santeria, an Afro-Cuban cult.
Harbor Division detectives said they still have no credible leads or witnesses in the mutilations.
“It is still one of those whodunits. Nobody has been seen dropping them off, and we have not pinpointed where the animals were killed,” Espinoza said. He said police have been unable to reach a boy who called to say he witnessed the second drop.
Espinoza said the animals discovered Wednesday may have been killed by copy cats who either read accounts of Sunday’s discovery or saw them on television.
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