NATION : Any Witch Way but Loose
Two men were charged with conspiring to murder a neighbor they thought was a witch, authorities said today.
Karina Singer, 61, said she had no idea some of her neighbors wrongly suspected she was a witch until two armed men were arrested on her farm last week.
“I’m stunned my neighbors could believe these things when we’ve lived here 21 years,” Singer said. “And that instead of calling me to find out if they were true, circulating them around until they became like an atomic blast mushrooming out of the prairie.”
Jim Reppen, who works for a tire service company, and farmer Dean Unterseher were charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Both were freed on $5,000 bonds after their arrests by police officers acting on a tip.
Mercer County State’s Attorney Alan Duppler said rumors about Mrs. Singer have circulated in the county for years. This summer, they also included two visiting friends, he said.
The rumors were that the women had been sacrificing animals and doing cult-type things, Duppler said.
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