The news coverage of the extraordinarily brutal murder of Pamela Vitale, wife of well-known California criminal defense attorney Daniel Horowitz, seems to have renewed interest in ritualistic crime. The 16-year old suspect is reported to have been involved in some kind of self-styled Satanism including the reading the Anton LeVay's Satanic Bible and use of occult symbols at the crime scene.

In spite of mankind's advances in the arts and sciences, there remains a large number of people who have not been able to -- or refuse to -- shake-off the practices of   pagan rituals, some of which date back thousands of years. Included within the broad spectrum of paganism are so-called Satanic cults which are suspect in a number of bizarre crimes throughout the United States.

The world of the Satanic cultist is filled with ritualistic violence, perverse sexual activity and abuse, Heavy Metal music and the use of illegal drugs such as marijuana, amphetamines (crank, speed, meth, crystal), psylocybin (an hallucinogenic drug similar to LSD), heroin and other others. This is a world which, even in the beginning of the 21st Century,  continues to attract a large number of young people who follow the precepts of Anton LaVey's Satanic Bible, a volume that has millions of copies in print today.

Religious Satanists are members of a group which is well organized and structured  with a hierarchy. A perfect example is Chicago's Temple of Set: a church that is recognized as a religion by the US and Illinois governments. They enjoy the same tax-exempt status as mainstream religious institutions. Surprisingly, the High Priest of the Temple of Set, Michael Aquino, is a Lieutenant Colonel in the in the US Army Reserves. He is outspoken about his beliefs and has appeared on nationwide television (The Oprah Winfrey Show, for instance) to explain his faith and his church's practices. As far as police agencies are concerned, members of the Temple of Set have never violated the law when practicing their worship and liturgical rites including the Black Mass.

Although rare, reports from police departments across the country reveal that the Satanic cults may begin their worship service with the understanding that an animal or even a human being will be killed and used as a sacrifice to whomever these cult members worship.      Murder is rare, but it is a possibility, especially when drugs such as crack, PCP and LSD are part of these dramatic events that are created by leaders and worshipers alike. Crack and the other substances are known to make some users extremely violent, fearless and/or dangerously paranoid and psychotic.  Again, murders committed by groups of Satan worshipers are rare, but police officers and detectives investigating a crime scene or missing persons report should consider this avenue of investigation if evidence of the person's involvement with cults comes to light.

According to Ed Briggs, crime reporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch , Satanic cults seduce teenagers and young adults with sex and drugs and the promise of power over others. Also, involvement in this religion is the ultimate in rebellion against parental control, especially if the parents are religious Christians, Jews, Muslims, or part of any mainstream religious organization -- even Religious Satanism which is recognized by the federal government as a legitimate religion deserving of all privileges enjoyed by Christian, Jewish, Muslim, etc. churches and temples.

As with their rebellion against parents and parental control, Satanic cult members thrive on their rebellious behavior against society in general.  The cultist's perfidy is a source of pleasure for him or her, especially the teenager who may have been forced to attend mainline church services each week..

Then, according to Briggs, an award-winning newsman, there are times when ritualistic abuse is used to break down a young person's resistance. The unwilling recruit may be repeatedly raped or sodomized or worse -- acts of bestiality are performed.

"The kids become involved in sacrificial rituals, violent song lyrics, Satanic symbolism, suicide notes or recordings, all enhanced with illegal, mind-altering drugs, which play a major role [in the drama of a Black Mass]. And the added secrecy of the cult members makes estimating their numbers impossible." says Detective Jerry Simandl, a veteran of the Chicago Police Department and assigned to the Gang Crime Task Force.

Are there any estimates based on other information or police intelligence?  The San Francisco Police Department's Sandi Gallant can only estimate that " ... at most 1% of Heavy-Metal music fans become seriously involved in the occult."  It should be   to pointed out that when Det. Gallant talks about Heavy-Metal music, she isn't referring to bands such as Guns & Roses, Metallica and other popular musicians, but to the sub-category of HM music known as Black Metal, played by bands that are truly underground with a limited audience. However, even the tamer, well-known Metal bands such as Blue Oyster Cult occasionally enter the domain of the Black Arts (witchcraft).  Several years ago, two Long Island, NY teenagers committed suicide listening to the Blue Oyster Cult hit song "Don't Fear the Reaper."

Readers should be warned that not all practitioners of Satanism are violent savages whose thirst for blood is insatiable. Those living the lifestyle of Satan-worshipers rarely commit murder and rape during their religious rituals.  In fact. sadly, more people have been murdered in the name of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc. than in the name of Satan.

However, there have been cases in which Satanism, the occult or involvement in the once popular game of Dungeons & Dragons proved fatal for the unsuspecting victim. One example of the total revolt against authority and parental control,  and embracement of evil is a case in Bergen County, New Jersey: Thomas Sullivan, a 14 year-old Boy Scout repeatedly and methodically stabbed his mother to death before turning the weapon on himself, taking his own life. Investigation revealed an unhealthy obsession with Satan, Black Metal music, drugs and a morbid fascination with death. In this case, the actor was a loner whose Satanism was a personal and private matter, based almost entirely on what he saw on television or motion pictures.

There is considerable ritual abuse during Satanic ceremonies.   Indoctrination of the young is the purpose of much of this abuse. Ritual abuse is defined as repeated physical, emotional, mental and spiritual assaults combined with a systematic use of symbols, ceremonies and images designed to turn a person against himself and society. Drugs, again, are utilized during this process of systematic degradation.

A dramatic and arguably frightening part of Satanic religious practices is the so-called Black Mass. It is a rite dating back to the 14th Century Europe and a large part of the Satanic revival of 19th Century France. The ceremony, as practiced by self-styled, makeshift Satanic groups -- as opposed to, say, the Temple of Set, a legitimate religious organization -- is derived from the Roman Catholic or Episcopal mass with Satan the object of worship and praise. There are reports that in some cult-masses, the altar is the nude body of a young woman and the gold chalice may contain a bizarre and nauseating mixture of blood, urine and turnips. There are groups who add an hallucinogenic drug such as psylosybin or methamphetamines.

During the Black Mass, at least as it's performed by self-styled Satanic groups, animal sacrifices are commonplace and sexual experimentation follows large doses of illegal drugs. Although there have been reports of human sacrifices, especially infanticide, these incidents are extremely rare. Those claiming they are not rare but routine say that the infants used in the monstrous ceremony is one that has been conceived and raised just for the purpose of ritual murder. These police officers -- Sandi Gallant among them -- say that birth records of these babies do not exist since the children are born using midwife who's a member of the group or even a physician-member. Children born into a cult are called Generationals.

The yet to be captured psychopathic murderer known as the Zodiac Killer is another example of a dabbler in the occult creating his own makeshift quasi-religion.

Drug addicts or obsessive-compulsive individuals gravitate to such groups.  A former High Priest of Satan, Mike Warnike claims that it's "...all about sex and power...to be different...to standout [from the crowd]...to shock...."

*Through so-called Black-Metal music, most successful being Venom. Some of the more popular bands such as Ozzy Osbourne (of Black Sabbath fame) may touch on Satan and evil, but they are entertainers, not cult recruiters).

*Fantasy role-playing in games such as Dungeons & Dragons. A surprisingly large number of homicides and suicides have been linked to D & D such as the Joseph Vite case in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the Juan Kimbrough case in Oakland, California.   Both were murdered as part of a game of  D& D.

*Involvement with Satanists at a rock concert or party (college campuses are ripe for recruiters). The promise of sex and drugs is an attractive incentive.

This religion originated in Africa and became common in some of the Caribbean islands. It migrated to the US from Cuba and Puerto Rico, but it can be found among Dominicans and other Latino nationalities.

Santeria is a mixture of paganism as practiced by the pre-Columbus natives; idolatry as practiced in Africa and then brought to the islands ruled by Spain; and Catholicism which was forced upon the black slaves and indigenous peoples by the Spaniards.  In order to hide their pagan practices from their Spanish rulers, these people began substituting statues of Catholic saints for their own icons. To their slave owners and rulers these people appeared to worship and pray to the Blessed Virgin, Saint Joseph. Saint Peter, etc., when in reality they were communicating with the good and evil spirits of their own religions. Santeria's rituals include animal sacrifices to specific spirits. Today, for the most part, chickens are used for sacrificial rites.

This writer observed Santeria first-hand while working in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. Although Santeria indeed limited their objects for sacrifices to chickens, there was  the killing and mutilation of other animals including a French poodle found sans its head, and a goat stolen from a city owned petting zoo. Recently,animal protection agencies began to enforce laws prohibiting the cruel treatment of animals by practitioners of this religion.

Santeria and Brujeria resemble one another so closely that most worshipers practice the rituals of both -- at least in the New York metro area. Although these two religions -- Santeria and Brujeria -- entail only animal sacrifices, there are stories circulating in the New York metropolitan area about supposed human sacrifices, but there exists no substantial proof of these homicides. As with the Santeria, animal protection agencies are cracking down on the animal sacrifices.  For instance, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) have enforcement officers who are sworn peace officers (in New York State, there are differences between police officer status and peace officer status) and they enforce the laws regarding animal torture and killing. In February 2001, a large number of Long Islanders were arrested for their use of chickens in their ceremonies.

However, there are non-practitioners who have vigorously defended the members of the group of Santeria, saying that chickens experience the same pain and suffering when they are killed for food products as they would experience in the Santeria rituals.

This is probably the best known of the Caribbean religions. It originated in Africa and then the West Indies. It is still widely practiced in Haiti, Brazil and the Antilles. It is also widely practiced in the Southern United States, especially in Louisiana and parts of Georgia -- especially Savannah. Its main focus is snake-worship and adherents do perform animal sacrifices. Viewed as a colorful and unique religion, there are reports that it is practiced by white middle- and upper-class Americans.

Investigation and prosecution are very difficult since Satanic crimes are cloaked in secrecy. It is estimated that on a small percentage of these criminal acts are ever exposed and even when the murder case uncovers perps, there is no indication of the crime being religion-inspired.

intelligent and therefore adept at hiding pertinent evidence. They may even go as far as manipulating the crime scene in order to throw off investigating detectives. Because illegal drugs are very often part of their modus operandi , these cultists are doubly careful in avoiding the attention of police agencies.

Testimony given by victims are insufficient to bring cases to trial and prosecutors and district attorneys are hard to convince. According to Lieutenant Lawrence Haike of the Richmond, VA Police Department's detective bureau, "Short of commission of a crime, ritualistic [perps] are protected under the US Constitution's protection of freedom of religion...and in Satanism freedom of religion is just one step across the line from murder."

*Investigators disregard original statements regarding rituals and Satanism;  therefore detectives and officers only document the outward appearances of the crime such as sexual abuse.

*Crime victims are interviewed together in the presence of parents or legal guardians.  They may be ashamed to discuss their victimization in front of them or they are terrified to discuss the case because their parents or guardians are part of the cult.

*Because of the illegal drugs involved, it may be difficult for investigators to believe the statements made by victims or former cultists, especially when drugs such as LSD and psylosybin are involved.

*Even though children claim they saw other children who were kidnapped, no record can be found with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children or with the FBI.

open-minded with regard to possible ritualism or Satanic connections to the crime. The crime scene should be searched for any evidence linking the crime to occult activity. If such activity is suspected, chances are drug may be involved.

According to Satanic Cult expert, Maury Terry, "Satanism in some cases is merely a by-product -- the real motivation of cult leaders is drugs and drug distribution."

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