Well this is the damnedest thing. Literally! Three people were killed under a “blue moon” and with ritualistic techniques, but the Florida Sheriff made it clear that he didn’t want to “defame” or “demean” any religious practice.
Watch below:
I get the feeling he was forced to say that for the cameras, because he seemed to roll his eyes a bit right as he said it.
Here are some more gruesome details of the horrific murders:
Robbery has been ruled out as a motive in the gruesome deaths of a woman and her two adult sons in the Florida Panhandle, killings that authorities speculate may have been carried out as part of a ritual.
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said they’ve identified a person of interest in the July 28 deaths of 77-year-old Voncile Smith, 49-year-old Richard Smith and 47-year-old John Smith. The family was so reclusive that longtime neighbors say they would not have recognized them if they saw them.
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. The initial investigation points toward some kind of “ritualistic killing” Morgan said Tuesday.
“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,” Morgan said at a press conference Tuesday. He added that that the time of death “coincides with what’s referred to as a blue moon, which occurs every three years.”
He emphasized the information is “still in the speculative stage.”
The crime scene was “very complex” and took several days to work through, Morgan said. He added that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is assisting in the investigation. Investigators are awaiting lab results on evidence processed at the home.
The sheriff noted that both men were “very tall” and were “potentially very physically powerful.” There were no signs of forced entry and investigators found a large amount of cash inside a safe at the home, which led them to rule out robbery as a motive.
He said the victims were known to be “very reclusive, very secretive.”
The bodies were discovered Friday in their home in a rural neighborhood of ranch-style houses north of Pensacola Naval Air Station after a request for a welfare check. Investigators believe the Smiths were killed about 7 p.m. on July 28.
Clearly, these were Tea Party activists motivated by Global Warming. We can only stop the murders if we all recycle more dammit.