February 8, 1933Inez, KentuckyThe body of Lucinda Mills is found after she is killed during a religious ceremony Police arrived at the home of Tommie Boyd, either after being alerted by concerned neighbors or upon hearing a commotion of singing, dancing, and shouting coming from the house. Inside was a congregation, referred to as “the…
Couple beaten to death in home by the leader of a “vampire cult”
November 25, 1996Eustis, FloridaRichard Wendorf and Naomi Ruth Queen are bludgeoned to death in their home by the leader of a so-called vampire cult On November 25, the couple’s 17-year-old daughter came home from school to find her parents’ bodies. Both had been bludgeoned to death with a crowbar, each receiving 20-30 blows to the…
Woman killed by her employers because “she was the devil”
October 22, 1938Dollar Bay, MichiganMarian Doyle (20) is killed by her employers because “she was the devil” Sometime before the murder, Laura Pichette left her husband and their children to pursue a relationship with another man. In her absence, Wilfred Pichette hired Doyle to be a housekeeper and nurse for his daughter Norma. Laura returned…
Body of dismembered, burned infant, supposedly the victim of a ritual, found
November 17, 1989Rupert, IdahoThe burned body of an infant girl is found near a landfill WARNING: some of the details of this article are graphic. A stranded motorist and his young son found a discarded metal drum near the Minidoka County landfill. Within the drum was the charred remains of an infant. The son did…
Woman dies after being ritualistically flogged by husband
October 18, 1951 St. Paul, Minnesota Ardith Lennander dies after severe flogging during a religious ceremony to “beat the devil out” of her On October 17, the body of 64-year-old Anna Halvorson was “found in a pool of blood in a bed” in the Lauderdale home of her daughter and son-in-law, Marie and Patrick Doyle.…