One Florida crime started brutally, then turned weird, thanks to that state's special... something.
To begin with, a triple murder:
77-year-old Voncile Smith, 49-year-old Richard Smith and 47-year-old John Smith... were struck multiple times with a claw hammer and had their throats slit, and Richard Smith also had a gunshot to his right ear.
That's horrific enough. Then the local police offered a Gothic spin:
"Initial research had led us to believe it was a ritualistic killing," [Escambia County Sheriff David] Morgan said Tuesday.
Asked to elaborate, Morgan said, "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. The time of death on Tuesday also coincides with what's referred to as a blue moon, which occurs every three years." [emphases added]
Skeptical Fox reporters (!) pressed on that blue moon point a little:
The blue moon, a rare second full moon in a single month, occurred on Friday, July 31, three days after the killings. The sheriff did not explain the discrepancy and his office did not return a telephone call seeking clarification.
Bonus War on Terror/Cold War-ish/X-Files point:
Richard Smith was employed by the Department of Homeland Security and worked at Naval Air Station Pensacola, but officials with the Naval Criminal Investigative Services "have determined there are no issues involving ... national security elements," Morgan said.
Here at Infocult we can only observe Florida with fear and admiration.
(thanks to Jesse Walker for the link and quinnanya for the photo)
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