Sheriff: Triple murders center around 'witchcraft'

UPDATE, 9:40 a.m.: The Escambia County Sheriff's Office today issued a press release in hopes of clarifying statements made at Tuesday's press conference with Sheriff David Morgan. The release included a portion of the press conference transcript:

Media: Sheriff, you mentioned that it might be some religious or spiritual tie to this. Can you give us a little more of an idea about that?

Well, again, the time of the blue moon every three years, the method of the murders and also our person of interest is known to practice this.

Media: Can you say what religion that is?

It’s witchcraft. I’ll say that right now. There are different factions of that. While it doesn’t bother me to release it being their being, most assuredly, you do not want to want to defame or demean any particular practices.

One of the great things about our country you can believe in pretty anything you want to believe in. That doesn’t indicate that one practitioner … I’ll use a family member of mine for an example.

I have family members who are Pentecostal. They don’t strychnine and handle poisonous snakes, but there are sects in the Pentecostal faith that do. You can’t say all Pentecostals do this or all Pentecostals don’t do that. At this juncture until such time as we garner more evidence and this case progresses, then we’ll be fully preparing at that time to release that information.

Media: Would you be prepared to give a description of the person of interest so that members of the public might … In case they see the person?

White male. That’s pretty definitive, isn’t it. We deal with that every day with profiling. We’re looking for somebody.

Media: Have you or your investigative parties spoken with this person of interest?

Yes, that is a true statement. Any other questions. Okay, again I want to close the interview with anyone in our community that has any information of the homicide of the Smith family, again call 433-STOP, that’s for Crime Stoppers. By law, you remain anonymous.

Original article:

An elderly mother and her two sons found dead in their home last week are said to have been the victims of a ritualistic murder coinciding with last week’s blue moon, according to Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan.

In a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Morgan said investigators have interviewed a person of interest in the case who is known to practice what the sheriff described as “witchcraft.” The positioning of the victims’ bodies, Morgan said, led investigators to believe the murders were part of a ritual.

“Initial research has led us to believe it was a ritualistic killing,” Morgan said. “The method of the murder — blunt force trauma, slit throats, positioning of bodies — and our person of interest has some ties to a faith or religion that is indicative of that. The time of the death on Tuesday also coincides with what’s referred to as a blue moon, which occurs every three years.”

A blue moon is a second full moon in a calendar month. Full moons occurred last month on July 2 and July 31 — last Friday.

The victims —Voncile Smith, 77, John William Smith, 49, and Richard Thomas Smith, 47 — were found in their home Friday during a welfare check. They are said to have been killed with a hammer and their throats slit. Richard Thomas Smith, a Department of Homeland Security employee, was also shot in the head.

There were no signs of forced entry at the victims’ home, and Morgan said the person of interest was known to the family. Morgan said investigators ruled out robbery as a potential motive after finding a safe containing “a substantial amount of cash” left at the house.

Based upon a review by the medical examiner’s officer, Morgan said the victims are believed to have been killed sometime after 7 p.m. Tuesday. Morgan said the sheriff’s office is awaiting the results of lab tests being performed on evidence found in the home.

Morgan described the Smiths as “reclusive,” and said none of the neighbors investigators interviewed had ever entered their house.