In most cases, the carcasses being left around California’s capital city are headless, but strangely blood free, aside from one instance in which a package contained bowls of what was described as “bloody oatmeal,” the Bee reported.

Since the first cow head was discovered in December, authorities have logged at least a dozen instances of mutilated animals being found around the city, often near train tracks, according to NBC affiliate KCRA.

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The killings almost always involve livestock, and never cats and dogs, investigators say.

In March, the Humane Society offered a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the mutilations.

“These animals were mutilated and killed for no apparent reason and discarded as though they were trash,” the Humane Society’s Eric Sakach said at the time. “We are hopeful that this reward will bring forward anyone with information about these disturbing crimes.”

But more than six months after the killings began, authorities say they still don’t know who — or what — they’re dealing with.

Gina Knepp, a spokeswoman for the Sacramento Department of Animal Control, told Reuters that some packages have included bloody dollar bills, oil and seeds that are known to be used in some Afro-Caribbean religions.

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And yet, she admits, investigators are stumped.

“It’s bizarre,” Knepp said. “We don’t know if it’s religion; we don’t know if we have a sick individual in our community that simply likes to cut the heads off animals and dump them where people can see them.”

On Monday, the city released surveillance footage that appears to show a woman dropping off bags that included a beheaded goat carcass, as well as red hens, a rat and a catfish.

The woman, who struggled with the weight of the object, can be seen getting out of a white van and dropping off the packages before getting back into the vehicle less than a minute later and driving away.

Investigators believe the footage may be their first big break in the months-long mystery.

“We are currently working with CSI to get forensic evidence and we are working with Regional Transit as well the City of Sacramento Police Department to enhance the video to see if we can potentially get a license plate to further that lead,” Bobby Mann, a spokesman for the Front Street Animal Shelter, told Fox affiliate KTXL.

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Sacrificing animals for religious reasons is not illegal, KTXL reported. To warrant charges, investigators would have to prove the animals endured prolonged and unnecessary suffering.

“It could be felony animal cruelty if you’re intentionally maiming and killing animals,” Knepp told the Bee. “If you’re slaughtering them for religious purposes, that is somewhat protected, but it’s illegal dumping and improper disposal.

“We are very culturally diverse in Sacramento, and people do slaughter animals for human consumption in their yards, but they typically eat the meat.”

Despite dozens of dead animals, investigators can’t be sure whether there was unnecessary suffering involved. Knepp told the Bee that investigators haven’t determined whether the animals were killed before they were beheaded, though the cuts are jagged and appear to have been made with a saw.

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“They’re not clean cuts,” she said. “They’re not very good butchers, and they don’t have the right tools.”

Reverend Iolande Argent, a spiritualist and historian who specializes in non-mainstream religions, told KTXL she believes the mutilations are a “botched” sacrifice.

“They are not random they’re actually choosing these animals because they have read that they have been used in various rituals before,” she said. “They may believe it’s a religious sacrifice because they are practicing something they probably saw in a movie.”