Police: 'Ritualistic' Florida Triple Murder Was Tied to Blue Moon
LatestPolice in Florida’s Escambia County say a woman and her adult sons who were murdered on July 28 were the victims of a “ritualistic killing” tied to the blue moon. Voncile Smith, 77, was killed in her home, along with her sons, 49-year-old Richard Smith and 47-year-old John Smith. Investigators also say they’ve identified a person of interest, but have yet to explain what about the murders might have been “ritualistic” in nature.
The Associated Press reports that Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said Tuesday that a person of interest has been identified in the case, but not yet apprehended. An initial investigation led police to believe the murder was tied to the blue moon, Morgan added, which happened on July 31, three days after the killings:
“Initial research had led us to believe it was a ritualistic killing,” 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.”
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.
If someone were planning to kill based on the blue moon, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense that they’d carry out the crime three days before. So what exactly is going on here? For more, we look to an account of the same press conference in the Pensacola News Journal, which mentions that Morgan baldly tied the murders to “witchcraft:”