The Smith house in Pensacola. (Screengrab via WKRG)
Authorities in Florida believe that the killing of an elderly woman and her two adult sons was “ritualistic” and tied to “witchcraft.” On the night of July 31, sheriff’s deputies in Pensacola, Florida, discovered the bodies of Voncile Smith, 77, and her two sons, John and Richard, 49 and 47, dead in their home. Soon after, investigators announced that the believe the deaths were tied to the Blue Moon and Wicca witchcraft, which occurred that same night.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Smith Family Were Beaten With a Hammer & Their Throats Slit
The Smith’s home in Pensacola. (Screengrab via WFLA)
All of the victims were killed in the same manner, beaten with a hammer and had their throats slit. Richard Thomas Smith was also shot in the head. The Pensacola News Journal reports that Richard Smith was also shot in the head. He was an employee of the Department of Homeland Security.
2. The Sheriff Has Confirmed ‘Witchcraft’ as a Motive
(Screengrab via Pensacola NewS Journal)
At a news conference on August 4, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan told the media:
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.
Earlier, on August 4, Morgan had said “Initial research has led us to believe it was a ritualistic killing.”
3. Cops Have a Person of Interest, But No Arrests Have Been Made
(Screengrab via CBS46)
The Smiths have been described as “reclusive.” There was no signs of forced entry to their home. The Pensacola News Journal reports that authorities have contacted a person of interest but no arrests have been made. The sheriff’s office added that the person of interest is also a witchcraft practitioner.
4. Wicca Witchcraft Is Described as a ‘Peaceful & Harmonious’
Wicca founder Gerald Gardner. (Wikipedia)
WFLA, and other media organizations in Florida have linked the killing to Wicca witchcraft. Wicca is a more modern form of pagan witchcraft. It was first introduced in 1954 by former British government worker Gerald Gardner. According to Wicca.com, the craft described as:
Contrary to what those who choose to persecute or lie about us wish to believe, Wicca is a very peaceful, harmonious and balanced way of life which promotes oneness with the divine and all which exists.
5. Back in December 2014, a Maryland Woman Killed Her ‘Witch Roommate’
The suspect in the Maryland witchcraft murder, Rita Sanders-Campfield. (Handout)
In December 2014, a woman in Rockville, Maryland, brutally murdered her roommate, according to police. Rita Sanders-Campfield, 67, was accused of stabbing her elderly room mate, Chong Park, to death all because Campfield believed Park was a practicing witch.