Loudoun County Animal Services received a complaint on April 25 claiming that animals in a home on Sherwood Court in Sterling were “being cruelly killed,” said Angela Chan, a deputy chief with the department.
After an investigation, an animal services officer found evidence of chickens being treated inhumanely for “some sort of ritual practice,” Chan said.
Mercy Carrion, 43, has been charged with three counts of animal cruelty in connection with the case, authorities said.
Carrion, “admitted to participating in animal sacrifices at the residence as recent as two months ago” and told the officer that animal sacrifices take place in her home’s living room, according to the warrant.
Chan said it was unclear how long the alleged sacrifices had been taking place at the home or how many chickens in total have been sacrificed.
Chan could not detail the evidence found in the investigation, but a warrant obtained by the Loudoun Times-Mirror, which first reported the story, indicated an animal control officer saw “what appeared to be blood splatter on the walls of the accused’s living room, religious idols, a club with a metal shield covered in dried blood and feathers, a large human bone, animal heads and parts skewered on sticks in a vase.”
The warrant also stated there were “two cauldrons with various animal torturing devices” along with bowls filled with animal blood and two dead roosters in the home, according to the Times-Mirror.
The informant also reported seeing Carrion “run around the house, slamming the chickens to the wall, bludgeon them to death with a club, bury the chickens alive, burn the chickens alive and cut them from the top of the neck, down the center of the body, while still alive,” according to the search warrant.
The officer reported seeing a dish with animal parts, salt and blood in a bathroom; two cauldrons with various animal torturing devices in a closet; several bowls filled with animal blood; chicken bones in jars and candles; sacrificial religious pamphlets in a dresser drawer; animal skins; two dead roosters and a plastic container with a syringe and a powdery substance.
Documents filed in Loudoun County indicate that at least one rooster was seized from the property, according to a court clerk.
Erin Peterson, deputy chief of LCAS, said her department hasn’t seen a case like this in at least five to 10 years.
“We typically see companion animals when it comes to inhumane euthanasia cases,” she said. “Sometimes we also see livestock inhumanely euthanized.”
There are no state laws that allow for religious exemption to inhumane euthanasia that LCAS is aware of or privy to, said Peterson.
In order for animal euthanasia to be considered humane, the method must involve instantaneous unconsciousness and immediate death or anesthesia, said Peterson.
Online court records indicate Carrion is due in court for trial on June 10.
(Washington Post - May 20, 2016)
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