Former Satanist Convicted of Human Sacrifice
 

Former Satanist Convicted of Human Sacrifice
Defendant Represented Himself During Trial


MIAMI -- The Miami man accused of killing another man in what prosecutors call a satanic human sacrifice has been found guilty of second degree murder.

The jury of six women and two men took just more than two hours to return the verdict.

During the two days of testimony, prosecutors used a mannequin and knitting needles to demonstrate for jurors how Lazaro Galindo killed and dismembered a romantic rival, Argelio Gonzalez, in July 2000. Gonzalez was stabbed and hacked 28 times, his leg and fingers cut off, and his remains were stuffed in a garbage and abandoned in a field, prosecutors said.

When detectives tracked down Galindo, they say he confessed to the crime in detail, blaming a spirit inside him named Candelo for directing his actions.

In Galindo's home, detectives found satanic drawings and plastic skulls they believe were evidence of his devil worship, Local 10's Glenna Milberg reported.

Galindo represented himself with the assistance of a public defender. He did not take the stand in his own defense, but used opening statements and closing arguments to tell his side of the story to the jury.

"At no time did I ever say anything about that I killed for Candelo or I kill for Satan. I didn't do anything like this," said Galindo.

Galindo explained his beliefs and studies in the occult, but told the jury that had nothing to do with Gonzalez's death. He also told the jury he was coerced by police into giving a confession.

Among the key physical evidence against Galindo was a pair of bloody gloves containing the victim's brain matter found in Galindo's bathroom sink, investigators said.

"He raised the spectre of Satanism by saying that he practiced Satanism and his human sacrifice was to gain power over demonic entities," said prosecutor Herbert E. Walker III at closing arguments.

During the trial, jurors were visibly sickened by the photos and details, Milberg reported. One of the women told Milberg after a few questions clarifying some testimony, reaching a unanimous verdict was not difficult.

This seems odd. As far as I know, there isn't anything about human sacrifice in Satanism.

I think I'd like to look into this case some more. I do not believe he was practicing Satanism...needles make me think it might have some voodoo elements in it.

Or maybe he's just crazy.

My money's on: he's a nut, and it was a slow news week. I love sensationalism. It keeps me from paying attention to the war.

EDIT:

Besides all that, does religion as a motive lessen pr heighten the fact that he killed someone? It's as if killing someone for no motive is better than as "Satanic sacrifice", whatever that means.

At least religion gives the motive and reason.

It's scarier without one, though, but apparently mroe acceptable.

Now Miss Molly, gambling is wrong and quite immoral! For you to engage in it, really....

($10 says he started ranting to the cops the second they showed....coerced my ass)

I'll raise that ten a fiver and say that someone say the "paraphanalia" and asked leadign questions to fit the tabloid story in their head. When peopl eare freaked out, they will go along with whatever makes th emost sense at that time...

$20 says his cell mate gets sick of him within a week and shanks him.

Well, good night Miss Molly.

Satanism isn't even really about Satan if anyone's ever read the satanic bible by Anton Levay.

That guy sounds like a nutter.

Eh.
TFA doesn't give me much.

As long as this doesn't turn into another Satanic Abuse scare, I'm alright. Fuck, let them put him away. The law is the law, and you can't help the circumstances.

Oh GODS, not now AGAIN.... first it's the bloody German hubbies, and now this. No wonder people start wondering. This is really starting to get old. Now, as a Satanist, I don't get him (except if it turns out he's a schizo turned bad or something) or his ideas. Why in Lucifer's name should a Satanist, or anybody else for that matter, need to sacrifice any living being that does not consent to this treatment, and torture it because of the tormentor's religious convictions? People like him makes me want to go and do a few hours of quarterstaff practice to relieve anger and frustration.

By the way, Kwanie, you're quite wrong in your assumption. There are both atheistic, agnostic and theistic Satanists, and your precious LaVey (or Lewey, as his real name was) only represents a small part of the Satanist community.

Looks around to see if anyone is looking and then hides plastic skull collection in plastic trash bag and throws bag in trunk of car to start searching for an empty field...

Dude. I saw that. You. Yes you. Get in the box. Shut up, and just get into the box.

All that good food left to waste. That *is* a crime!

I assert my earlier statement: this looks like voodoo, not Satanism, with a dash of insanity.

Voodoo? Who do?

I feel sorry for the guy. Satan never comes when I try to raise him with the flesh of murdered innocents, either. Capricious bastard.

Please, I beg of you, do not start that again....

...what the hell would voodoo have to do with ANYTHING?

It was neither voodoo nor Satanism...he just killed somebody because he's insane. No religion of any kind has anything to do with it, they're just making it seem like it has.

Like MollyMac said: Sensationalism.

That's some fugged up shit right there. For the record, I do hope this story doesn't pick up any momentum and give our decent Satanists on this forum any flack. Murder's murder. Pfffft.

...Satanic ritual. *shakes head*

The needles were used by the prosecutor, not the defendant.

A little more detailed story from the Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/brea...ry/205813.html

Whatever special powers Lazaro Galindo thought Satan would grant him couldn't sway a jury Thursday, which convicted him of second-degree murder in just two hours and 15 minutes.

Galindo confessed that he killed Argelio Gonzalez in 2000, claiming that a demon named Candelo possessed his body and promised him special powers if he killed. He also told a Miami-Dade police sergeant that Gonzalez was his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend and that he had been coming around too much.

Galindo, who defended himself during the four-day trial, had trouble presenting a coherent defense. He offered the jury several scenarios, some of them conflicting, and claimed he was just a normal 19-year-old kid in 2000, albeit one who liked the occult.

''Yes, this did happen, from an evil person, someone with evil intent,'' he said during his closing statement. ``But it wasn't me.''

Galindo had initially planned to wear Satanist garb to his trial -- and had insisted on his constitutional right to do so -- but he informed the court on Monday that he had found God sometime over the weekend.

At one point during his closing arguments, he claimed he never made the confession: ''At no time did I say I killed for Candelo or I killed for Satan.'' Then he claimed he made it only under duress because he was in pain from deep cuts he had on his hands and legs and he hadn't had his pain medication.

In 2000, he told detectives he got the cuts struggling with Gonzalez.

He even suggested that prosecutors should have tried to locate Candelo.

''The confession was not only made by myself,'' he said. ``There was a third person in there . . . the demon Candelo.''

Galindo also offered various alternative theories of who committed the murder -- a gang, the Mafia, even suicide.

But when he tried to get a medical examiner to say Gonzalez might have killed himself, the doctor pointed out that Gonzalez suffered stab wounds in his back and was found dismembered in two garbage cans in a Brownsville park, without his fingers.

She said it was hard to imagine how he could have done that to himself.

In contrast, Assistant State Attorney Herbert E. Walker III focused on one key piece of evidence: a pair of bloody gloves.

Detectives found the yellow latex gloves in the kitchen sink of Galindo's apartment. And criminologists found pieces of Gonzalez's brain on the gloves, confirmed through DNA testing.

''The bloody gloves in the O.J. case might have exonerated him. . . . These bloody gloves point directly at this man,'' Walker said, laying the gloves on the defense table and pointing at Galindo.

He also pointed out that most of the details in Galindo's confession were confirmed when Galindo led detectives to various pieces of evidence.

Some of Galindo's arguments he simply dismissed.

''How on Earth would the state be able to prove that the defendant conspired with a disembodied spirit to commit this killing?'' he asked the jury.

Galindo, who is already serving a 45-year sentence for violating his probation in a molestation case, faces a life term for the murder.

Circuit Judge Peter Adrien set sentencing for next month and tried to appoint an attorney to handle Galindo's appeal, but Galindo insisted he wanted to do that himself too.

Alright, that proves it - the poor bugger's mad as a hatter. I pity him. By the way, never heard of that demon... *scratches head and goes off to get her copy of the Lesser Keys of Solomon to check*

A court should never be involved with someone's religion - it's too personal...

I shouldn't read things when I'm so brain-dead. I misread the case. Needles just got stuck in my head, and needles make me think of voodoo and....okay, I'm just stupid. Let's leave it at that.

You and Miss Molly are right: Sensationalism and insanity.

Some religions are at least half way decent. This man seemed to embrace madness.

A religion is an organized system of faith. From what this looks like, this guy didn't follow any religion, but more or less his own "spirituality", which more or less isn't protected by law.

Satanism has nothing to do with all that bull shit that article said about it. We don't even sacrifice. It's frowned upon, thanks very much. And that guy is a complete loony. And what do the police know about the religion anyway? Do they really think, that if you have "satanic" drawings all over your house and you have a few plastic skulls littered about that you're part of the occult? I think they should've had a psychologist there to check his mentality. And that jury should've been a lot more diversed as well...There's too many women on it.

And I'm not saying that it's bad to have too many women..I'm a girl.