SANTERIA IN BRIDGEPORT,CT

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Recently Bridgeport,CT has been featured in the news regarding the possibility of occult activities and religious sacrifices taking place. Last June during a drug raid of a Madison Avenue building , officers were surprised to find a human skull and a beheaded chicken. Along with with that they also discovered other animal parts and chicken blood throughout the basement.

The next month, there were two human skulls in a circular blanket of loose dirt and bloody papers with names on them at Mountain Grove Cemetery. And just days later, the body of a 2-year-old girl stolen from her Stamford grave showed up in a New Jersey river with chicken bones nearby.

Police believed all three incidents may have involved Santeria or similar religious rituals, but weren't connected.

Our good friends at DoingItLocal first broke the story of the beheaded roosters

Below are some pictures we took on the scene with the DoingItLocal crew.

July 2009

On July 3, the children of a recently deceased Milford man arrived at his Mountain Grove Cemetery grave to plant flowers. What they found stunned them. Underneath a circular blanket of loose dirt were two human skulls. Stuffed inside were eight strips of blood-stained paper each containing a name.

Four days later Stamford police arrived at Woodland Cemetery, where the remains of a two-and-a-half year old girl dubbed "the Miracle Baby" (for surviving so long despite a brain deformity) were stolen. The remains were pulled from New Jersey's Passaic River, not far from a site where butchered chickens were found

The photo above was taken at a nearby Botanico,where empty bags of chicken feed were found out front.

Police are investigating the discovery of a disembodied goat's head in Beardsley Park, in yet another case of parts from dead animals turning up around the city. It started on Sunday as just another stroll through Beardsley Park for Michael Serfillippi of Stratford. But then, Serfillippi saw a strange object in an area south of the zoo and walked closer to investigate. He toed the object with his boot. Sure enough, it was just what he thought: A goat head, complete with fur, beard, horns, eyes and teeth. "It was set up ... just in a clearing all by itself. Like someone had set it very particularly," Serfillippi said. "I couldn't figure out where it came from. There was no blood. It was a little creepy. "It remains unclear whether the head was, like two beheaded roosters found hanging from a tree earlier this month, linked to any occult activity.

Goat's head discovered in Beardsley park

June 2009

Police Find Human Skull In Bridgeport Home

By Rebecca Stewart Fox 61

In Bridgeport, there are a lot more questions than answers after a routine drug bust revealed there was *much more* happening inside the home than the narcotics squad was investigating.

Police call 230 Madison Avenue a hub of drug activity.

So the raid planned on June 8th, Monday night wasn't too unusual... until police saw what was in the basement: a human skull, an alligator head and a chicken that had been cut and drained-- it's blood spattered on the walls.

"I've never seen anything like this," said Sgt. William Bailey with the Bridgeport Tactical Narcotics Team. "and I've been doing this a very, very long time."

"I told them I did not want to disrespect their religion, but I have a job to do." Bailey said. "I had to seize the evidence."

Police think the suspects may be practicing Santeria: a cultural religious blend that has its roots in Catholicism, African and Cuban traditions.

"There are a lot of people here who practice sorcery and Santeria," Neighbor Jose Ruiz says. "but I don't think it's bad," Ruiz says.

And Dr. Leslie Desmangles, a professor of religion and international studies at Trinity University, agrees.

Dr. Desmangles believes the basement relics may have been part of protection spell: protection from police, or perhaps rival drug gangs.

"in Santeria, sacrifices are to appease the spirits, or it could be a protection spell against illness."

"having a human skull isn't that unusual. It is said to keep the spirit of the dead alive." Dr. Desmangles said. "it's not to do anything bad, but actually shows a great deal of respect."

Whatever the reason, police say they had no choice. They had to seize the evidence-- and they will have to find out where the skull came from.

"It was crazy," Sgt Bailey said. "We went looking for drugs... And found this. It really took us off guard."