Blue moon ritualistic man slashes mum and stepbrothers' throat

Donald Wayne Hartung has been arrested in connection to the muders

Donald Wayne Hartung, 58, has been arrested  for slashing the throats of his mother and two adult stepbrothers and bludgeoned them with a claw hammer in a "ritualistic" killing inspired by witchcraft, police said. Voncile Smith, 77, and her sons Richard, 49, and John, 47, were found dead at their home in Pensacola, Florida.
Investigators believe the victims died three days earlier in a "ritualistic" killing connected with the rare blue moon, which occurred on the day the bodies were discovered, Escambia County Sheriff's Office said. Sheriff David Morgan told a news conference that the injuries inflicted by a claw hammer and the position of the bodies have led investigators to believe the crime is connected to some sort of religion.
"It’s witchcraft, I’ll say that right now," he said.
"You know, there are different factions of that. While it doesn’t bother me to release that particular thing, we most assuredly do not want to defame or demean any particular practice, if you will."
The family was reportedly "very reclusive" and police said there was no evidence of any break-in at the home in Deerfield Drive.

Voncile Smith, 77, and her sons Richard, 49, and John, 47

The rare blue moon sighting in July

Detectives have questioned a person of interest who practices a religion related to witchcraft, but have not publicly identified him. Authorities also revealed that the elder son, Richard, worked in a high-level role at the US Department of Homeland Security, WKRG-TV reported. He had an additional gunshot wound to his head, police revealed. Hartung was arrested on Tuesday and charged with three counts of first-degree premeditated murder.
State Attorney Bill Eddins said that his office will seek the death penalty.

Source: Mirror