MSNBC right now talking about Satanism/Lacie Peterson

by **banned** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 4:48 am

...was a woman who disappeared with her 5 year old boy on Beltane, another Satanic "holiday". The article below is from the San Francisco Comical. It's worth clicking the link to look at this lovely woman and her darling little boy and wonder why nobody made a hoo hah about her the way they did about Laci. Racism? Classism? Both? You decide: <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/04/21/MN275651.DTL">www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/ar...275651.DTL</a> Eerily similar case languishes in obscurity Torso of missing pregnant mom was found in S.F. Bay last year Kelly St. John, Chronicle Staff Writer Monday, April 21, 2003 A vibrant young woman -- pregnant in her third trimester with a baby boy -- vanishes. Police suspect foul play. Doubts swirl around the man she loves, whom police neither name nor rule out as a suspect. Finally, the grim discovery: A woman's remains are pulled from San Francisco Bay. The saga of Laci Peterson captivated America's attention. The 27-year-old Modesto mother-to-be was reported missing on Christmas Eve and became the subject of daily news reports capped by the arrest Friday of her husband, Scott Peterson. But it is also the story of 24-year-old Evelyn Hernandez of San Francisco, who vanished last May 1 with her 5-year-old son, a week before she was to deliver a baby boy. Her torso was found in the bay three months later and identified, while her son remains missing. No arrests have been made. Hernandez's case barely registered in the community and in Bay Area television news shows and newspapers, while the eyes of the nation seemed to be fixed on the search for Laci Peterson. There are many, sometimes subtle, reasons why some cases become major news stories -- while the vast majority languish in obscurity, according to law enforcement officials, relatives of the missing, journalists and citizens. Peterson seemed to be the all-American girl next door, the most innocent of victims. She also has a vocal family advocating on her behalf, and the financial and public relations help of a well-connected crime victims group in Modesto, the Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation, formed during the search for the Yosemite murder victims in 1999. "This girl (Laci), she's white, they have money, and there is a family behind her," said Twiggy Damy, a friend of Hernandez, a single mother who moved to San Francisco from El Salvador when she was 14. "Who cares about Evelyn? "The first time I heard Laci's case, I got flashbacks from Evelyn, because it is the same case," Damy said. "That's very hard to see, why one gets more attention than the other." VALUE OF PUBLICITY Families of crime victims say the media spotlight keeps pressure on police to work quickly to solve the case, while police say publicity helps them enlist the help of citizens whose tips might lead to the recovery of a body, an arrest, or the safe return of a missing person. "Our greatest hope would have been for someone to say, yes, I saw her here, with this person," said San Francisco police inspector Holly Pera, who took on Hernandez's case when it became a suspected homicide. Police at first thought Hernandez may have gone away to have her baby on her own, and didn't hold their first news conference until more than a month after she vanished, when the homicide unit took over the case. "It's hard to turn back the clock and get what we could have gotten if we had major publicity from the get-go," Pera said. It is rare for a pregnant woman to vanish. But Peterson's case likely received extra media attention from the start because she was from the same town as another well-known missing person and homicide victim -- Chandra Levy, the Washington, D.C., intern who had an affair with then-Rep. Gary Condit. Adding intrigue as the Laci Peterson story unfolded were revelations about Scott Peterson that seemed to come almost weekly -- from his admission to an extramarital affair, to revelations that he had purchased a life insurance policy on his wife, to his selling her car and attempting to sell the house, to his hesitancy to speak to the media. ENDEARING PERSONALITY In Modesto, regular folks say that what has made Laci's story tug on their heartstrings is Laci herself -- a beautiful, warm and likable young woman who seemed to have it all. "She was a happy-go-lucky lady. In a way, I feel like I wish I would have known her," said Lee Benites, a genial grandfather who cuts hair at his downtown salon, the Razor's Edge. "And a lot of it is because it was Christmas time, and she was going to have a baby." "It's heart-wrenching to think that somebody could do something like that to a woman who is expecting a baby, especially if it was (Scott Peterson)," said Mary Lou Hambrick of Louisville, Ky., as she played with her grandchildren at a park while visiting family in Modesto. Hambrick said she was riveted by Laci Peterson's case from the start. And that's not just because her 29-year-old daughter, Erin, lives in Modesto and looks a bit like Laci, she said. "She just looks like a warm, beautiful daughter," Hambrick said. "You see nothing but a big smile." But advocates for other missing adults say that while they don't begrudge the attention Laci Peterson has received, they are devastated by the disparity. About 200,000 adults are reported missing in the United States each year. The state attorney general's office reports that 35,142 adults were reported missing in California in 2001, some 4,346 of them under suspicious or unknown circumstances. Most have received scant attention. While Evelyn Hernandez's story eerily mirrors Peterson's case, the disparity in media coverage also has been striking. Even before the dramatic arrest of Scott Peterson on Friday, The Chronicle had written 32 stories since Laci Peterson was reported missing Dec. 24 -- four of them on the front page. It published four about Evelyn Hernandez, none on the front page. HERNANDEZ'S STORY Laci Peterson often topped the newscasts of national cable news channels during a four-month investigation, while Evelyn Hernandez received scant coverage from Bay Area television stations -- even on the day her remains were found. Described by friends as a devoted mother to her son Alex, Hernandez was a legal immigrant who had worked as a vocational nurse and in jobs at Costco and the Clift Hotel. She was reported missing by her baby's father, a 36-year-old married man named Herman Aguilera, Pera said. Authorities had already suspected that Hernandez and her son Alex met with foul play when her wallet was found in South San Francisco, two blocks from where Aguilera worked at a limousine company, Pera said. Then, in late July, a portion of her torso -- still clad in maternity clothes -- washed up on the Embarcadero. When her death was confirmed by DNA tests just after Labor Day, her small circle of friends and a sister who lives in the East Bay planned a memorial service in San Francisco that drew 100 people. It was the same small community that had circulated flyers when she disappeared. Aguilera's attorney, Robert Tayac, said at the time that his client had done everything he could to cooperate with police and was "deeply saddened by the news of the death of his close friend." Damy said friends and family tried repeatedly to get Hernandez's case featured on "America's Most Wanted" but were rejected because no warrant had been issued for a suspect. But, Damy said, the show did a story on Laci Peterson although no suspects had been named in that case either. Hernandez's friends and family are convinced that subtle factors -- from Hernandez's status as a Salvadoran immigrant to the fact that she was involved with a married man -- figured in the news media giving little notice to her case. "It's embarrassing," said Pera, the San Francisco police inspector. "We've pushed and asked for and received as much as we possibly could. But we don't make the decision about what gets covered and what doesn't." E-mail Kelly St. John at kstjohn@sfchronicle.com.

by **GDN01** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:47 am

I used to live in the Bayarea, and have to say that there was a lot of talk of occult activity in the Modesta area. I'm a little surprised by your complete dismissal of such a possibility SSW. I would bet nearly all towns have occult activity, including satanic rituals - even if it is a handful of people who are involved. Here is a <a href="http://www.webbsleuths.com/cgi-bin/dcf/dcboard.cgi?az=printer_format&forum=DCForumID105&om=680&omm=25">link</a> to an article about the Salidas murders, which suggests there has been occult activity in the Modesto area: "Deaths in Salida Locals were horrified 13 years ago at the gruesome details of the Salida murders, committed by a paramilitary cult whose charismatic and sadistic leader had a deep interest in the occult. "It was very serious, not just dabbled in," said former group member Angela Young of their unconventional worship. She broke away from the group before the murders, but her younger brother, Ricky Vieira, stayed and was sentenced to death. Leader Gerald Cruz manipulated group members through bizarre activities that included indoctrination into various forms of the occult, sleep deprivation and brainwashing. At his direction, witnesses said, some members beat, raped and tortured each other. Cruz eventually led his followers from their living compound in Salida to a nearby duplex where they bashed and slashed the occupants to death with baseball bats and knives. At least some of the victims were disassociated members of Cruz's circle. Killed were Darlene Paris, 23, Frank Raper, 51, Dennis Colwell, 35, and Richard T. Ritchey, 25. Brazelton, a deputy district attorney at the time, steered the prosecution. A few years later, he became district attorney and now oversees the Peterson case, although his senior prosecutors are handling courtroom proceedings. Sentenced to death in the Salida case were Cruz, now 41; his "enforcer," David Beck, 47; and Vieira, 34. Jason LaMarsh, 36, and Ronald Willey, 37, received prison sentences of 64 years to life. All remain under appeal. ]b]A cult or just bizarre? Their trials were sprinkled with testimony on the occult, including blood-letting rituals and black magic. But many details were excluded from parts of the proceedings, sometimes because Brazelton protested, sometimes at the request of Cruz's lawyer. In a recent interview, Brazelton said, "There was no evidence of any cult or rituals, though the defense tried to make it seem that way." Cruz's Van Nuys lawyer, Seymour Amster, agreed, saying, "It didn't come out (in court) because it wasn't a cult murder in any sense, in my opinion." for Cruz's followers recalled things differently. Ramon Magana of Modesto, who represented LaMarsh, remembers stories of rituals under the full moon at midnight along the Stanislaus River. Diaries and letters by group members made reference to desecrating graves, forced sodomy and beatings for disobedience, and even murder, Magana said, calling the writings "chilling." "My recollection is that Brazelton wanted to focus only on the (Salida slayings) themselves," Magana said. "If the case got cluttered up with anything else, it might hurt his case." Amster fought to exclude evidence of the occult from much of the proceedings, arguing that the group's worship was irrelevant to the quadruple murder. Rituals, writings and sacrifice Modesto attorney William Arthur Miller, who represented Willey, recalled many of the same things as Magana, plus allegations of animal sacrifice. He said group members listened to heavy metal music just before the murders, and remembered talk of group members dancing at one point, as if in a ritual. Miller said crime scene photos revealed a scrap of paper scrawled with a ritual prayer or chant. A length of hair from one of the victims was affixed by a magnet to a refrigerator door, he said, noting that Satanists are said to use "parts of a victim's physical being to cast spells." "A lot looked like satanic worship," Miller said of the writings. He recalled a member saying that the " sacrifice of a newborn baby was the 'cleaningest' thing you could do. I took that to mean to 'most cleansing,'" Miller said." Here is another <a href="http://www.talkaboutreligion.com/group/alt.christnet/messages/824980.html">link</a> to info about the Salida murders and occult activity. Has some interesting info about occult activity in general.

by **silverspringwoman** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 12:08 pm

I guess I am not being clear enough. The people that this interviewer is claiming are responsible, or at least strongly hinting that they are responsible, are most definitely NOT the kind of people that would do this. He's got the wrong group, IF they exist at all. The Peterson case, in spite of the sensationalism, seems like a pretty cut and dried DV related homicide. Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar. There is a lot of occult activity in a lot of places; the county I live in is a hot bed for nasty occurances: think Cary Stayner; Leonard Lake and Charles Ing operated in the county next door; there is a Scientology vault in Tuolumne City; there are alleged regular UFO incidents up here with websites that track them; we have had an active serial killer running around here for a while that people are desperately trying to ignore. But, having said that, and having witnessed the alleged investigation of the "Modesto Satanic group", this guy is barking up the wrong tree. And I still would be surprised if there were a major group there; i have never heard of it, having grown up in the area. It is not rural enough to escape notice, and not high falutin' enough for Satanists to converge there. It is a pretty crummy town.

by **Et in Arcadia ego** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 1:37 pm

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>and not high falutin' enough for Satanists to converge there<hr></blockquote> Is that your professional opinion? Is there a "falutin" yardstick that one use's to quantify a locale for it's Satanismy potentials? I wasn't suggesting that the Wicans were the responsible agents by a long shot; all I was doing was putting out some starter material that I grabbed on the fly with little time at my disposal to do so. There's people here who can and do research me into the dirt, which is why I presented this here, but to clarify: A dismissal from you is not significant enough for me to abandon the notion there's more to the picture here. I'd prefer it if you did not take that personally, but that's up to you. And then someone else mentioned Chandra Levy in this thread? Sheesh..So much for moving on..

by **GDN01** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 2:31 pm

The lady doth protest too much. - comes to mind when reading SSW's replies here. In 1990, 4 people were decapitated by members of an occult that had become well established in the Modesto area. The stories I link to provide detail from the trial that make it rather difficult for you, SSW, or anyone, to make a believable case that there isn't a history of Satanic occults in the Modesto area. And a group as well established as the one Gerald Cruz apparently led doesn't disappear because the leader is put in prison. This is from the second <a href="http://www.talkaboutreligion.com/group/alt.christnet/messages/824980.html">link</a> I provided: Eventually, he comes across 17-year-old Mike Long (not his real name). Mike is heavily involved in the occult and satanism. However, he's trying to get out, and agrees to become an informant. Yes, there is a satanic cult. Yes, they are carrying out ceremonial rituals, bizarre sex, drug running, prostitution... And the cult is headed up by a fanatical, but sophisticated leader, Gerald Cruz. With an iron fist, Cruz has the members following some of the teachings of high-profile Satanist Aleister Crowley. (The same man Hitler was said to have followed.) And all members are required to wear satanic medallions underneath their clothes as a show of allegiance. But Cerny is still unable to turn up any hard data links, or corroboration. What's more, he's having a hard time getting other people in the sheriff's office to listen. No one listens, that is, until September 26, 1985, when Tamara Smith (pseudonym) surfaces. Smith is a topless dancer at the Cheyenne Social Club in the outskirts of Stanislaus County. She has come to the sheriff's department concerned for her safety. She is afraid she will be sacrificed by the group, said Cerny, if she refuses to participate in a ceremonial "Marriage to the Beast." That is, marrying high priest Cruz. In exchange for protection, she identifies more than 50 people connected to the cult. Some were other dancers at the club, local rock group band members, bartenders, bouncers. But there's more. She also identifies people like a town dentist, as well as a Christian pastor at a non-denominational church, who was reported to clandestinely be another high priest in the cult. Smith said the cult was stock-piling guns and explosives, and was heavily involved in drugs and prostitution. Smith also said Cruz was involved with physical and sexual abuse of his children. (This would also come out later in the trial, said Cerny.) So, I don't know what makes an occult "major" - but this seems pretty "major" to me. I can't find the link right now, but in my googling last night, I came across a site that was listing admitted occults from across the nation, that practice satanism, including their names and addresses. There are many such occults who identify as satanic and disavow any illegal activity. One group had a mailing address in Modesto. And it wasn't the two groups you have inamed. Wiccan and satanic are not the same - no one is disputing that. But I will stand by my assertion that there IS an established history of Satanic occults in the Modesto area. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=gdn01>GDN01</A> at: 12/14/05 11:35 am

by **Ted the dog** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 2:55 pm

I grew up in Modesto. I haven't been back in years, but I do know that there was some pretty sketchy stuff going on there in terms of murders with occult overtones over the years. I know nothing of Wicca, but I'm sure what silverspringslady is saying is true...I'm sure there's the usual "witch hunt" type of activity going on: a bunch of overweight goths are being blamed for a murder because they look "weird". I'm not sure if this was covered already, but I remember that in Maury Terry's book, "The Ultimate Evil", he touches on the murders that happened in Yosemite a few years back...remember those? it was a mother, a daughter and the daughter's female friend if I remember correctly. there were some dubious modesto ties with that one....like the fact that they found their identification, wallets, and some clothing in the Modesto area. I remember in high school, we all hated living there so much that we would LOOK for ways to bash the town...my friend's new age mom told us, "Psychics say there's a dark cloud that hangs over the central valley"... ...I also remember a weird incident back in the mid to late 90's where a local girl turned up naked and dead on the front lawn of one of the local high schools...it was Davis High School, if I'm not mistaken....and I think it was an ex boyfriend of hers that was arrested for the crime...I didn't hear anything else after that. not sure if that's anything at all, but just a weird memory.

by **Et in Arcadia ego** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 3:40 pm

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>The lady doth protest too much. - comes to mind when reading SSW's replies here.<hr></blockquote> You took the words right out of my mouth. I hate it when people call each other out for being something that they're not, but I have to wonder seriously about this one.. And you know, I could care less if a group of...Nice People...wanna stand around a bunch of smelly candles and give Old Scratch some oral service, but when innocent people start getting dismembered and children ripped out of their bodies, I don't care too much for someone suggesting that this place shouldn't be heavily scrutinized.. <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/mad.gif ALT=">:">

by **silverspringwoman** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:24 am

I am not saying it should not be scrutinized, but having lived here, it seems pretty fricking laughable. Why you think that I am trying to shut you down somehow is beyond me. I am not taking it personally, and do not wish to "dismiss" anything out of hand; I am talking about specific knowledge I have about the investigation and THAT investigator, concerning allegations of Satanic cult activity pointed at people whom are not satanists. By all means track this link down, find out if there are connections. But this investigator is a complete ass, and his book is laughable and has been the talk of the community for some time. But protesting too much? That is the sound of me laughing, out loud, because I am HERE in there area. Call it protesting if you like. So how long before y'all, who have NEVER been to Modesto, start calling ME a disinfo agent? All of the incidents you are linking to have Bay Area connections, NOT necessarily local. There is NO "Cheyenne Social Club" in Stanislaus County. Zip. i called a friend of mine who has worked for the Stan Cty Sheriff's Dept about it for 25 years. He says it NEVER existed. There IS a titty bar named "Antonios", smack dab in the middle of Stan Cty, in a town called Empire on the outskirts of Modesto. Confusion? Or misinformation on the part of the report? I love this board, and the serious investigations that go on here. But Satanists, kidnapping Laci? Geeze, people. Her husband scrubbed her out mercilessly because he did not want the responsibility of a child. Let's not hide the crime or the criminal behind a veil of muck, let's shine the bright light that serious investigator shine on the real bad guys, like Scott Peterson.

MSNBC right now talking about Satanism/Lacie Peterson

Evelyn Hernandez...

Re: et in Arcadia ego

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wow...Modesto, huh?

Re: wow...Modesto, huh?

Re: wow...Modesto, huh?

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