SPENCER, West Virginia – A West Virginia man is in jail, accused of decapitating a black cat in a public park in December as part of a satanic ritual.
Kenneth Leroy McCoy, 22, was arrested last week after a witness linked him to the crime, Roane County Chief Deputy J.S. Smith said Friday.
Two women walking around Charles Fork Lake near Spencer in early December found the cat's body in the middle of a pentagram painted on the floor of a picnic shelter, Smith said.
Not only was the cat's head cut off, but its stomach was cut open and its feet were bound with string. Nearby bathroom walls also were spray-painted with skulls, inverted crosses and other strange symbols.
Smith said McCoy has been a suspect since the investigation began. Two days before the cat was found, deputies patrolling the lake area stopped him for questioning and found him carrying pocket knives and rope.
McCoy was being held in jail on a felony charge of cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor charge of destruction of property and an unrelated charge.
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