Latest ritual goat massacre baffles police

FORT WALTON BEACH - It's happened again.

A Fort Walton Beach police officer found a sixth decapitated pygmy goat early Wednesday at the intersection of Holmes Boulevard and Memorial Drive.

"This animal had been killed very close to the time it was put on the ground," said Dee Thompson, director of animal services for the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society.

Thompson said feces were found at the scene, which is common when an animal dies. She also said the preservation of the crime scene leads her to believe the officer happened up on the black and white goat relatively soon after it was placed there.

And Thompson said she's sure the goat was killed by the same person or group that killed the other five. She said there are similarities that haven't been released to the public that are consistent in each incident.

"There's no doubt in my mind," Thompson said.

Investigators and PAWS had hoped to solve the case after rewards totaling thousands of dollars were pledged, but that hasn't happened. Thompson said investigators have checked out every tip they've received.

"The police are equally baffled," Thompson said. "This doesn't lend itself to any normal ritual."

The six decapitated goats were killed in similar ways and five were tossed on or near city streets not far from each other. The goats were killed at another location. The beheadings were almost surgical and the carcasses were significantly lacking blood, Thompson said. At least three of the five goats found had carefully cut leaves and twigs arranged in their mouths.

The first decapitated goat was found Aug. 26 near the intersection of Jonquil Avenue and Holmes Boulevard in Fort Walton Beach. There may have been an earlier case, but that goat's head wasn't found, Thompson said.

"You really feel like money will speak loudly," Thompson said. "It just hasn't happened. We just need someone who saw something or heard something."

If you have information about any of the decapitated goats found in the Fort Walton Beach area, call PAWS at 243-1525.