It was a hot humid July afternoon in Manhattan on July 17, 2000, when 74 year-old Margaret Ramirez was trampled to death by a tractor-trailer on St Nicholas Ave and 162nd Street in Washington Heights. DOA at the scene, the responding patrol car from the 33rd Precinct would have to go to 548 W. 164th St and make the routine death notification to family members. Only this notification would be anything but routine. It would allow New Yorkers a peek into the bizarre and eerie world of Palo Mayombe, a ritualistic religion that blends African shamanic religion with spiritualism, black magic, and Catholicism.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567048 African slaves exported West African shamanic religions from the Congo to the Americas during the 1500’s and 1600’s. Not allowed to practice these religions by their masters, slaves would mask this these religions with Catholicism. This brew of Catholic relics, spiritualism, and African black-magic helped form Palo Mayombe, a religion practiced in Brazil, Cuba, and the United States. It is believed that both human and animal sacrifice is often performed during rituals and it is the integral component of "Palo". When officers from the 33rd Precinct arrived at Mrs. Ramirez' residence they were met at the door by a disheveled, reclusive and silent Michael Grajales, a 54 year-old Vietnam Veteran that was rarely seen by the neighbors. When informed of his mother's misfortune, Grajales went berserk, had to be handcuffed, and an ambulance called, for a trip to the local psychiatric ward. Upon subduing Grajales, the officers sensed that they were being watched by dozens of eerie statues in a very dark, filthy apartment with windows that were covered with black plastic bags allowing absolutely no light. Sensing something not being right, and egged on by the hee-bee gee-bees, the officers haste fully commenced a retreat from the apartment with Grajales only to stumble across a human skull on the way out. It was time to notify the 33rd Detective Squad.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567055 Two detectives from the 33rd Detective Squad soon initiated what they thought would be a routine response to 548 W164 St after being informed that there was a skull and other human bones in the apartment. It would be a routine initial response. Seasoned, these detectives assigned to Manhattan's Washington Heights during the crack plagued 80's and 90’s had for many years responded to some of New York City's most violent crime scenes. How bad could a few human bones be? Yet these veteran detectives’ initial response would be anything but routine.
On arrival, the detectives were impressed with the discipline the uniformed officers at the scene were exhibiting. The norm would be a crime scene full of police officers both in and out of what should be the crime scene’s perimeter but in this case, no one was in the apartment. How professional these officers from the 33rd Pct are! The patrol sergeant and numerous other officers were in the building lobby waiting for the squad to arrive ensuring an untainted crime scene…. and it was probably safer to be outside.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567074 Upon opening the apartment door the squad was met by a long and narrow filthy hallway plastered with sinister looking multicolored wallpaper. There was a crutch leaning on a wall, a Raggedy Ann doll that resembled a witch, a cane some high priest would command loyalty with, a burnt out candle on the floor about a third of the way down the hallway. Upon closing the door, the other crutch was found hanging on the wall wrapped in burlap and leading to an array of saints, black magic and shamanic pictures and ornaments. The detectives were shocked and they had only taken a few steps into the apartment.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567079 A few steps into the hallway marked the entrance to the kitchen. With the windows covered, a low wattage light bulb barely lit the kitchen but a good look would reveal a human skull inside an opened cabinet. The cabinet was host to old books, a picture of the Virgin Mary and a very creepy network of cobwebs. The crowned skull was on a plate and had a five-dollar bill sticking through the left eye socket. At this point the detectives backed out of the kitchen and continued down the hallway. A few steps further there was another room, what appeared to be a bedroom. A look into this dark evil looking room revealed where some kind of rituals were held. There was a mummified pig’s head, what appeared to be a goat's skull, a machete, a pentagram and endless array of unknown offerings. There were ashes, animal horns, candles, and filthy plates with food. There were bones and they looked human. There was a clay pot or cast iron cauldron with what looked like the parietal and frontal portions of a human skull imbedded in an ash like substance. Around the skull were feathers and other unknown objects.... the pot resembled some kind of witches brew. Oh how proud Vincent Price would have been!
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567091 The detectives without saying a word retreated from the room and continued down the hall. They next passed a bathroom and after what seemed like an eternity they, reached the end of the hallway. At the end of the hallway was the entrance to the living room where they were greeted by a dozen or so statues of saints, Indians, and offerings in what was some type of altar. What was strange about the way the altar was set up was that all the statues were in formation and faced the hallway towards the apartment's entrance. From a distance the statues all appear to be looking down the hallway. The lead statue was the Indian aiming a bow and arrow towards the hallway and next to him was another statue, an Indian head. It was as if this altar was set up with saints and warriors and offerings to keep evil from entering this portion of the apartment. What evil could be on the hallway side of the apartment? Although on the first floor and on a fairly busy street, not a sound could be heard in the apartment, but deafening was this chamber of horrors.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567113 The living room was met with one other room. The entrance to this room at one time must have had double doors, as the entrance was wide enough to reveal from a distance yet more altars, scores of statues, pictures of saints and shamanic items including a three-foot statue of an African, and a jar almost full with a clear liquid and with some kind of flesh inside. The detectives had seen enough and it was now time to contact the Manhattan District Attorney's office for a search warrant. A warrant would be required for a more thorough search in anticipation of some future arrest. It was also time to contact the only detective in the NYPD that specializes in Santeria and the occult. Stunned and silent, they left the apartment wondering what else they would find in this rather morbid crime scene.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567126 After convincing the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and a very skeptical judge of the macabre find at 548 W 164th St, the 33rd Detective Squad had returned with a search warrant. By now a circus of media, onlookers and other police officers was full fledged outside the building. Word had spread that a skull had been found in the neighborhood witch’s apartment. With their hard-nosed Lieutenant leading the charge the detectives armed with the warrant, began a more thorough search of the apartment. With a notepad in the recording detective's hands, every detail of the search warrant would be documented for the affiant of the warrant, his partner. Who was present, location, date, time, apartment layout, what was found as evidence or required further investigation and where it was found, all would be noted. The kitchen was first and other than the skull in the cabinet, nothing unusual for this apartment was noted. Just more Palo Mayombe relics. Next came the bedroom where the pigs head and goat's skull was found. This room was where rituals were held. The only items other than a couple of cabinets on the floor were the array of statues, human bones, a pot with a chain wrapped around it, offerings and countless shamanic items…. or “the sacrificial altar.” The detectives opened the door to the room's only closet and noticed old clothes that appeared to have been hanging for years covered in soot and cobwebs. A look further down on the closet floor revealed a plastic jar with a red lid, a bottle of rum, more shamanic relics as well as a witch’s straw broom, but a closer look at the jar indicated that it was about half full with a liquid and there was something inside. Some kind of pinkish substance resembling flesh.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567136 One detective picked up the jar and set it on a cabinet and then there was a long pause. The lieutenant and the detectives looked at each other with a hunch that this was not good. As one detective unscrewed the lid, the others just gazed. The suspense was mounting and lord the apartment was so hot and humid. Finally the jar was uncovered and…. winter white turned the three hardcore homicide investigators. On the floor dropped the notepad. Inside the jar was what appeared to be a newborn baby girl. In a fetal position and completely submerged in this mysterious clear liquid, the baby appeared to be sleeping. Curly black hair contrasted the baby’s pink-white skin color. All three were silent. The horror they just uncovered had just silenced the detectives, the apartment, and the outside world.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567148 Who was this baby? Where did this baby come from? Was this baby stillborn...born alive? Was this baby sacrificed? How long has this creature of innocence been imprisoned in this macabre world of evil? What did this all mean? The questions just kept piling up as the detectives awaited for a detective assigned to the NYPD's Police Academy to arrive. This detective is the only member of the department that specializes in Santeria and other related religions. He has investigated satanic and vampire cults, religious cult activities, and ritual crimes involving murder, missing persons and ritual child abuse. Perhaps he can shed light into this rather dark crime scene, make sense of all this.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567166 Word was now spreading that a dead baby was found inside a jar in the apartment and more media and the curious were arriving. In awe stood the police officers and detectives at 548 W. 164th St upon the arrival of this “voodoo detective”. His arrival hushed and parted the crowd in the lobby of the building as he made his way into the apartment’s front door. He paused, looked up and immediately pointed to the mirror above the door and explained that the mirror was there to keep people with evil intentions out. He asked for one detective to go in the apartment with him. One detective volunteered and at the mercy of this short, mild-mannered, bespectacled “Santeria” detective they both entered the apartment. The specialist began a slow yet methodical walk down the hallway pausing only to peek into each room as he went along and to the discomfort of the other detective, he would pause silently and sniff as he stretched his arms outward, palms up. He reached the end of the hallway, stood in a trance like stance with arms out, palms up and stared at all the saints, altars and African artifacts. “Evil” he whispered, the first word that he finally uttered in the apartment as goose bumps changed the texture of the other detectives’ skin. This is “El Palo”, Palo Mayombe, and someone was seriously meddling with the devil here he explained.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567174 The detective went on with Palo Mayombe, explaining the shrines, shaman relics, and other objects in the apartment as well as the basics of the religion. In this religion that worships spirits, the spirits that are the most dominant for Palo are the spirits of the dead, spirits of nature (existing in trees, plants, rocks, soil, animals etc.), and the spirits of highest entities in the forces of nature (sun, wind, rain, etc) and man. It is a religion that is based on devil worship where human bones and body parts are utilized to contact the dead, enslave their spirit, and have these spirits act upon the “paleros” wishes. Usually these wishes usually border on evil if not evil outright. The main worship and practice is being carried around the cauldron (the "nganga" or “prenda”) where they put human bones or flesh, plus the cadaver or bones of a dog or goat, scorpions, worms, plants, sacred soil... and they introduce in it 28 "palos" (sticks), for the performance of black magic and worship of the dead. The cauldron is believed to contain the spirits of the dead, which may explain the chain around one of the cauldrons. More goose bumps.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567185 A full fledge homicide investigation was now underway and until the medical examiner's autopsy revealed otherwise, this case would handled as a homicide. An autopsy would reveal if the baby was born alive and then sacrificed or stillborn.. An alarm for the entire tri-state area consisting of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut for any missing newborn was issued but revealed only one missing baby. It was a female baby that was stillborn in a hospital in New Jersey and the body had disappeared. Adding to the heartbreak of the traumatized mother, her baby's body had disappeared from the hospital and thus no funeral ever held. The baby had disappeared several months ago and given the lack of leads, this lead looked promising. Detectives from the 33rd Detective Squad responded and retrieved from the hospital footprints taken from the missing baby's body. The prints were then taken to the medical examiner's office where Detectives from the Missing Person's Squad assigned to the office would compare the prints.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567211 Much to the disappointment of the 33rd Detective Squad, the baby's prints did not match the baby-in-jar. The news was even worse, the baby had been in this jar for a substantial period of time and the liquid was formaldehyde. The formaldehyde had destroyed the baby's DNA and other vital organs and the autopsy could not determine if the baby was born alive or stillborn. The baby still had her umbilical cord attached indicating that it was newborn and that was about all the autopsy could reveal. As bizarre as this case began, it ended with an outlandish form of justice. A justice as bizarre in its own twisted way as this case was. Michael Grajales was confined to a Veteran's Administration mental ward, and to date the baby is in possession of the medical examiner's office. No further leads....case closed? No! This case had actually ended long before the 33rd Detective Squad responded to what was probably the most macabre crime scene the squad had ever responded to. But only the "Santeria Detective" from the Police Academy can explain to the satisfaction of all involved in this case, that the case actually ended the moment Mrs. Ramirez was trampled to death by the tractor-trailer.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
Quoted By:
>>7567229 With preacher-like qualities, the Santeria Detective explains to anyone inquiring, that the baby's youthful spirit being much more powerful than that of the old witch, had longed to escape the evil bondage Mrs. Ramirez had subjected her to. Only God and the devil knew how long she had been imprisoned when finally, she broke the chain around her "nganga" and released her spiritual powers. The very same powers that the witch feared and had kept in check with chains, saints, offerings, and altars. The tractor-trailer was the baby's doing and with this most tragic "accident", she had broken the evil hold Mrs. Ramirez had on her. Justice served.... more goose bumps and case closed.
Anonymous
Anonymous
good story op
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567381 I can go find out.
I'm glad you like it.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567392 For tourists on cruise ships plying the Caribbean, Haiti appears a beguiling, mysterious place.
The first independent black state, set up 200 years ago after a rebellion by African slaves against colonial France, the mountainous island is home to exotic birds and animals and mist-shrouded tropical forests.
But it is no paradise for the country's nine million people. Indeed, the devastating earthquake now bringing death and heartbreak is the latest in a long line of tragedies to befall a place dubbed the Island of the Damned.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567430 Those with the misfortune to be born in Haiti - part of the island of Hispaniola, shared with the Dominican Republic - have long endured a living hell. With one in ten under-40s infected with HIV, and millions living in squalor and destitution, thousands try to flee each year to the U.S. by hanging on to anything that will float. While hurricanes, floods and earthquakes have all devastated the landscape over the years, the biggest threat has come from humans. Successive dictators have raped, murdered and even reputedly eaten their enemies.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567439 Described by one commentator as an 'international crime scene' rather than a country, Haiti became infamous around the world during the reign of Francois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier, a former doctor who murdered 100,000 people and formed a private band of killers called the Tonton Macoutes. Wearing their trademark mirrored sunglasses and designer T-shirts, these murderers and cannibals were named after a terrifying bogeyman from Haitian mythology, who carried off naughty children into slavery.
The Tonton Macoutes cut out the hearts, eyes and lungs of opponents with machetes, while Papa Doc, who stole almost a billion pounds in foreign aid, insisted that every television and radio programme had to be entirely in praise of his rule. In power from 1957, Papa Doc made voodoo the country's official religion and claimed to be Baron Samedi, the religion's spirit of death. He often wore a top hat and tails while demanding the skulls of his dead victims were brought to his palace in Port-au-Prince.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567452 He collected blood from prisoners who had been tortured and killed and sold it for $22 a pint to U.S. health groups. He once ordered the death of all black dogs in the country after a political enemy was rumoured to have transformed into one. Even after Papa Doc died in 1971 there was no respite for Haiti. Baby Doc, his deranged son, took over and continued the terror. His wife spent £10,000 a month on flowers and always wore expensive furs indoors - with officials facing death if they forgot to turn on the air-conditioning. After 15 more years of bloodshed and oppression, the people finally rose up in 1986 and Baby Doc was forced to flee into exile in France. But the torment did not end with the Duvaliers. After the country's first free elections in 1991, the new president, Jean Bertrand Aristide, was forced to flee after a coup by corrupt military figures keen to control lucrative cocaine smuggling routes.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
>>7567470 In 1993, I watched as the might of the U.S. military was repelled by mobs armed with stones and clubs when American troops arrived to restore order. Papa and Baby Doc were long gone, but gangs of Tonton Macoutes roamed the streets in pick-up trucks, randomly shooting anyone they passed. Aristide returned to power in 1994 with a bigger U.S. force - only to flee again after threats that he would be hacked to death and eaten.
Negi Springfield !aeNZeP7XP2
Quoted By:
>>7567483 Since then, despite the presence of an ineffective UN peacekeeping force, gangs have continued to wreak havoc and murder throughout a country where new graves are guarded to prevent bodies being stolen for voodoo rituals. The most infamous of these killers is the Cannibal Gang, a group of sadists once led by a former prisoner with political aspirations, who was himself shot in the eyes and had his heart cut out in 2004. His gang lives on, murdering innocent people and allegedly eating their organs. As the world reacted with pledges of help for the latest traumatised victims of the Island of the Damned, rescuers continued their desperate search for bodies and relatives waited for news. For the people of Haiti, though, hope has always been a rare commodity.
Anonymous
Quoted By:
>>7567392 Very very good story. Would read more
Anonymous
Anonymous
Quoted By:
Your writing style is very good. I feel like I'm asking alot but is there more?
Anonymous
Anonymous
