BUCKINGHAM, Fla. — Dead animals keep turning up at Buckingham Cemetery, and the people who take care of the grounds think it’s from Santeria rituals. The caretakers say they’re so fed up with this, that they’re thinking of installing cameras and locks on the gates.
For more than a year, the caretakers say they’ve been finding dead animals left at the cemetery. But this week, after discovering a headless goat, they decided to call the police. According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office report, deputies found the goat tied to a burlap sack that contained its head, along with bloody clothes and vegetables. They say the scene had all the markings of a Santeria ritual.
Billy Flint, a caretaker at the cemetery, expressed his frustration, saying, “I’ve found bags with dead chickens in it. I found one with a cat in it. And now the goat the other day. They leave everything and want somebody else to clean it up. So, I get tired of cleaning the mess up for them.”
Flint says a lot of his family is buried at the cemetery, so he doesn’t want to see these rituals on the property anymore. However, practicing Santeria is a religious act and is federally protected, which is why Flint wants to try cameras and locks to keep people out.
