Boy, 6, castrated and left for dead in ditch in 'Satanic ritual'
Upon finding the child in the scrubland, local people were met with the gruesome sight of him bleeding profusely, crying out for help, and covered in his own blood. Initially, his rescuers suspected he might have been stabbed, but they soon made the appalling discovery that he had been castrated.
The incident occurred near a gold mine in the Blue Skye informal settlement, and the child was on the brink of death due to blood loss when he was discovered, as reported by The Mail Online. The community in Boksburg, Gauteng Province, was shocked and disturbed by the news, with parents expressing concern for their children's safety.
One local resident, who wished to remain anonymous due to fear of repercussions, stated: "Who would do such a thing to such a little boy – it really is the cruellest of the cruel. To pepper spray the little boy is bad enough but to cut off his genitals is just barbaric and that kid will have mental issues for the rest of his life."
Another resident added: "The rumours are it is Satanism or taking body parts for a voodoo ritual but this little boy will now not be able to have children ever.", reports the Mirror US.
Resident Chantel Naude expressed her fears, saying: "I am considering moving out of the area as we feel unsafe as I have boys as well and don't want them attacked as well. I know the boy and he is often around looking for a bit of food or a bit of loose change and he gets by and is always smiling and is always polite."
She added: "He was found out in an overgrown field with his genitals missing and unable to see properly due to the pepper spray which is dreadfully painful on its own."
It's yet to be confirmed by the emergency service whether both his penis and testes were taken. Boksburg South African Police station boss Colonel Matshedeso Mbele verified that an inquiry into attempted murder was underway.
Choosing not to discuss the extent of the savagery due to their sensitive nature, she couldn't say whether it was adults or older youths who perpetrated the attack.
On the incident occurring on 1 March, Colonel Mbele noted that paramedics had quickly transported the injured party to the hospital, stating reassuringly that the lad is now in stable nick, thankfully.
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The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Who is David Berkowitz, where is the Son of Sam serial killer now and what do we know about his victims?
A NEW Netflix documentary claims to offer new insights into the investigation and the enduring impact of David Berkowitz's infamous murder spree in bustling 1970s New York. One of America's most infamous serial killers, 2 Police mug shot of David Berkowitz, who killed six people and wounded seven Who is David Berkowitz and why was he called the Son of Sam? Gunman David Berkowitz carried out a killing spree that terrorised New Yorkers for 12 months, killing six and wounding seven, sparking the biggest manhunt in the city's history before he was finally arrested in 1977. Before being identified, the '.44 Caliber Killer' was also known as the 'Son of Sam' for the signature he left on letters at crime scenes and sent to media outlets. After a year-long reign of terror which left six dead and seven more wounded, cops were relieved to have brought down the gunman. After David Berkowitz was apprehended and put on trial, he claimed that his neighbour's dog, named Sam, was possessed by a demon and commanded him to kill. With Berkowitz behind bars, the Son of Sam case was closed — until a bizarre theory about a Satanic cult threw new light on the killings. Not everyone is convinced Berkowitz had acted alone, while some fear that others involved in the spree could still be out there. In 1993, Berkowitz gave a series of shocking TV interviews to Inside Edition in which he claimed that he had not acted alone during his 1970s bloodbath. Who were David Berkowitz's victims? Donna Lauria and Jody Valenti shooting (July 1976) The first shooting attributed to the Son of Sam occurred in the Pelham Bay area of the Bronx. Most read in The US Sun At about 1.10am on July 29, 1976, Donna Lauria, an emergency medical technician, 18, and her friend Jody Valenti, a nurse, 19, were sitting in Valenti's double-parked Oldsmobile, discussing their evening at Peachtree's, a New Rochelle disco. Lauria opened the car door to leave and noticed a man quickly approaching the car, he produced a pistol from the paper bag and aimed his weapon with both hands, and fired. Lauria was struck by one bullet that killed her instantly. Valenti was shot in her thigh and survived her injury. 2 Oliver Cooper playing David Berkowitz in Mindhunter Carl Denaro and Rosemary Keenan shooting (October 1976) Most of Berkowitz's activity was in Queens, though he lived farther north in Yonkers. On October 23, 1976, a similar shooting occurred in a secluded residential area of Flushing, Queens, next to Bowne Park. Carl Denaro, a Citibank security guard, 20, and Rosemary Keenan, a Queens College student, 18, were sitting in Keenan's parked car when the windows suddenly shattered. Keenan quickly started the car and sped away for help. The panicked couple did not realise that someone had been shooting at them, even though Denaro was bleeding from a bullet wound to his head. Keenan had only superficial injuries from the broken glass, but Denaro eventually needed a metal plate to replace a portion of his skull. Donna DeMasi and Joanne Lomino shooting (November 1976) High school student Donna DeMasi, 16, and Joanne Lomino, a student at Martin Van Buren High School, 18, walked home from a movie soon after midnight on November 27, 1976. They were chatting on the porch of Joanne's home in Floral Park, when a man dressed in military fatigues who seemed to be in his early 20s approached them and began to ask directions. He quickly produced a revolver and he shot each of the victims once and, as they fell to the ground injured, he fired several more times. DeMasi had been shot in the neck, but the wound was not life-threatening. Lomino was hit in the back and hospitalized in a serious condition. She was ultimately rendered paraplegic. Christine Freund and John Diel shooting (January 1977) At about 12.40am on January 30, 1977, Christine Freund, a secretary, 26, and her fiancé John Diel, a bartender, 30, were sitting in Diel's car near the Forest Hills LIRR station in Queens, preparing to drive to a dance hall after having seen the movie Rocky. Three gunshots penetrated the car and in a panic, Diel drove away for help. He suffered minor superficial injuries, but Freund was shot twice and died several hours later at the hospital. Virginia Voskerichian shooting (March 1977) At about 7.30pm on March 8, 1977, Columbia University student Virginia Voskerichian, 19, was walking home from school when she was confronted by an armed man. She lived about a block from where Christine Freund had been shot. In a desperate move to defend herself, Voskerichian lifted her textbooks between herself and her killer, but the makeshift shield was penetrated, the bullet striking her head and killing her. Alexander Esau and Valentina Suriani shooting (April 1977) At about 3am on April 17, 1977, Alexander Esau, a tow truck operator, 20, and Valentina Suriani, an aspiring actress and model, 18, were sitting in Suriani's car near her home in the Bronx, only a few blocks from the scene of the Lauria–Valenti shooting, when each was shot twice. Suriani died at the scene, and Esau died in the hospital several hours later without being able to describe his attacker. Sal Lupo and Judy Placido shooting (June 1977) On June 26, 1977, there was another shooting. Sal Lupo, a mechanic's helper, 20, and Judy Placido, a recent high school graduate, 17, had left the Elephas disco in Bayside, Queens, and were sitting in Sal's parked car at about 3am, when three gunshots blasted through the vehicle. Sal was wounded in the right forearm, while Judy was shot in the right temple, shoulder, and back of the neck, but both victims survived their injuries. Sal told police that the young couple had been discussing the Son of Sam case only moments before the shooting. Stacy Moskowitz and Robert Violante shooting (July 1977) Berkowitz's final killing happened in Brooklyn. Early on July 31, 1977, Stacy Moskowitz, a secretary, and Robert Violante, a clothing store salesman, both 20, were in Robert's car, which was parked under a streetlight near a city park in the neighbourhood of Bath Beach, on their first date. They were kissing when a man approached within three feet of the passenger side of Robert's car and fired four rounds into the car, striking both victims in the head before he escaped into the park. Robert lost his left eye but Stacy died from her injuries. Netflix drops trailer for harrowing new true crime doc The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness Where is David Berkowitz now? In 1978, Berkowitz was convicted of the murders of two men and four women, ranging in age from 18 to 25, and sentenced to six consecutive life sentences in prison, which he is still serving. How was David Berkowitz caught? Berkowitz grew up as a difficult child with occasional bouts of violence but his real troubles began after the death of his adoptive mother in 1967. His adoptive father remarried in 1971 and moved to Florida without him, forcing him to join the army. Claiming to be pushed to kill by demons, Berkowitz attempted to murder a woman in December 1975, but she survived with several stab wounds, beginning his year-long killing spree. He named himself Son of Sam, a reference to a demon he believed lived inside the black labrador owned by his neighbour, Sam Carr. David Berkowitz was caught when a young woman named Cacilia Davis unwittingly walked past his crime scene, and past Berkowitz himself in his car. Davis tipped off the police and the officer who had been ticketing cars in the area that night, including Berkowitz's. He was arrested on August 10, and in his car they found a rifle, a bag of ammunition, maps of the crime scene and further threatening letters. Then, the police uncovered the .44 gun. What did David Berkowitz say after being caught? During his arrest, Berkowitz said with a smile on his face: 'Well, you got me.' He confessed to all his crimes while in police custody, changing his story several times, claiming to be part of a cult and falsely confessing to the murder of a young woman in New York. In the new series, viewers are given an insight into his state of mind at the time. Ahead of one court appearance, Berkowitz told prison guards: 'I guess the press is waiting with their cameras … can you comb my hair?' About Netflix's The Son of Sam Tapes The three-part series delves into the mind and troubled past of Berkowitz, featuring newly unearthed audio interviews recorded with him by reporter Jack Jones in 1980 at Attica Correctional Facility in Wyoming County, New York. Alongside interviews with detectives, journalists, and survivors of Berkowitz's attacks, it claims to offer new insights into the investigation and the enduring impact of Berkowitz's crimes on the local community. The series is directed and produced by Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated director Joe Berlinger (Cold Case: Jon Benet Ramsey, Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields, and Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial). Berlinger told Netflix: 'With The Son of Sam Tapes, we delve into the world of David Berkowitz and his chilling influence on 1970s New York City. 'These rare tapes reveal unnerving insights into his psyche, shedding light on the intricate details of the case and the pervasive fear that gripped the city. Read more on the Irish Sun 'Through these tapes, we hope to not only revisit history, but to bring clarity and depth to a narrative that has long intrigued and unsettled the public.' The Son of Sam Tapes airs on Netflix on July 30.
Irish Daily Mirror
14-07-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Granny Ripper who killed and ate her victims' organs in gruesome ritual
An elderly Russian woman gained the chilling nickname 'Granny Ripper' after committing a series of horrific crimes, with as many as 11 victims falling prey to her. Tamara Mitrofanovna Samsonova infamously spiked her friend's salad with pills, decapitated her, and boiled her head among other terrifying offences. Born in 1947 in Uzhur, Samsonova appeared to lead a conventional life initially. After completing high school she pursued higher education at Moscow State Linguistic University. A subsequent move to St. Petersburg saw her wed Alexei Samsonov and spend 16 years working in a travel agency. However, 2000 marked a mysterious chapter when her husband disappeared, prompting Samsonova to approach the police with no success in locating him. He had seemingly disappeared without a trace. Fast forward to 2015, she even reached out to the investigative department of Fruzensky District in St. Petersburg with information regarding his vanishing. But in a grisly twist that same year, the sinister facet of Samsonova was shockingly unveiled. A horrific discovery was made by a passerby - body parts of her dismembered renter strewn on the street, reports the Mirror US. Then 68, she was captured on CCTV in the dead of night removing hefty plastic bags from her home, one of which is purported to have contained the severed head of a human being. Tragically, it's believed that these mortal remains belonged to Valentina Ulanova, age 79, who was renting from Samsonova and met an alarming demise. Official reports from the Russian Investigative Committee indicate that in July 2015 Ulanova died "on the spot" following Samsonova's lethal concoction of over 50 sleeping pills in her salad, proceeding to then mutilate her body. Samsonova made her way to Pushkin and sweet-talked a pharmacist into selling her phenazepam, a prescription drug, which she slipped into Valentina's most-loved Olivier salad. Later on, the fragments of Valentina were discovered bundled up in a shower curtain in the street. Authorities said: "Then, in order to conceal the committed crime, she dismembered the body of her victim and placed the parts in different places near the apartment block." It was reported the woman brutally dismembered her lodger with a handsaw because of "personal hostile relations" sparked by a "conflict with her friend". Unsettling rumours also circulated that she had cooked Valentina's head by boiling it in a pot. In court, Samsonova's behaviour was erratic; she even went as far as to blow a kiss to members of the press before admitting to Valentina's murder. Nevertheless, the content of a chilling diary entry shook many, hinting she might have taken the lives of 11 more people, potentially including those of her husband and her mother-in-law, who both vanished without leaving a trace behind. Her frail health, uncooperative demeanour, and the absence of more human remains meant additional charges became an impossible task. The Sun quoted a source as saying: "We may never know the extent of this granny's killings." When she was arrested in 2015, there were rumours she had killed her tenant, Sergei Potanin, in 2003. Sergei, from Norilsk and aged 44 at his time of death. Samsonova is accused of cutting his body up and then distributing parts of it around the city streets. Samsonova was under investigation for a staggering 15 deaths when cops stumbled upon a diary entry where she chillingly confessed "killed my tenant Volodya, cut him to pieces in the bathroom with a knife and put the pieces of his body in plastic bags and threw them away in the different parts of Frunzensky District." It emerged Samsonova may have been inspired by Andrei Chikatilo's book, the notorious serial killer responsible for nearly 50 murders between 1978 and 1990. A neighbour who had been close to her for 15 years revealed her obsession with Chikatilo, said: "She gathered information about him and how he committed his murders." During her court hearing for the murder of Valentina, Samsonova admitted to the judge: "I am guilty and I deserve to be punished." At 78, Samsonova reacted to the news of her continued detention by clapping her hands and grinning broadly. Yet, a forensic psychiatric assessment in 2015 deemed Samsonova a threat to both society and herself, resulting in her confinement to a specialist facility before being transferred for mandatory psychiatric care at a dedicated hospital in Kazan. In 2017, she received a life sentence to a psychiatric ward, with the court deciding that her mental disorder exonerated her from culpability for Valentina's death.
Irish Daily Mirror
08-07-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Horrors of Putin's prison where victims tied to electric chairs and castrated
Russian forces stand accused of perpetrating a brutal campaign of violence against Ukrainians, including the use of electric chairs and castration within a makeshift torture prison. The town of Izyum in Ukraine was freed in 2022, uncovering mass graves and torture chambers where locals allege Russians employed electric shocks to torment anyone suspected of aiding the resistance. Shocking photographs have surfaced depicting a homemade electric chair secured to the ground with a metal pole, positioned next to a wall with exposed wires. This chair was found in a room at the Izyum police station, a site where unspeakable acts of torture are said to have taken place. Taras Berezovets, a member of the Ukrainian army's special forces Ivan Bohun brigade and the unit's spokesperson, shared these harrowing images online. Berezovets asserted that the Russians "used electric shocks to torture prisoners of war and civilians". He described how the "chair stands on a wooden platform" which allows the individual conducting the interrogation to "can avoid electric shock". "The wires with which the prisoners were interrogated are visible on the left in the wall", he noted, reports the Mirror US. Further images disclosed by Berezovets show another supposed torture chamber where Ukrainian prisoners were allegedly crammed four to a cell, and a separate cell designated for military captives, which housed only one individual. In the Kharkiv region, at least 10 torture chambers have been discovered where locals were imprisoned in appalling conditions, with men confined to cave-like underground cells. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that bodies were exhumed from around 450 graves near Izyum. Investigators found that almost every victim appeared to have endured torture before their death, a truly heartbreaking discovery. Yevheny Yenin, Ukraine's first deputy minister of internal affairs, remarked: "We continue to find bodies with signs of violent death - there are many of them. "These include broken ribs and cracked skulls, men with bound hands, broken jaws, and severed genitalia." Oleg Synehubov, the governor of Kharkiv region, also commented: "Some of the dead have signs of a violent death. There are bodies with tied hands and traces of torture. The deceased were also found to have explosive, shrapnel and stab wounds." 53-year-old Oleksandr Hlushko recounted to The Times his harrowing experience of being detained for five days after Russians suspected him, a former soldier, of communicating with Ukrainian partisans. He suffered crushed ribs, was beaten repeatedly, and had the soles of his feet whipped before being discarded by the roadside from a car. After requiring six weeks of hospital care, he now speaks with a slur. "The first time they took me away, they beat me until I was a vegetable," he disclosed. "If it wasn't for the doctors, I wouldn't be here today." He also claimed to have been subjected to alleged electric shocks, recounting that electrodes were fastened to his little fingers. "The second time, I almost hit the ceiling," he recounted. Another individual reported being compelled to stand in excrement for a whole day, just hours prior to being confined in police cells, where he suffered broken ribs.
