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The “Bestie di Satana” Murders
Author(s) -
Birkhoff Jutta,
Candelli Chiara,
Zeroli Stefania,
Tegola Donatella,
Carabellese Felice
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.12292
Subject(s) - verdict , homicide , disadvantaged , criminology , psychology , sect , poison control , suicide prevention , medicine , medical emergency , political science , law
In recent years, satanic groups have been responsible for various types and degrees of crimes. We report the case of a number of murders committed in I taly by a group of young people calling themselves the “ B estie di S atana”. Forensic psychiatric assessment of the members of a satanic sect charged with the crime revealed that all the young people had a fragile, immature personality, a very low level of education and were socially disadvantaged. The trial of the members of the “ B estie di S atana” sect was concluded with the verdict of deliberate murder, and all the members were given long jail sentences. This report should lead us to explore social and cultural responses to juvenile satanism, statistically shown to be a relatively rare phenomenon but with a high criminal potential.