Remains Found in a Second Mass Grave in Panama
Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2020 4:06 am
Jose Gonzalez, left, follows his 5-year-old daughter, carried by a police officer, as they leave a hospital in Santiago, Panama, Jan. 16, 2020.
Authorities in Panama are investigating the discovery of a mass grave in the vicinity of another grave site found in January where investigators believe a religious sect buried victims of violent exorcisms.
Forensic experts say they are still trying to determine how many remains are located at the newly found site in the indigenous Ngabe Bugle region, several hundred kilometers north of the capital, Panama City.
Police and employees of the Public Ministry investigate near a mass grave with seven bodies at the indigenous region of Ngabe Bugle, Panama, Jan. 15, 2020, in this screen grab taken from Panamanian channel TVN Noticias.
In January, authorities found a mass grave with at least seven victims, including a pregnant woman. The grave was linked to the "God's New Light" church.
Police raided the church, arresting 10 people and rescuing 15 others, who told investigators the sect leader claimed he was fulfilling God's orders to "remove the demon" from the victims in a violent exorcism.
Authorities have, so far, not linked the latest grave site to the “God’s New Light” church.