Hill, however, says poisoning is only a theory. But he discloses few details for fear of jeopardizing the investigation. Palm Bay Police Lt. Buck DeCoteau isn' t in on the information loop, but he has investigated animal deaths related to satanic or alternative religious activity. Perhaps, he surmises, the killings coincide with milestones on the Satanic Ritual calendar requiring blood sacrifice.
Cattle are hard to handle.
They're big and bulky and they can't be easily transported. At last count, in February, five Brevard cattle were being tentatively linked to the mutilations, but local sheriff's investigators will not comment on the record. Phone calls to the Platt ranches in South Brevard, where the deaths were first discovered beginning in December, were not returned. Doug Platt, head of the Brevard Cattleman's Association, did not call back. Everybody's content to sweep it under the rug as a predator or a satanic cult and leave it at that.