United States: sixty years for a Texas killing the defendant described as a satanic sacrifice
Record class
Context only
Evidence status
Convicted
Authority role
none over the victim
Organization
No organization assigned
Spiritual nexus
NOT AN AUTHORITY-ABUSE CASE. Recorded as victim-directed ritual on the strength of the charging affidavit and the plea.
- Violent occult ideology or sacrifice
- Ritual, oath, or initiation
Evidence structure
Proceedings
2024-05-08 · guilty plea and sentence
Shelby County District Court, Texas (Judge James A. Payne Jr.). Ethan Myers pleaded guilty and was sentenced in May 2024 to sixty years for the 2022 killing of Sarah Hopson in Joaquin, Texas, which he described as a satanic sacrifice; the charging affidavit recorded the post-mortem removal of toes, fingers and ears, and his mother told investigators he heard voices.
Documented coercion mechanisms
- the killing carried out as a self-described 'satanic sacrifice'
- post-mortem removal of body parts documented in the charging affidavit
Primary record
Sources
- national broadcaster court reporting sentencing report KTRE: sentencing report, 8 May 2024.
Local broadcaster's court report.
- national broadcaster court reporting charging document report KLTV: the charging affidavit's contents.
Documents the affidavit's ritual findings.
Related record
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- 2026 · Baltimore, MD, USA Erik Madison: 764 member pleads guilty to exploiting minors
- 2002 · Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Germany: couple convicted of a killing staged as a sacrifice to Satan