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When we think about witch executions, we often imagine the infamous witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, or similar historical panics. From a modern perspective, irrational beliefs back then led to the wrongful deaths of innocent people who were falsely accused by paranoid neighbors.
Many believe that modern society is too advanced to fall for such superstition. Unfortunately, that's not the case. This list delves into these contemporary atrocities, shedding light on current-day attacks and ruthless killings fueled by superstitions and the irrational fear of witches and witchcraft.
10. 11 Years
In April 1998, a man broke into Modesta Navarro Nieves' house, accusing her of casting a witch's spell on him. He then proceeded to beat her to death with a stick, briefly halting when her husband arrived home. At that moment, the assailant turned on the unsuspecting husband, viciously attacking him before fleeing the crime scene in the remote village of Guadalupe del Cobre.
Eleven years later, Santiago Iniguez Olivares was finally brought to justice. Believing the murder had been forgotten, the 78-year-old Olivares returned to the quiet town in western Mexico, only to be arrested while walking to a bus station. His capture came one year after another woman in central Mexico was killed by another female, who claimed she had been possessed by witchcraft.
9. Hallucinogenic Potion and Torture
In the small West African country of Gambia, a 2009 anti-witch campaign sought to root out witches and evil sorcerers. Accompanied by police, soldiers, and security forces, witch doctors traveled from village to village, rounding up around 1,000 villagers at gunpoint and taking them to secret locations where they were forced to drink a dangerous hallucinogenic potion.
Those who survived the concoction were subjected to brutal torture, including knife wounds, severe beatings, burns from cigarettes, and electric shocks. The orders for these horrific witch hunts came from the country's leader, who insisted on being called 'His Excellency President Professor Dr. Al-Haji Yahya Jammeh.'
The elderly were the primary targets of accusations, and the true number of those killed due to these irrational beliefs remains uncertain. Anyone who dared to oppose Jammeh's erratic actions mysteriously vanished, creating an atmosphere of fear throughout the country.
Entire regions of Gambia were abandoned as terrified citizens fled across the border into Senegal in search of safety.
8. New York Voodoo
On a frigid night in January 2014, police were called to Estrella Castaneda's home in New York. Upon arriving, they found 44-year-old Carlos Alberto Amarillo standing calmly on the street, holding a Bible in his hands.
Minutes before, Amarillo had contacted 911, informing the dispatcher that he had 'assassinated' two women inside the house. Upon entering the master bedroom, police discovered Estrella lying on a bed with a pillow over her face. She and her daughter, Lina, had been struck to death with a hammer. Lina’s body was found in a rear bedroom, lying on the floor.
In his statements to the police, Amarillo, who was dating Estrella at the time, confessed that he had killed his girlfriend and her daughter because he believed they were witches 'performing voodoo and casting spells on him.'
As expected, a jury convicted Amarillo on two counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison.
7. Anti-Witchcraft Unit
In 2011, Amina bint Abdel Halim Nassar was convicted in the Qariyat province of Saudi Arabia for practicing witchcraft and sorcery. Authorities discovered bottles in her home containing liquids believed to be used for magical purposes.
Anonymous sources informed the authorities that Nassar had been selling spells and the bottles of liquid. Such involvement with 'potions' is considered a capital crime in Saudi Arabia, a nation governed by strict sharia law.
Despite pleas from Amnesty International for clemency, Nassar was beheaded. Her execution marked the second of that year, following the beheading of a Sudanese national in Medina for 'sorcery.' In Saudi Arabia, Islamic clerics maintain that witches do indeed ride brooms and are assisted by jinn, supernatural spirits.
In 2007, pharmacist Mustafa Ibrahim was beheaded for engaging in magic after he was found holding the Quran in a bathroom. In 2009, the Saudi government created an Anti-Witchcraft Unit aimed at educating the public about witchcraft and sorcery.
By the end of that year, 118 individuals were charged after being accused by anonymous sources of misusing the Quran in a disrespectful manner related to witchcraft practices.
6. Hexes, Murder, And Lawsuits
In a secluded village along the Russian-Ukrainian border, Sasha Lebyodkin and his nephew Sergei Gretsov sought the help of a local babka (a term for 'witch') to break a curse. Sergei claimed that Tanya Tarasova, 22, had placed a spell on him after he refused her marriage proposal. When the babka’s attempt to lift the curse failed, the two men took matters into their own hands.
On the night of February 22, 1997, armed with hammers and knives, the pair broke into Tanya Tarasova's family home. In a bloody attack, Tanya and her three younger siblings survived multiple hammer blows to their heads, clinging to life despite the brutal assault.
Tragically, Tanya’s mother was killed in what had been intended as a massacre of the entire family. During their interrogations, the two cold-blooded attackers claimed that Tanya’s curse caused their eyes to burn and that monstrous creatures had been sent to terrorize them.
Following the horrific killings, Tanya was sued by Sasha Lebyodkin’s wife, who accused her of casting a hex on her husband and ruining his life.
5. Benin
In northern Benin, a French-speaking country in West Africa, babies who are not born headfirst are considered to be witches or sorcerers. In accordance with tradition, these infants are taken to a tree where their heads are violently ed against the bark. More compassionate parents may abandon their newborns in the bush, leaving them to die.
The Baatonou, Boko, and Peul people believe that a child whose birth or early development deviates from what is considered normal is cursed and must be destroyed. In these communities, babies deemed 'ill-born' are tied by their feet and tied to a tree, a desperate attempt to exorcise the evil they are believed to carry.
Children who live in severe poverty and resort to stealing food are also accused of witchcraft. Under Benin's laws, these children face brutal punishment, including being beaten to death. Even the smallest transgression—such as a child being born with a defect—can lead to accusations of sorcery.
Unfortunately, those accused in Benin are frequently executed in accordance with the nation's laws.
4. Zambia
In January 2017, an elderly woman, 80 years old, traveled to Zambia's Copperbelt region to visit her grandson. During her visit, her great-grandson fell ill and passed away.
Devastated by the loss, the father turned to a local witch doctor for answers. The witch doctor accused the grandmother of being a witch and claimed that her presence had caused the child's untimely death.
At 2:30 AM, the anguished cries of the elderly woman startled the neighbors as her grandson ruthlessly assaulted her. “It’s your turn to die, you witch,” he was heard yelling just before he set her ablaze.
The Zambian Human Rights Commission has reported a concerning rise in the violent deaths of elderly people accused of practicing witchcraft. Disturbingly, most of these victims meet their end at the hands of their own relatives, who believe they are avenging curses allegedly cast upon them.
In 2017, Zambian police revealed that at least 25 elderly people had been murdered in just three months. These vulnerable victims, never afforded a fair trial, are instead subjected to the brutal justice of a lynch mob acting as judge, jury, and executioner.
3. Holiday Nightmare
On Christmas Day in 2010, 15-year-old Kristy Bamu visited his 29-year-old sister, Magalie, and her partner, Eric Bikubi, in London. What transpired over the next 24 hours was unimaginable. Kristy endured 130 injuries inflicted by those he trusted to protect him from the world's evils.
Instead of being protected, Magalie and Eric became the source of Kristy's torment. They subjected him to prolonged torture using knives, metal bars, broken bottles, hammers, and chisels. As he lay, battered and bleeding on the cold apartment floor, Kristy begged for forgiveness after being coerced into admitting he was a witch.
After his ears were ripped from his head with pliers, Kristy was submerged in a bathtub for an exorcism. Tragically, he drowned. The couple defended their actions by claiming they believed Kristy was practicing witchcraft, but this defense was rejected in court.
Judge David Paget stated before sentencing the couple, 'The belief in witchcraft, however genuine, cannot excuse an assault on another person, let alone the killing of another human being.' Eric Bikubi was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years, and Magalie Bamu to 25 years.
Eight-year-old Victoria Climbie was an earlier case of child abuse in London linked to supernatural beliefs. In 2000, her great-aunt tortured, starved, and beat the young girl, convinced that Victoria was possessed by an evil force.
In the ten years leading up to the tragic Bamu murder, Scotland Yard investigated 83 cases of abuse linked to faith-based or ritualistic beliefs.
2. A Rising and Deadly Epidemic
In Tanzania, an estimated 500 individuals suspected of witchcraft are murdered every year. The belief in witchcraft runs deep in the nation, and these horrific attacks can befall anyone, from babies to the elderly.
Women and albinos, however, are particularly targeted. In Tanzanian folklore, the pale skin of albinos is believed to possess magical powers, which witches allegedly use to perform their evil deeds.
In February 2015, a one-year-old baby was brutally mutilated and killed due to his albinism. The previous month, 200 enraged villagers, armed with axes, machetes, and knives, stormed the home of accused witch Jane Faidha Bakari. They brutally murdered the 58-year-old in front of her family before setting their house ablaze.
In 2014 alone, more than 1,000 women were lynched, stoned, or brutally murdered by terrified neighbors-turned-vigilantes. Sadly, human rights organizations in Tanzania fear that the number of such killings will continue to rise, as the government, which outlawed witchcraft in January 2015, depends too heavily on the courts to determine if the victims were indeed witches.
1. Scapegoats
In Papua New Guinea, in 2008, a pregnant woman accused of sorcery was dragged from her home by villagers who blamed her for the sudden death of a neighbor. She was hanged from a tree, struggling fiercely for hours in an attempt to free herself. The immense trauma caused her to go into labor.
Thankfully, she and her newborn survived the horrific ordeal. Yet, 50 other wrongly accused individuals met the same brutal fate on the South Pacific island that same year. With traditional beliefs still deeply entrenched in many parts of the country, tribesmen frequently blame innocent people for inexplicable deaths, which are more likely the result of medical ignorance.
In 2009, a young woman in her late teens was dragged by an angry mob to a remote location, where she was stripped, bound by her hands and feet, tied to a log, and burned alive atop a pile of tires. Her charred remains were discovered only when the overwhelming scent of her burned flesh drifted through the night, alerting nearby residents.
The United Nations reports that around 90 percent of HIV cases in the Pacific region are concentrated in Papua New Guinea, leading many villagers to attribute the epidemic to witchcraft.
