Since my entry yesterday praising local coverage of a bizarre “witchcraft” double-slaying, more interviews and details have surfaced. Local news channel KTIV (an NBC affiliate) interviews a professor of religion and a local Wiccan priest about the slaying.

“Dr. Bruce Forbes, Morningside College Religion Professor, ‘Satanism and witchcraft, they kind of come together but there’s no relation and in fact anyone I know involved in witchcraft at all thinks it’s a joke.’ Rev. Jeva Singh-Anand, Wiccan ‘A lot of satanists reject these practices… They reject the actual hurting of people.’ … Jeva Singh-Anand, ‘Being part of a spell that had gone wrong, it doesn’t make sense, I don’t know what the man’s religion was, if it turns out he was a Wiccan, then I would say, as as Wiccan, throw the book at him.’ Singh-Anand, ‘He’s casting a spell and something goes wrong, he ends up killing those kids, I think that’s just an excuse.’”

Meanwhile, KMEG (a CBS affiliate), interviews another local Wiccan for some insight into Witchcraft, and the ethical philosophies of Wicca.

“The story of Kendra and Alysha touches the heart of the Wiccan community. They’re saddened by the tragedy and the suspect’s suggestion that the girls were killed by witch craft. It’s a practice that’s often negatively linked to the practice of Wicca … [Dana Peterson] explains the difference between Wiccan practice and the suspect’s account of the murders. ‘It’s a form of ceremonial magic,’ said Peterson. ‘We collect in a circle and use our energy for the best common good. People pray for peace. We cast spells for peace.’”

KMEG obviously hasn’t heard the classic maxim of “all Wiccans are Witches, but not all witches are Wiccans”, but still, the coverage has thus far avoided sensationalizing the “witchcraft” dimension of this case. They even mention that the local Pagan community is putting a collection together for the family. Next we turn back to the Sioux City Journal (whom I praised yesterday), who interviews the pastor of a local evangelical “mega-church” about the girls (who briefly attended a youth outreach group).

“Two young sisters who were murdered during a ritual slaying Sunday knew more about witchcraft then they should have for their age, a local pastor said. Pastor Cary Gordon of Cornerstone World Outreach said Kendra Suing, 10, and Alysha Suing, 8, bombarded a bus driver for the church with questions after a summer lesson about the sinfulness of practicing witchcraft … ‘Our bus captain got the creepy feeling that they obviously had a lot of weird stuff going on in their house.’ After the lesson on witchcraft, Gordon said the Suing girls didn’t attend another session of the program until the last one of the year in November. ‘They had a real earful on why witchcraft is wrong that day, and then they got back home and then they went missing for a long time after that,’ he said. ‘We wondered if the kids didn’t go home and say, ‘Dad, the church says what you’re doing is wrong,’ and dad says, ‘Well, you’re not going back.’ That’s our speculation.’”

This article gets pretty close, through spotlighting the Pastor, to directly implying the step-father regularly practiced some sort of witchcraft. But there is still no proof that this man’s “magical” activities were stemming from an interest (ongoing or recent) in some sort of Paganism (or other magic-practicing faith or tradition), or if it was simply the actions of a quickly deteriorating mind. Saying that he was casting a spell, and that “the spell could have had severe consequences”, consequences that apparently included the death of his step-daughters, doesn’t seem to portray a man in touch with sanity.

There are still far too many variables and unknown details to get a clear picture. The mother hasn’t made a statement about her husband’s activities or beliefs, no autopsy information has been released, and we have no background information on Lawrence Douglas Harris (history of mental illness, any tangible affiliations with any Pagan or occult group, etc). Until more information comes along, this story will be stalled at guess-work and interviews with community members and experts.

ADDENDUM: Mother Marla Harris says that her husband is/was a Pagan:

“The mother of two girls who were killed allegedly at the hands of their stepfather said he described himself as a pagan and practiced spells to keep those around him healthy and happy” … She said Lawrence Harris told her about his religious beliefs, but that she told him to “keep it out of the house.” “What he was doing is against my religion,” Marla Harris said. “I told him, ‘You take it elsewhere.’” She said that her husband did not introduce her to anyone else who shared his beliefs and that he kept his religion to himself.

He is also writing to Satanists:

“She knew about a spell book he kept in their bedroom, but she said he kept it on a high shelf, out of reach of the children. She said that one day she noticed an addition of a Church of Satan listing in a shared e-mail address book. “I asked him about it, and he said he was just writing back and forth with them,” she said.”

Now that the mother claims her husband is a Pagan, and that he has had contact with Satanists, will that change the reporting in the mainstream press? We can certainly expect the right-wing fringe to start harping on the dangers of Paganism any time now.

Tags: journalism, Paganism, Sioux City Journal, Wicca, Witchcraft