Copyright 1993, The Commercial Appeal
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis)
June 13, 1993, Sunday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS, Pg. A1
LENGTH: 1358 words
HEADLINE: CULT EXPERTS GAVE WARNING IN 1992
BYLINE: Marc Perrusquia; The Commercial Appeal
BODY:
Experts warned Crittenden County officials last year about a rising interest in the occult among young people, and one consultant said he found evidence of a self-styled satanic cult there.
Consultant Steve Nawojczyk said he discovered some disturbing things last year when Crittenden County officials sought his help investigating reports of animal sacrifice and satanic ritual.
Nawojczyk said he found a room in an abandoned West Memphis school that revealed evidence of bonfires and detailed artwork used in satanic rituals. The old Dabbs School later burned down last December in a fire that investigators say was suspicious.
''It was pretty eerie,'' said Nawojczyk, a Little Rock-based expert on gangs, cults and other non-traditional groups. ''It's a bizarre subculture.'' Rumors and accusations about occult activity have run rampant in the West Memphis area since three teenagers were arrested June 3 for the murders of three 8-year-old boys. One of the accused teens told police one of the boys was sexually mutilated and another was raped. He said cultic rituals in the past three months included eating dogs and participating in sex orgies.
Charged with the murders are Michael Wayne 'Damien' Echols, 18; Jessie Lloyd Misskelley Jr., 17; and Charles Jason Baldwin, 16. Several acquaintances say Echols customarily wore black and told them he killed cats and worshiped the devil.
Police have declined to discuss details of the case, further stirring speculation.
But experts who were consulted last year said they were disturbed by signs of serious involvement in the occult among teens around West Memphis.
''It seemed to me there was a significant problem to be looked into,'' said Dr. Paul King, a Memphis psychiatrist and author of a book called Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll: Dealing with Today's Troubled Youth.
Jerry Driver, chief juvenile officer for Crittenden County, said he asked for help from King and Nawojczyk after seeing a marked increase in satanic- related graffiti and reports of animal sacrifice about a year ago. Driver said he visited at least five sites in the county where he found graffiti and animal carcasses.
Driver said his investigation was touched off by ''incidents that brought some official action,'' but said he could not discuss specifics because of the pending case against the three teens. A plan was executed to curb satanic activities, but Driver said he could not comment on that either.
Nawojczyk said he found evidence that pointed beyond mere dabblers in the occult. The sophistication of graffiti and evidence of ritual meetings at some sites indicated a group of satanists Nawojczyk described as ''self-stylist.''
While many people dismiss reports of satanism as urban myth, Nawojczyk said he has helped identify several incidents nationwide of self-styled teen satanists. The youths often start by dabbling in the occult but later find themselves deeply involved in small, cultic groups with dangerous propensities, he said.
Researchers have difficulty documenting so-called ''generational'' satanism in which rituals and abuse allegedly are passed from parents to children. But several cases of self-styled satanism have been documented, said Nawojczyk, the head of N.I.S. Inc., a Little Rock consulting firm that advises police and schoolteachers nationwide.
Self-styled satanist groups tend to have about five to seven members, usually troubled youths searching for an identity, Nawojczyk said. Often, there is an older charismatic leader who the members believe has access to Satan, he said.
The youths generally are attracted to the group by sex, drugs and power they believe satanism gives them. Danger may come when a few hard-core believers get in too deep, especially under the manipulation of a seemingly omnipotent leader.
''The leader is a very powerful person'' who often practices mind control, he said. ''It's amazing to me how much power these people get over other people. David Koresh is a perfect example.
''The (followers) get into this fantasy role-playing stuff, and they can't turn the fantasy off,'' Nawojczyk said.
Murder among such groups is rare, but not without precedent. A 31-year-old man and two teenagers were convicted last year in Lonoke, Ark., for the ritualistic knife slaying of a 14-year-old girl in a cemetery there.
Such incidents are infrequent, but murder can be a natural progression for self-stylist satanists who start killing cats and dogs and work their way up to horses and cows, Nawojczyk said.
The groups are called self-stylist because they form their own brand of satanism by blending diverse practices and beliefs picked up from books, movies and music. Because they basically are kids without means, self-stylists become ''satanists of opportunity,'' sacrificing small animals because they're readily available and holding ritual meetings where an icy cup may substitute for a silver goblet.
At such meetings, self-stylists often sacrifice cats or dogs, burn fires, drink blood, take drugs and cap off the service by having sex, Nawojczyk said.
Nawojczyk said he found a few sites in Crittenden County that appeared to be ritual meeting places, including the Dabbs School. One room in the school included a pentagram surrounded by upside-down crosses and other symbols, with evidence of fires on the cement floor.
The abandoned school at 1416 S. Avalon burned down Dec. 26. Fire inspector James Norris said the fire was arson-related, but said he received a tip that the blaze wasn't intentional. Rather, it was started by juveniles who let their fire ''get out of hand,'' he said. Norris said he didn't receive any tips the fire was connected to satanism.
Other sites included a farmhouse that has since been destroyed and the skeleton foundation of an old cotton gin east of Marion, Ark., known to local youths as Stonehenge.
Other signs alarmed officials. Crittenden County librarian Nelda Antonetti said she was alarmed by a sharp increase a few years back in students checking out books on satanism, the occult and magic. One book inspected recently by a reporter had a dog-eared page that listed human fat in a recipe for a potion enabling witches to fly and also mentioned the heart of an unbaptized baby as a delicacy following a black mass.
A reporter sifting through trash discarded last week from the trailer where Echols lived in Lake Shore Estates mobile home park found more literature. Among the rubbish was an underground publication of a California-based organization called the Secret Order of the Undead.
The publication included artwork of a winged demon sexually molesting a woman and a list of songs to ''accompany any ritualistic murder or heavy pornographic act.'' The bound, 40-page booklet also included fiction, poems and other articles about murder, vampires and other dark themes as well as a description of how to make a homemade land mine out of shotgun shells, nails and other ingredients.
King said Echols's reading habits will be important in determining the nature of his thinking and possible cult activities. Self-styled satanists generally learn a philosophy of the ''power of evil over good'' from books they read and music they listen to, King said.
People who knew Echols said he dressed in black, called himself 'Damien,' and carried a cat's skull and at times a spell book with him.
King said such signs are common among teens who are delving deeper into satanism.
''They're identifiable because they flaunt their evil,'' King said. ''They often have pseudonyms, like 'Damien.' ''
King said his advice to school and juvenile officials is that they identify youths involved in satanic culture and help them get professional help.
Echols's rocky childhood also may have made him vulnerable. Court records show his mother was divorced twice by the time Echols turned 17.
''He's always been to himself,'' said Lakeshore resident Bonnie Hale, 18, who recalls Echols often sat under a tree by himself while waiting for the school bus.
''You can tell the difference between a sad kid and a happy kid, and he was sad.''
