Senior policeman Inspector Chris Strickland made a second public announcement to the BBC today (Tues) confirming unsettling theories about the sickening killing.

Insp Strickland said his detectives are seriously considering the poor horse was ritually sacrificed.

But, in an aside unlikely to comfort the hundreds of worried equestrians traumatised by the attack on Erik, and other similar deaths, he added it “could just be a nutcase”.

Erik, who was two and a half and the favourite horse of Stithians family the Jewells, had his teeth knocked out, his genitals completely removed and lost an eye.

The stomach-churning attack happened over the full moon of January 8th to 9th.

The preceding day is the apocryphal ‘Satanic Holiday’ of January 7th – a date on which respected horse breeder Rosemary Penn says she lost a gelding – in the exact same way.

And in Holsworthy, North Devon this month the Ingram family lost their stallion horse Sammy: found mutilated over the eve of Friday 13th,

Police and the RSPCA dismissed those two cases as natural causes – but are pulling no punches over the sinister death of Erik.

Detectives have found out the animal was drugged, that he fought back.

They suspect a gang of people mutilated him.

Other than that – the shocking killing remains a mystery.

All hopes are now pinned on forensics, and the result of a ‘toxicology test’, which should find out what Erik was put down with.

Investigating officer Insp Strickland told the BBC : “We are taking the investigation very seriously.

“It would be great to catch whoever did this.”

But he added: “We are no further forward.

“We’ve followed up almost all lines of inquiry and have drawn a blank.

The officer explained that while he was put down by ‘more than one person’ Erik “did struggle at some point.

He said: “Whether it was before or after they sedated him, we do not know.”

And he revealed: “I’ve had more calls from the public about this case than any other in my 24 years as a policeman.

“So I know how concerned people are about this case. For anyone to attack an animal like this is quite shocking.”

The force are now openly advising horse owners to lock down their animals.

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But police are keen to placate the public and have today (Fri) confirmed the colt died of natural causes.

The black Welsh Colt, called Sammy, was found dead in his field in Holsworthy, North Devon.

It’s thought he was attacked by other animals after dying of natural causes – a common official explanation given when gruesome injuries are found on a horse.

The RSPCA carried out a full investigation after police officers suspected there might be an issue of neglect.

But that’s finished now and there is no suggestion the horse was maltreated in any way by its owner, local breeder Tanya Ingram.

The ‘third sacrifice’ theory made it on to the pages of posh Horse and Hound magazine and has been doing pirouettes around cyberspace ever since.

The wild rumour seems to have morphed out of a real police inquiry into whether the death of Erik the Stallion in Stithians last weekend may have been the work of twisted followers of the occult.

A force spokesman said: “It is true that we are pursuing ritual killing as one of many lines of enquiry into the horse death in Stithians last weekend.

“But there is no suspicion that the death of this horse in Holsworthy is linked.”

The online rumour-mongering – or ‘trolling’ – will only worsen the ordeal of grief-stricken Cornish horse owner Dawn Jewell.

Twenty-seven year old Dawn and her family are this week dealing with the ‘strong’ possibility her favourite horse was killed in some kind of ritual sacrifice.

Dawn’s Stallion Erik suffered sickening injuries overnight last Sunday 8th: his genitals were excised, teeth knocked out and an eye cut out.

The killing came on a full moon, and a day after January 7th – a ‘male animal’ sacrifice date in apocryphal but popular online ‘Satanic Calendars’.

Insp Chris Strickland confirmed that the ritual sacrifice of Erik was a “strong possibility”.

Last week horse breeder Rosemary Penn, from Bodmin, claimed her Shetland Gelding Douglas was killed in a similar way, on January 7th 2007.

Rosemary is categorical Douglas’s genitals were pulled out with a billhook, and has puzzled ever since how anyone got near the shy pony.

The incident was dismissed at the time but police have contacted the 55 year old horse breeder again and are looking into the case.

A force source told the News: “The general, overwhelming feeling is that we must just catch whoever carried out the sickening attack on Erik.

“We have to look into every possibility, whether it be a personal attack, or the act of a dangerous individual, in the guise of a sacrifice, or any other.

“We have to get them off the streets. We believe the public share that goal, and people have been tremendously responsive.

“We have to be completely open minded, but it’s important not to get carried away, or hysterical.”

Did you know?

‘Horse-Ripping’ is a recognised crime, often associated with Black Magick.

So remember – anything’s possible, truth is stranger than fiction: but hysteria can seriously damage your health and the health of your community.

Can you help the police track down whoever killed Dawn’s horse?

Call them on 101. It only costs 15p.

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Police are probing the ‘strong possibility’ that the shocking mutilation of a horse over the weekend was a ritual sacrifice to the Devil

Dawn Jewell’s two-year-old Stallion Erik was horrifically butchered by a ‘psychopath’ who cut out the animals genitalia this Sunday night.

The stomach-churning butchery happened at the height of a full moon, and the day after Satanic Holiday ‘St Winebalds Day’, which fell on Saturday 7th.

Today a second horse owner, Rosemary Penn, from Bodmin, told how she lost a gelding in the exact same bizarre and cruel fashion, also on January 7th.

Although apocryphal in origin, Satanists have adopted ‘St Winebalds Day’ as an occasion of ‘blood rituals, dismemberment, animal or human sacrifice’.

It features in a number of ‘Satanic Calendars’, and cops are considering the theory a group of sadists chose the occasion, together with that of the full moon, to strike.

Insp Chris Strickland acknowledged genuine fear amongst animal lovers and the rural community.

The idea that a lone ‘psychopath’, or a group of cultists, are at large is being fuelled by the mysterious way in which the animals were apparently approached.

Both horses were either too large or too nervous for one man to ‘bring down’ alone.

And both owners are mystified as to how anyone managed to get near them, let alone kill them.

If a lunatic is following the so-called ‘Satanic Calendar’ – the next apparent event listed for January is a kidnapping, followed by human sacrifice.

January 20th – 26th is described as: “Sacrifice preparation: kidnapping, holding and ceremonial preparation of person for human sacrifice.”

The 26th itself is weirdly entitled: ‘The Da Muer ritual’ and billed as: “Grand climax. Sex rituals and human sacrifice of woman/child.”

Today a senior police officer acknowledged the fear in the local community that the killer or killers may strike again.

Insp Chris Strickland told the BBC : “If they able to do that to a horse, what else are they capable of doing?

“There’s a rural community out there who are going to be very worried and frightened by what’s happened.”

Insp Strickland believes a Satanic sacrifice is a “strong possibility”, although officers are looking into all the possible motives.

The first victim of the chilling killings told the News ‘no-one believed her’ when she pointed out her pony’s genitals had been removed ‘as if by a billet hook’.

Fifty-five year old horse breeder Rosemary told the News this evening: “I always thought it was a kind of ritual killing, and it wouldn’t have been possible for one man to carry it out.

“My pony Douglas had his genitalia completely removed and an eye gauged out: no-one thought it was anything other than wild animals at the time.

“A couple of people did say there were people with cult beliefs who might have sacrficed the animal.

“But who’s going to believe you when you talk about cults?”

Rosemary went on: “The way in which my Shetland gelding was killed was a deliberate killing by humans and it was a sacrifice.

“People swept it under the carpet: locals said you were getting over-excited.

“But I believe a billet-hook was used.

“To this day I don’t know how they got him: there’s no way anyone could have caught my Shetland single-handedly: he was a rescue, and if he panicked, he was like a wild Ram.

“No-one believed me at the time and I didn’t want people to think what they may have done, that I was just a soppy woman.

“But I believe I know what happened now and as an animal lover and a human being I’m very scared whilst whoever is doing this is at large.

“It’s one step away from a human sacrifice.”

Erik, the horse killed over the weekend, was a large and powerful stallion, unlike Douglas, Rosemary’s Shetland pony.

The killer ‘took his time’ to scoop out one of the horse’s eyes, slit his stomach and remove his penis and scrotum completely.

The unfortunate animal was most likely tortured and killed overnight of Sunday January 8th.

Erik’s owner Dawn discovered her ‘favourite’ Stallion dead on Monday 9th: she last saw him alive the previous day.

The 27 year mother of three runs Tretheaghue Stud in Stithians, West Cornwall with her farmer husband Clive.

The couple have three children, two young girls and a baby boy, all of whom knew Erik as a family pet.

A Mare and Foal were in the field in which Erik was killed, and the female foal, named Bella, is thought to be Erik’s offspring.

Dawn’s close friend Bobbie Pointer said: “I think it’s very strange what they’ve done to him.

“He was loose in the field. He was running with a mare and a foal. So it’s difficult to see how they got him down.
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“They’ve cut into him to take his reproductive organs. Whoever’s done it, they’ve taken time to do it.

“They’ve knocked his teeth out, and even a very strong man couldn’t knock a horse like that’s teeth out.

“He was dead when Dawn found him: but there are no drag marks in the field.

“So I would say they restrained him, and then set about the business of doing what they did.

“They cut his eye out. They’ve gone to castrate him, they’ve gone to the front of his stomach.

“Then they’ve cut it down and cut it across and they’ve taken the whole of his genitalia out: his penis, scrotum, everything, it’s all gone.

“If it was somebody that was doing this in a hurry – his belly muscles would be cut – but it’s was like he was lain there, and they took their time.

“It doesn’t bear thinking on.”

Bobbie, who’s a close neighbour of the Jewells and a local taxi-cab controller went on: “Dawn rang me in the morning.

“She was beside herself: she said ‘Bobbie – Bobbie: Erik’s dead.”

“I went to check my horses were okay then went out to her.

“Erik was lain down in the field and there was blood frothing from his nose. When the vet was called she realised he had been mutilated.

“The Mare was really distraught: she’s been put in with some other horses and she’s settled down.

“She was sweated up, she’d been racing round, she didn’t know what to do: horses are very funny when they smell blood so she panicked.

“Dawn is angry today – yesterday she was beside herself. Whoever’s done this is a psychopath.

“The police will want to catch this person because they’ll be worried he;’ll do this to a human.

“A squad of men and dogs came down from Plymouth to do a fan search to see is they could find a needle or syringe.

“It’s just so horrific.”

The Jewells young children, thought to be aged eight, six and three, and two elder girls and boy, are being shielded from the horror of what happened.

Bobbie explained: “It was the happiest day of Dawn’s life when she got Erik: Erik was like her favourite child.

“Dawn always wanted a Fresian stallion. When she got him he was only five months old.

“Erik was such a lovely boy – he loved people.

“The children all know Erik because they were brought up around horses.

“He was so good natured, the kids could play around him.”

“The children still don’t fully understand what’s happened.

Sgt Gary Watts of Devon and Cornwall police said: “This was an awful attack.

“Between 1600 hours on Sunday 8th January and midday today, Monday 9th January, a stallion was attacked, mutilated and killed in a field in the Stithians area.

“During the attack the stallion had its genitalia cut off, its eye cut out and teeth removed.

“A mare and foal were left in the field unharmed.”

Sgt Watts explained: “Police and the RSPCA are carrying out enquiries in the area.

The results of a post mortem are not yet known but it’s thought the horse must have been sedated for the killer or killers to mutilate him.

Dozens of police with sniffer dogs were scouring the field in which the animal died as a massive man-hunt got underway.

A Devon horse lover has offered a £2,000 reward to catch the killer.

Graham Rickard told the BBC : “It’s a poor defenceless animal and it’s a sick crime. I hope they get caught.”

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The sicko struck some time between Sunday and today, when the wretched animal was found dead.

The Stallion was defenceless in his field in Stithians, not far from a Mare and Foal.

The animals owner was distraught ‘beyond belief’, a police source said.

Sgt Gary Watts of Falmouth police told the News via the social networks: “This was an awful attack.

“It happened in in Stithians near Falmouth.

“Between 1600 hours on Sunday 8th January and midday today, Monday 9th January, a stallion was attacked, mutilated and killed in a field in the Stithians area.

“During the attack the stallion had its genitalia cut off, its eye cut out and teeth removed.

“A mare and foal were left in the field unharmed.”

Sgt Watts explained: “Police and the RSPCA are carrying out enquiries in the area.

Help bring this sicko to justice. If there’s anything you think you can tell the police to help track them down phone 101 quoting reference GP/12/66.”

You can email the News anonymously too and we’ll pass on any credible information to the police.

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