Graverobbed 2-Year-Old's Body Possibly Used in Ritual
Dug up from Stamford, body reappeared in New Jersey
Thursday, Jul 9, 2009 | Updated 11:27 AM EDT
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The body of a young child buried in a Stamford cemetery in 2007 has been stolen.
The case of the exhumed body of a 2-year-old girl just got a little more bizarre.
Boaters discovered the girl's body in a plastic bag in the Passaic River in Clifton, N.J., Sunday, and now police back in Stamford say this may have been "a ritualistic sort of thing".
Capt. Richard Conklin wouldn't go into further details because of the ongoing investigation, but he cited evidence found at the scene and from cops in New Jersey. It could be an off-shoot of Santeria or Palo Mayombe, according to sources.
Here's where it gets a little more bizarre.
The girl has been identified as Imani Joyner. She died in April 2007 and was buried - everyone thought - in a Stamford cemetery in 2007. Her brain never fully developed and she wasn't expected to live. Most children with semilobar holoprosencephaly die around the time of birth. She lived for more than two years and was therefore dubbed a "miracle baby".
Some may have considered the "miracle baby" had magical powers.
The girl's body was discovered more than 50 miles away this week, by two men fishing in the Passaic River. That led Stamford authorities to exhume the grave and found an empty coffin.
The body may have been removed a while ago, since the dirt did not appear disturbed, according to newspaper reports.
All this has us wondering what's going on in that part of Connecticut. Police in Bridgeport have discovered skulls in recent months that may have also been used in rituals. Let's all just try and keep our heads about ourselves.
