More mutilated animals have been found in Riverhead in what officials believe is a series of ritualistic killings on Long Island.
Three chickens that had been beheaded and partially plucked were found in plastic bags on the railroad tracks near Hubbard Avenue, officials from the Suffolk County SPCA said. Just last month, beheaded animals were found among fruits and vegetables in the Otis Pike Preserve in Riverhead. Before that, the SPCA said they found several dead roosters hanging from trees at an intersection in Islip.
All three cases of animal slaughter had the hallmarks of ritualistic killing or sacrifice, officials said.
"Unjustifiably slaughtering an animal is a crime and this will not be tolerated," Chief Roy Gross of the Suffolk County SPCA said. "This has been happening too often and is not the kind of thing we want our children to find."
The SPCA says it is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect.
Anyone with information about the killings is asked to call the SPCA at 631-382-7722.
