Woman Killed in Bizarre Voodoo Ritual
By STEPHANIE BARISH wpix.com

5:34 p.m. EDT, July 13, 2009
GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, N.J. (WPIX)—
Authorities are trying to figure out how an Arkansas woman died in a voodoo cleansing ritual that took place at a southern New Jersey townhouse over the weekend.

According to a spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, the death of Lucille Hamilton, 21, of Little Rock, a biological male who lived as a transgender woman, has not been deemed as suspicious and no charges have been filed.

Hamilton, who had taken part in a voodoo cleaning ritual, was reportedly found unresponsive inside a Gloucester Township home early Sunday after someone inside the residence alerted authorities. There were about seven other people inside the townhouse at the time, where neighbors say rituals like the one Hamilton was involved in, are performed on a regular basis each weekend.

Authorities said Hamilton was pronounced dead at the scene.

The 21-year-old's death is just the latest in a string of incidents linked to voodoo and religious rituals that have recently occurred in the tri-state area.

Last week, three people were arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child after allegedly cutting a girl and making her watch animal sacrifices. The three suspects - which included the girl's mother and two other individuals - were taken into custody following the execution of a search warrant at a home in Paterson, New Jersey.

The bodies of two mutilated animals were discovered in a park in Ford Wadsworth, New York, on July 2. Many have linked the incident to the religious traditions of Santeria, which involves a variety of practices including animal sacrifice.

On June 18, a mother and grandmother in Queens were arrested after allegedly setting a little girl on fire in a bizarre voodoo ritual. The victim suffered second and third-degree burns covering 25% of her body, including her face torso and legs.