8 People Arrested in Ritual Sacrifice of Two Boys in Mexico

Prosecutors in the Mexican border state of Sonora say eight people have been arrested for allegedly killing two 10-year-old boys and a 55-year-old woman in a ritual sacrifice to the cult of La Santa Muerte, or Saint Death.

State prosecutors spokesman Jose Larrinaga says the victims’ blood was poured around an altar to the saint, depicted as a skeleton holding a scythe and clothed in flowing robes.

The cult is popular among drug traffickers and criminals.

Larrinaga said Friday that some of the killers appear to relatives of the victims, but he did not specify the relationship.

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