Everything regarding Wicca in the FB group seems to be deleted now. I'm the person who presented herself as knowledgeable in that field. However, I am most certainly NOT a friend of JC's family, whose behavior online I think is really egregious, and I have no idea what the Wicca connection is to this case or anyone connected to it.
My credentials, if you need them: I have a degree in Religion from Miami University and have studied Wicca/Paganism/Druidism extensively. For 20+ years I've spoken to churches, schools, law enforcement - in person, on television, in print, and on the radio (I was the special guest at Halloween for 5 years running on Mike McConnell's radio show in the 90s) - regarding Wicca/Paganism and the misconceptions about it. I also owned a metaphysical store in town for 7 years, until I got cancer at age 38 and had to close it down.
The FB poster who claims to be a detective said that once he heard there were "Wicca peeps" in the "circle" he began to trust no one but his "team" and added, "WTF." I challenged this, asking what he meant exactly, and saying if he were law enforcement he'd know better - because Wicca etc. is an old story for decades now, and LE knows all about it. I pointed out to him that a member of the Pagan community in Cincinnati who is also a psychic led police to finding a missing person in 2002 (Lon Dowdle). I said please let me know if you have any questions. He didn't respond.
For the record, there is no connection between Wicca and Satanism (two very different things), or between Wicca and occult crime. It's simply not part of the theology or the practices of that religion or of the larger group of Neo-Pagan religions of which Wicca is a part. These religions honor Nature and the gods and goddesses from the ancient world, and it's an extremely positive religion, based on joy and a sense of connection to the planet. There is no Satan, no evil figure in Paganism at all, thus no need for any rituals regarding such a figure.
I've attended literally hundreds of Pagan festivals all across the country for two decades, some of which I organized myself; I've given workshops and talks, created and conducted large group rituals, etc. etc. The only thing criminal that I've EVER, EVER witnessed amongst Pagans is the occasional enjoyment (which I don't share myself; I prefer scotch, haha) of a certain plant which can be imbibed in smoke form. And goodness knows that activity is absolutely widespread in mainstream culture as well!
No one can control what messed-up individuals call themselves religiously. But I've been at more than one Pagan festival where creepy men were bodily
thrown out and banned for just being over-persistent towards women who'd said they weren't interested. In one case, the festival organizers called the cops. Pagans/Wiccans absolutely do NOT tolerate any such behavior, nor violence in any form. Many of them won't even eat meat! So hints of "sacrifice" etc. are ludicrous.
And for what it's worth, law enforcement - including a U.S. Marshall and Vietnam vet - play a very prominent role at once of the larger festivals I've been to, and they're honored every year in a big public ritual by the grateful community.
In short, Wiccans/Pagans are NOT a violence- or crime-oriented bunch, I assure you. Please let me know if you have any questions; I've heard it all before and nothing will offend me.
P.S. Also for the record, I am a skeptic and a big fan of science and provable results, so I don't believe in astrology, magick, most psychics, etc. I have been laughing a little (affectionately) at the "I see country roads, cornfields, rivers, water towers, old pickup trucks" - that sounds like something called "Ohio" to me.
This is not to say, however, that I completely dismiss the idea that some people can see what others cannot. I think that's sometimes possible, even if usually bogus. My friend "saw" where the missing man's body could be found in 2002, and she was right. She got the $10k reward offered by his family, too, because a judge established she deserved it.
