© San Benito News/Michael Rodriguez and Francisco E. JimenezA statue of the Santa Muerte is pictured at the San Benito Municipal Cemetery on Thursday, when two local women expressed concern that the folk figure’s image was “disrespectful” to the memory of those buried on the grounds.
A menacing statue mysteriously appeared in a Texas cemetery last week, and an occult expert believes it's linked to witchcraft intended to do deadly harm.
The 3 foot tall statue depicting Death perched atop a pile of skulls was discovered by two San Benito women on Thursday, who brought the statue to the attention of cemetery officials. The women believed the porcelain figure to be disrespectful to the family plots located nearby.
"I noticed the statue on Monday (January 14) when I came to visit my mom's grave," 61-year-old "Samantha" told the
San Benito News. "First of all, a statue like this shouldn't be placed at a city cemetery.
Whoever it belongs to should have a little more respect for our loved ones and the other people who are buried here. I don't have anything against people who worship that statue, just not here at our city cemetery. It is disrespectful to our loved ones."
Samantha's friend wasn't as shaken by the find, claiming that she's "into a lot of prayer" and has already been in contact with the city officials about the statue's presence. The local police told her that it was out of their juridiction and wouldn't remove it.
Dr. Antonio N. Zavaleta, Vice President for External Affairs at the University of Texas at Brownsville is a world renowned occult expert who believes that the figure is part of a ritual intended to cause harm to one of the families who's relatives are buried in the nearby graves.
"Someone, a man or woman, is doing witchcraft for pay," Zavaleta said. "Somebody has paid the witch; they don't do it for free and it (witchcraft) could easily go for a couple thousand dollars. So it definitely needs to be removed. The city should remove it, and that should be the end of it."