The Dead Priest of Sedona

by Charles Williamson

  “I was shocked on Monday when I learned that Sean Murphy was murdered Halloween night. I didn’t even know he was in the area. I’d met Professor Murphy at several history conferences. Father Sean was one of the best-known experts in our field. I even used one of his books in a graduate class I teach.”

  It looked like we’d come to the right man. The professor said, “I don’t understand why he never contacted me while he was down in Sedona. He would have made a great guest lecturer for NAU. His death was a real loss to history scholarship.”

  “He was my parish priest,” I said. “I want the men who murdered him.”

  The professor had an explanation for the murders. “It appears that some serial murderer is faking an ancient Druid pattern in these crimes. By your expressions, I can see that you’re not ready to accept my interpretation, gentlemen. I need to start by explaining the difference between true Druids of pre-Christian Europe and modern pseudo Druids.” I began to take notes like a college student at class.

  “I don’t want to bore you with a two-hour history lecture, so I’ll try to keep it short, but you are welcome to as much of my time as you need. My specialty is Ancient European History, but the story really begins in the pre-history of Europe and the Middle East, and the earliest cultures of the Indus Valley. What we know of these cultures is not from their own written history because these were pre-literate cultures. Our information comes from their oral myths and the written accounts of other later civilizations. Much of this is just conjecture based on the scant archeological evidence. We know much less about these cultures than literate ones like the Greeks and Egyptians.” I was hoping he’d get to the Druid sacrifices soon. I lost focus and glanced out of the window. I forced myself to pay attention. There was something numbing about Doctor Stones voice.

  “We find several common elements in the ancient religious practices of cultures covering the broad territory from present India through Europe and the British Isles,” Professor Stone said in a nasal pedantic tone. His voice would get really annoying if I had needed to listen for a full semester. Chad shifted in is chair restlessly.

  “One common element of these very early civilizations was the veneration of the Great Mother. Many different names were used for this deity, but the essence of her veneration came down through more than three thousand years in what we call Mother Nature. To these prehistoric cultures, nature was sacred and venerated as a deity. They often had many gods, but these were aspects of a principal deity who controlled the natural world. These religions often valued sacred places: springs, groves of trees, waterfalls, and stone circles. Stonehenge is an example of the type of religious site built by these pre-literate cultures, but there are hundreds of similar locations used by religious people from these early cultures.”

  “Father Sean was killed in a circular grove of trees. Did Druids do something like that?” Chad said. He sounded just as impatient as I felt.

  “A second common element was the sacrifice. Many ancient cultures offered sacrifices to placate or influence their deity. Bulls and other domestic animals were a common sacrifice. However, the archaeological evidence also provides proof that humans were sometimes sacrificed in almost every one of these prehistoric cultures. In most cases they were probably criminals or war captives, but archaeologists have also found young girls, elderly women, babies, and people with physical deformities who have been killed in what appears to be a religious ceremony. Some methods were quick, but often the methods were terrible and cruel” I wrote down terrible and cruel and war captives.

  “The third common element is the sacred order of priests or priestesses. Usually these priests were the keepers of much of the culture and lore of pre-literate civilizations. Their duties involved interacting with the deities, judging disputes, and memorizing sacred information to pass along oral histories. The term Druid is actually a name used for the Celtic version of these priests, but almost all pre-literate civilization had someone in a similar position. These priests provided these civilizations with roles that in our modern culture are filled by historians, religious authorities, judges, strategists, astronomers, meteorologists, and bureaucrats. The priest maintained the natural cycle through seasonal religious festivals and ceremonies. They kept the world in proper order for these ancient cultures. Any questions so far, gentlemen?”

  “Professor Stone, up at Pagan Point, we have a sacred grove of trees, probably planted more than fifty years ago in a perfect circle. We have a hell of a lot of sacrifices. How do we find the evil bastards who think they’re pagan priests?” I said.

  Professor Stone smiled broadly, “If I knew that, we could skip the lectures. I’m sorry but the punch line of this lecture is that there are no pagan Druid priests anymore. There haven’t been any for about twelve centuries. The Celts were defeated and conquered by Gaius Julius Caesar in the first century BC. In his Commentaries on the Gallic War, Caesar provides the best account of the Celtic culture and our most detailed description of the Druids. In the following two hundred years, the Romans ruthlessly destroyed the Celtic religion.”

  The lecture reminded why history was not my favorite subject. I wrote down Caesar and no Druids anymore. Chad was cracking his knuckles , and his eyes seemed focused on the view through the window. I reached over and showed him my notebook as if conferring. I wanted him to listen so we could compare notes later.

  “No one today knows why the early Roman Empire felt it was so important to completely destroy the Celtic Druids. It may be that human sacrifice was an issue. In most other cultures the Romans let the conquered people retain their religious practices and leaders. They normally only required that the conquered accept the primacy of the emperor. By the Christian period of the Roman Empire, the Druids were already gone from all the areas controlled by Rome. By 250 AD, they existed only in areas outside of the Empire, east of the Danube, north of Hadrian’s Wall in England, in Wales, and in Ireland. The Druids were displaced from these regions as Christianity spread to them in the following centuries. After about 800 AD, I’m sure they existed only in myths like that of Merlin at King Arthur’s court.”

  “Dr. Stone, we have heard that there are modern Druids who were organized in 1717 in England. Can you tell us about them?” Chad said.

  “Chad, you’re correct,” the professor said in a tone of surprise that the former jock could ask an intelligent question. “There is a sort of modern Druid group, or series of groups. These have no more real connection to the historic Celtic Druids than the members of a Masonic Lodge have to the masons who built the pyramids.”

  Chad and I looked at each other skeptically, and the professor continued. “I’m not really very knowledgeable about the modern Druids. They have no connection to the historical Celts that I’ve studied. Neither kind of Druid had anything to do with these crimes. The last of the ancient Druids died a thousand years before your crimes began. Modern Druids are no more likely to have committed murder than anyone else. Certainly, there is nothing in the modern group to give the slightest indication that they would actually kill people. Mostly, they dress up in white robes and pose for the press.”

  “Are there local Druids?” I asked.

  “I know of only one person who claims to be a Druid here in Arizona. Ian Groves is a retired English civil servant who lives in Scottsdale. I met him while giving a speech at Arizona State. He’s only been living in Arizona a few years and seems very old and infirm to be involved in these crimes. These pseudo Druids are mostly an English movement. They are more like a fraternity than a religion.

  “As I said at the start, this crime was done by a serial murderer. He may have been imitating something he read about ancient Druids.” The professor opened a book on his desk and showed us an illustration of a mummified corpse covered with mud. “The ancient Celts actually did kill people by drowning them, by burning them alive in wicker cages, or by cutting off their heads, but this murderer is not a real Druid. The religious aspect of these crimes is a false lead. I’m c
ertain there are no Druids involved.”

  “Professor Stone, I see your point. There are certainly serial killers involved in this crime,” I said. “Our interest in Druids is because we hope to track any lead we can find. By any chance, do you know Malcolm Wood, who lives in Oak Creek Canyon?”

  Professor Stone paused to think. “Well, I have met an elderly man named Angus Wood from down in the canyon. That was maybe twenty years ago. He was very interested in ancient religions, and we met a number of times here in Flagstaff. Mr. Wood later audited one of my classes sometime back in the late 1980’s. I’m pretty sure it was Angus and not a Malcolm Wood. He would be too old to be involved in these crimes. He was in his seventies when I knew him years ago.

  I had one more question, “Dr. Stone, I’m curious, is Cumbria north or south of Hadrian’s Wall?”

  The professor looked quite surprised at the question. He stared at me with an intensity that he had not previously displayed. I could see how he intimidated an undergraduate who had not prepared an assignment. He answered in an even tone, “Cumbria is in the area better known as the Lake District in northern England. The wall, which the Romans built to protect their civilization from the Picks of Scotland, runs through the region. It’s one of the most scenic areas in Europe; it’s mountainous with beautiful lakes. Much of it is a British national park.”

  I thought it was interesting that he did not ask the reason for my question. We thanked Professor Stone for his help. He gave us his cell phone number saying, “I will help in any way that I can. You may call me day or night. If I’m in a class, you can leave a message. I always turn it back on after my classes are over to see if there are messages.”

  After we left the office, I called the sheriff’s office. He was available to meet with us and compare notes and set priorities. Next I called home. Margaret answered and reported that the Rikers were on their way back to Texas. I thought about what it would be like to ride a thousand miles with the body of my only son. No other case had ever affected me this directly. I knew and liked two of the victims. I told Margaret that I would be home for dinner, and that I was looking forward to some time together. It was a short drive to the sheriff’s office.

  CHAPTER 28

  When we reached Sheriff Taylor’s office, he was busy on the phone. He motioned for us to take chairs at his small conference table. The call was with the FBI laboratory. When he hung up, he joined us at the table.

  “The lab has some additional information,” the sheriff said. “The chemists have found that the ash from the crime scene was from an oak. That’s surprising since the large logs used in the fire are from trees that grow only at a much lower altitude. The murderers brought them to the murder scene. The second surprise was that there was a lot of mistletoe in the ash. The amount of mistletoe was so great that it couldn’t have been an accident. This fire was made with well-seasoned oak logs covered with a thick layer of mistletoe. In Father Sean’s stomach, the medical examiner found mistletoe berries. They are poisonous but so bitter that no one would eat them by mistake.”

  “That sure fits with the Druid theory,” I said. “Mistletoe and oak were their most sacred plants. We just came from Professor Stone’s office. He’s an expert on European History at NAU. He thinks we are dealing with a serial killer who is imitating the ancient Druids.”

  “Imitation or not, the brutality of these crimes is astonishing,” the sheriff said.

  “Dr. Stone maintains that the modern Druids are completely harmless like the Masons or Elks. The old Druids all died out twelve centuries ago. My main problem with his serial killer theory is that I’m sure that we are not dealing with a single person. We have plenty of evidence that a single individual didn’t commit these crimes. There were two vehicles at the crime scene. The disturbance of the ground in the sacred grove appeared to have been made by the feet of many people. Also, it would take four or more people just to lift the cage and hang it from that juniper. This seems like the work of a cult. It has gone on so long that there must be some kind of organization and recruitment,” I said.

  Sheriff Taylor nodded. “Let’s go over what we have and set some priority projects for next week. There will be a lot more to worry about after we begin to get the results of the work done by the team recovering the bodies up at Pagan Point.”

  We spent the next hour coming up with the following list:

  Look for the purchaser of a size 7 1/2 men’s Salomon boot.

  Trace the pickup tires that left the tire marks at the crime scene.

  Find out what Father Sean was sending in those e-mails to the boss Jesuit.

  Learn what we could of the Wood family of Oak Creek.

  Track down sources of the woad dye discovered at the crime scene.

  Find the type of candle used at the crime scene.

  Look for people who supplied large logs of oak firewood.

  Check with old timers who might have knowledge of the circular grove.

  Check with the LA police to see if anything can be learned from the stolen Navigator and stolen license plate.

  Look for owners of an ATV who had no explanation of where they were Oct. 31.

  Investigate the doctor who owned the property where the Navigator was hidden.

  Trace the people who were known to have had contact with Father Sean in the weeks before his death, especially New Age believers.

  Contact Ian Groves of Scottsdale, Arizona’s only known Druid.

  We decided that this list would give us a busy week. We planned to hold a meeting each day either in person or by phone to coordinate our activity. Chad would start with the Wood investigation. I would take the Jesuit angle and the LA police connection. The sheriff and Flagstaff staff would look into the hiking boots, pickup tires, and ATV owners. The remaining assignments would be allocated at our daily meeting when time was available.

  Chad and I drove back to Sedona. I was anxious to discuss things with Margaret and for us to have some time together. I needed her company.

  CHAPTER 29

  I could feel myself smiling as I turned into my own driveway. It had been an exhausting and difficult week. I needed a quiet dinner and pleasant evening alone with Margaret. When I entered the house, I could smell her wonderful cooking. As I headed for the kitchen, I noticed that our seldom-used dining room table was covered with books and pages printed from the Internet. The books from Father Sean’s house had dozens of brightly colored post-it notes sticking from their pages. There were many other books on the table, perhaps a dozen, all with multicolored notes marking pages. Margaret had been to the bookstore or library researching Druids and Celts.

  In the kitchen, I was in for a big hug. Margaret displayed a Death by Chocolate cake she was icing. She winked and said, “You always say, chocolate is the only aphrodisiac that you ever want.” We had a pleasant dinner of lamb chops, scalloped potatoes, and creamed spinach, as I explained my meeting with the Woods and Professor Stone in substantial detail. I also talked about Alicia Magnus who seemed to know more than she said about Sedona’s pagans.

  Margaret asks very insightful questions about my cases. First she wanted to know why Chad and I did not get a tire print from the Woods’ truck and search their house for size seven and a half boots and running shoes. I explained that we had nothing tangible to link the Wood family to this case. There was no way to get a search warrant yet. Without one, anything we might find would not be used as evidence. Next Margaret asked why Father Sean never contacted his colleague Professor Stone. The Jesuit had been in Sedona almost a year. He was only about thirty miles from the NAU campus. I didn’t have an answer for that question, but I would certainly look for one.

  As we sat on the terrace having dinner, Margaret asked more and more questions about Professor Stone and his relationship with Angus Wood. I did not know the answers to even half of her questions. She’d increased the level of my suspicions regarding the Professor’s answers.

  Finally, Margaret could tell that I felt like I w
as being interrogated. She said, “Mike, I hope you will not rely on Professor Stone’s opinion too much. His explanation sounds a little strange. Let me show you what I have found from my reading before we have dessert.”

  When we were sitting at the dining room table, Margaret explained what she had learned from her research. Picking up one of Father Sean’s books, she opened it to a bright pink post-it. In this chapter Father Sean explained the evidence that Druidic practices persisted in certain isolated parts of the British Isles and in the dense forests of eastern Poland much longer than is commonly believed. He listed all sorts of evidence that Druid rites were still practiced in Poland’s primeval Bialowieza Forest and in parts of northwestern England and Scotland until well into the sixteenth century.

  Although Father Sean did not claim definitive evidence of human sacrifice on Halloween, he showed a lot of evidence that simulated sacrifice of humans was common. In Scotland, man-shaped woven straw forms were burned on Halloween night. There was a constant effort by the Catholic Church to end these practices throughout the medieval period. Father Sean was able to find accounts in the Vatican Library of these efforts. He indicated that at least one confirmed human sacrifices occurred in a tiny village in the Bialowieza Forest in eastern Poland in 1585. The victims were four Russian soldiers who were killed by enclosing them in a wicker human-shaped cage and setting an oak wood fire below them.

  When word of the sacrifice reached a neighboring convent, the report was passed to authorities in Warsaw. A Jesuit priest was sent to investigate the story. Father Sean found his hand-written Latin report in the Vatican Library. The priest found a forest grove that was much used by the local population for pagan rituals. Bizarre wooden idols stood watch around the grove. A stone sacrificial altar was stained with centuries of blood. He learned that in addition to burning victims at Samhain, the local Druid priest would disembowel prisoners of war or criminals to read the future in their entrails. When the Jesuit returned to Warsaw and told his story, the chancellor, Jan Zamjski, sent a military unit to exterminate the pagan village. They found the village abandoned. The Polish soldiers cut down the sacrificial grove, burned the pagan wooden images, and buried the stone altar. The villagers were never found.