Investigators found three murder victims hammered to death with their throats slit inside a Florida home, and now the case is being investigated as a ritual murder linked to last week's blue moon, according to authorities.
The bodies of Voncile Smith, 77, along with her sons Richard Smith, 49, and John Smith, 47, were discovered Friday in their Pensacola home, according to Fox News.
"Initial research had led us to believe that it was a ritualistic killing," Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said Tuesday.
"The method of the murder - blunt force trauma, slit throats, positioning of bodies - and our person of interest has some ties to a faith or religion that is indicative of that. The time of the death on Tuesday also coincides with what's referred to as a blue moon, which occurs every three years," he concluded when asked to elaborate.
As HNGN reported, a blue moon is a term used to describe the second full moon of a calendar month. The rare cosmic occurrence only happens once every three years, and the moon doesn't actually turn blue during the event.
Morgan revealed that there was no signs of forced entry or robbery at the home, according to CNN. This means that there is a possibility the person of interest may have known the family.
"While we have a person of interest," Morgan said, "there are still many things about this case we want to pursue."
