Modern-Day Human Sacrifice: Cult Leader Dead, Funeral Home Warned
Occasionally the world of deathcare calls on the pros to handle the aftermath of some extraordinarily nasty pieces of work: John Wayne Gacy, BTK, and Ian Brady & Myra Hindley all threw off their mortal coils at some point, leaving behind not only the carnage of utter depravity’s destruction, but all the regular business of workaday final disposition of their own corpses. Would you want to be known for those funerals?
For those willing to deal with the remains of the truly notorious, misdirected public outrage at the funeral home even so much as storing an infamous corpse can bring with it multiple new levels of chaos. I mean, WE know you weren’t there, party to the horrors, like we know all dead bodies need to be dealt with, no matter whose they were… but don’t expect a sympathetic interpretation of decomposition logic from outside the fold.
Some places, understandably, just won’t want the headache. Who can blame them? Plenty of cemeteries refuse to accommodate such cases outright. Others may step up, but require all services to be handled well under the radar, or anonymously; an effective solution. There’s no shortage of funeral directors turning such cases away altogether. Those who do elect to take on the responsibility have to be willing to step into the crosshairs.
Case in Point
When word began circulating that deceased cult leader Kevin Smith’s most devout followers planned to find and snatch his body, it wasn’t long before various sorts of warnings began.
The Jamaican cult leader died in a vehicle crash as he was being transported from Montego Bay to Kingston to be formally charged in the murders of two members of his “congregation.” The accident also claimed the life of one of the transporting police officers, and injured two others.
The deaths Smith was being charged with occurred at an evening service at Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries of Montego Bay on October 17. During the service, Smith and other “church leaders” directed a violent assault on attendants with knives and firearms, telling congregants – who had been directed to wear white to the church and leave their cell phones at home – that they were about to embark on a “heavenly journey.”
Before the evening was over three people were dead, at least six others wounded. A woman in attendance, upon witnessing another woman’s throat being slit at the front of the church, made a hasty exit and contacted the authorities. When the police and military arrived, there was an exchange of fire, a face-off between the “church” leaders and police reminiscent of the Waco standoff in Texas.
Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson confirmed that police had been suspicious about the facility for some time.
Meanwhile, The Jamaica Association of Certified Embalmers and Funeral Directors has issued a public warning to the funeral home handling the Pastor’s remains:
“I will say that any member who is storing the remains of Kevin O. Smith, ‘Just protect your property from physical harm,’” stated Calvin Lyn, the organization’s president.
By “Other” Means Necessary
Also addressed was the possibility of threats of another nature from those with the stated purpose of recovering Smith’s body by… unorthodox means: “When it comes to the rumour about these so-called followers and disciples of this man, who want to identify the funeral home where his body is being stored to do whatever, I can only say that we don’t believe in what they believe in.”
Attempts to retrieve his body using occult practices would be unsuccessful, they stated. From The Jamaica Observer November 5, 2021:
“We don’t believe in voodooism, so anything that they want to try won’t affect us because we are protected by God Almighty who has been seeing us through rough times and smooth times. So, anything demonic won’t affect us. There is a saying: ‘Belief kills and belief cures.’ We don’t believe in demons, so if that is being planned by these insane people, it is not going to affect any one of us who is storing the remains of this cult leader.”
Forty-two members of the congregation are currently in police custody and 14 children are in the care of the State, the police commissioner told reporters.
Human sacrifice, 21st century style… did not see that one coming.
Mea maxima culpa.
Tremendous thanks to Connecting Directors writer Jennifer Trudeau for this story!
