Goat killing not ritualistic, official says

STONINGTON – The mystery of a slain goat that was discovered late Wednesday is over not long after it began.

Charles Berhalter, the town’s animal control officer, confirmed Friday that the animal was not the victim of a sacrificial killing or a disturbing prank as was initially suspected. Instead, he said, a local resident had bought the goat from a farmer in Surry and then hung it up with the intention of catching coyotes.

“I thought for sure when I first saw it [late Wednesday] that it was some kind of ritualistic killing, but I’m sure glad it wasn’t,” Berhalter said.

A teenage girl walking in the woods at about 7:30 p.m. near an ATV trail off Route 15A stumbled across the animal, which had been gutted and hung in a tree. The girl, who was horrified at the sight, went home and told her mother, who immediately called police.

Hancock County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Jeffrey McFarland then contacted Berhalter, who went to the scene that evening.

“We have seen some satanic signs and things up here on Route 15, so that’s why I initially thought it could be related,” Berhalter said.

After returning to the scene in daylight, however, the animal control officer discovered the truth.

“I made some calls and ended up finding the guy who did it. He’s a hunter and we’ve dealt with him before,” Berhalter said, although he declined to name the man since he will not be charged. Coyote trapping is not a crime.

“But I did tell him that we should take the animal down and bury it.”

Berhalter also said he contacted the mother of the girl who first discovered the dead animal to give them peace of mind.