Woman accused of cooking mother's corpse, 'casting spells'
Editor's note: Warning, this article contains graphic descriptions of violence
A Kentucky woman accused of dismembering and cooking her mother’s corpse was reportedly performing witchcraft before police made the gruesome discovery.
Authorities say a repairman called Kentucky State Police on Oct. 9 to report the disturbing find at a home near Mount Olivet, located approximately two hours Northeast of Louisville, according to a local ABC affiliate.
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The man told police he was hired by homeowner Trudy Fields to do work on the property located on Brierly Ridge Road, but when he arrived nobody was home.
As he began to go further onto the property, he discovered a “pile of hair” and a “blood-stained mattress,” along with what appeared to be “drag marks” near where he found the dismembered body believed to be Fields, according to the report.
Police say they arrived on scene and found the woman’s head and limbs were removed. They also discovered a second blood-soaked mattress on the property, along with “multiple severed body parts and organs.”
According to police, the man reported that he hadn't heard from Fields since Tuesday night, when she walked him to the property’s gate and appeared to lock it. He also stated that Trudy's daughter, 32-year-old Torilena May Fields, was “casting spells on them and acting confrontational” that day.
Investigators obtained a search warrant to enter the home, where they found 32-year-old Torilena May Fields alone and unresponsive to police commands. Officers deployed multiple canisters of tear gas and communicated with her using a robot before successfully arresting her without incident.
Torilena also had blood on her face, hands and clothing, authorities said.
When officers went into the home, they found a “pot with cooked human body parts” inside the oven that was “still warm to the touch,” according to the report.
Torilena May Fields has been charged with obstructing governmental operations, tampering with physical evidence, and abuse of a corpse, according to Kentucky State Police.
Authorities believe that additional charges might be forthcoming as the investigation continues.
Fields is being held at the Bourbon County Detention Center.
Earlier this year, a store in Clark County, about 30 miles South of Robertson County, was accused of being involved in witchcraft.
The Crystal Coven Mystic Cottage faced the allegations after holding an “aura event” in which some accused owner Shannon Tipton of being a “devil-worshiping witch,” according to NBC News.
Some complained that the local tourism board was promoting the shop, which sells crystals, jewelry, and other items, while doing so for other “spiritual in nature” places like a church would be seen as inappropriate, the outlet reported.
The Pew Research Center’s 2014 Religious Landscape Study estimated that 0.4% of the U.S. population, about 1.3 million people, subscribe to a “New Age” religion, with most of these identifying as Wiccan or Pagan. By comparison, the Presbyterian Church (USA) has just over 1.1 million members.
