Part 34

August 15, 1986, STATE OF MAINE v. SCOTT WATERHOUSE, SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT OF MAINE, 513 A.2d 862, 1986 Me. LEXIS 862, Murder Conviction Affirmed

Overview: Appellate documents state Scott Waterhouse was convicted for the murder of a 12 yr. old girl. The presence of semen on the victim’s clothing indicated that the perpetrator masturbated over the victim’s body. 

Defendant claimed that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of his belief in Satanism. The Appeals Court disagreed. The State admitted a taped conversation between defendant and police officer in which defendant described at length both Satanism and the extent of his involvement with that belief. In addition, the State introduced into evidence portions of the “Satanic Bible.” The defendant described sex and destruction rituals as part of the system of satanic beliefs. He stated that Satanism represented the darker side of humanity and urges indulgence of man’s carnal needs rather than abstinence. He characterized the “seven cardinal sins” of the Christian faith as representing abstinence.

The portions of the Satanic Bible that were introduced as evidence were:

*Satan represents indulgence, instead of abstinence!

*Satan represented all of the so-called sins as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification!

*Are we not all predatory animals by instinct? If humans ceased wholly from preying upon each other, could they continue to exist?

*Death to the weakling, wealth to the strong!

*Blessed are the powerful, for they shall be reverenced among men -- cursed are the feeble, for they shall be blotted out.

The court stated: “Defendant could view commission of the heinous crime involved in this case as a means of achieving ‘physical, mental or emotional gratification,’ similarly he could believe that a demonstration of strength by domination of a weaker person would bring ‘reverence among men.’ At the expense of who, ‘being weak, deserved his fate.”

Both evidence of Satanic beliefs was considered probative of motive and the identity of the perpetrator.

[Two companion cases are described below]

March 12, 1986, COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSSETT v. CARL H. DREW, SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT OF MASSACHUSETTS, 489 N.E.2d 1233, Murder Conviction Affirmed.

Overview: Appellate documents state Carl Drew was convicted of the first degree murder of one of his Satanic cult members in Fall River. The victim, Karen Marsden, was identified by a portion of the skull, clumps of hair, clothing, and jewelry. Evidence was admitted describing Marsden and another prostitute Doreen Levesque who were killed.

According to witness testimony... "The killing was performed as a diabolic ritual during which the soul of Marsden was purportedly given to Satan." Earlier, Marsden had tried to sever relationship with the cult. Drew threatened to kill her on several occasions, which he finally did. "Murphy dragged Marsden by the throat and hair into the woods. As she did this, the defendant walked alongside while Fletcher and Davis followed close behind. Murphy and the defendant then began striking Marsden with rocks. After further brutalizing Marsden, the defendant ordered Murphy to slit Marsden's throat and Murphy complied. The defendant then tore the head from the body and kicked it."

Carl Drew later told another person that he had killed Marsden because "she wanted to leave the cult and that he wanted her to feel pain." Several witnesses testified to the defendant’s cult practices and he was asked to remove his jacked to exhibit a tattoo on his arm of a devil’s head with the partially obliterated inscription “Satan’s Avengers.” The Court described the defendant chanting in a low, scratchy voice during rituals, purported to conjure Satan’s presence.

The court specifically stated Drew's involvement in Satanism and the victim's desire to leave the cult was evidentially important to detail the context of the crime to the jury, as opposed to viewing the murders as just random acts of violence.

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May 28, 1982, WILLIAM SMITH v. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT OF MASSACHUSETTS, 436 N.E.2d 377, Immunity for Witness was Affirmed.

Overview: Appellate documents state William Smith contested immunity for witness, Robin Murphy, who was to testify against him for the murder of Doreen Levesque. The appellate opinion states "These murders were among a series of ritual killings performed in the Fall River area by members of a Satanic cult.” The witness described the ritual that accompanied the murder, and named various participants. The witness also recanted several times before finally testifying but finally admitted that she had been involved in the murder. She described the practices of the Satanic cult and indicated that both victims, Karen Marsden and Doreen Levesque, had been connected with the cult, either as devotees of the faith, or as associates in a prostitution enterprise.


February 19, 1986, COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. FRANK G. COSTAL, JR., SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA, 505 A.2d 337, Murder Conviction Affirmed.

Overview: Appellate documents state expert testimony regarding Satanism and mind control was admitted into the court record to explain the killings of a mother and her 4 yr. old daughter by Frank Costal. The killings appeared to be in retaliation for the mother's interference in a drug deal and homosexual relationship between her husband and Costal. The state submitted evidence that the murders were performed in a "ritualistic manner." The victims were stabbed in a similar fashion, in the same pattern. Ceremonial robes, books, posters, plastic skulls and bats, and marriage licenses drawn up by Costal and signed by him as a "high priest" of Satan were seized from his apartment. A witness testified that Costal told him of attendance at human sacrifices and that 17 was the number of stab wounds required at these ritualistic killings.

See Part 35