A mother who exposed her 7-year-old daughter to bloody religious initiation rituals that included making her watch a chicken being sacrificed and feeding the girl its heart pleaded guilty in state court Monday to cruelty and neglect of a child.

The rituals were associated with the Palo Mayombe religion.

A ghoulish crime wave in the Venezuelan capital supplies a black magic cult whose popularity is fueled by faith and politics.

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP - As forensic experts yesterday sought to identify a human skull found near the bank of the Delaware River here on Monday, police consulted with religious experts to determine what cult might have left the decrepit remains and other items in the Titusville section.

NEWARK, N.J. -- A priest in the Palo Mayombe religious cult who was convicted of possessing human remains stolen from cemeteries was sentenced this week to five years in state prison.

NEWARK, N.J. -- A 61-year-old woman accused of being a high priestess in the Palo Mayombe religious cult was convicted Monday of stealing human remains from cemeteries.

NEWARK, N.J. - A 61-year-old woman accused of being a high priestess in the Palo Mayombe religious is charged with directing followers to steal human remains from Newark cemeteries for use in the sect's rituals.

NEWARK - Prosecutors spent Thursday outlining their case against a Cuban man accused of trying to obtain dead body parts from two Newark cemeteries. Authorities say Oscar Cruz hired someone to steal remains from three graves at Mount Pleasant and Holy Secular cemeteries.

AP, Mar. 5, 2003