Horrifying: Woman Accused of Witchcraft Was Shot With Arrows, Tied to a Stake and Burned Alive

A Paraguayan woman was brutally murdered in the village of Tahehyi after leaders of a local indigenous group found her guilty of witchcraft.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

AdolfinaOcampos, 45, was tied to a stake, shot with arrows and burned alive after members of Mbya Guarani, an area ethnic group, found her guilty of the occult, according to the Daily Mail.

It is unclear when Ocampos was killed, but the horrific story has been gaining traction and attention this week in multiple media outlets.

Nine men have been charged with murder over the indigenous woman's death, with prosecutor FanyAguilera claiming that the group's chief sanctioned the killing and that the individuals involved have admitted to the crime, the Associated Press reported.

Jose Zanardini, an Italian anthropologist and priest who has been working in the South American country for years, said that this is the first time he's seen a case like this.

"I've been working in Paraguay for 40 years and I can't remember a similar episode of an execution for alleged sorcery," he told the AP. "The tragic death of this woman is isolated and out of the ordinary within the coexistence of Paraguay's 20 ethnic indigenous groups. In general, the Indians are very peaceful and tolerant."

While Ocampos' murder might seem implausible in a modern context, the United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights noted that similar cases unfold in areas around the globe each year.

In fact, the international group claims that "every year, thousands of people, mostly older women and children are accused as witches, often abused, cast out of their families and communities and in many cases murdered."

Read more about accusations of witchcraft in a modern context here.

(H/T: Daily Mail)

--

Follow faith and culture editor Billy Hallowell on Twitter and Facebook.

--

Front page image via Shutterstock.com