Papua New Guinea police, Sydney, charged two people on Monday with the grisly killing of a woman after being accused of witchcraft.
Kepari Leniata, a 20-year-old mother who was stripped, tortured with a hot iron rod, doused in gasoline and set alight on a pile of car tires and trash.
Janet Ware and Andrew Watea are both charged with the murder of Leniata. 40 people were detained last week in connection with the slaying, but the police released them due to the lack of enough evidence. However, police sources declared that more arrests will happen in the near future.
In such rural areas, witchcraft is blamed for unexplained misfortunes. But what happened with Mrs. Leniata caused outrage in the whole South Pacific Island. And this dragged the attention of the police, diplomats, and the prime minister.
Papua New Guinea Police Department said that hundreds of onlookers witnessed Leniata’s slaying, most of which were children and teenagers. Furthermore, several police officers were at the scene during the crime, but could not do anything as they were outnumbered.
Stay tuned for more updates.
