MS-13 gang members ‘tortured teen and killed woman as sacrifice to the “Beast” in Satanic ritual’
Two suspected MS-13 members laugh and wave in court as they stand accused of kidnapping 14-year-old schoolgirl and killing a second victim as a 'soul sacrifice'
Two alleged MS-13 gang members laughed and waved in court as they stood accused of kidnapping and torturing a teenage girl and killing a woman in a Satanic ritual after she insulted their demon god.
Group leader Miguel Alvarez-Flores, 22, - also known as “Diabolico” - and Diego Hernandez-Rivera, 18, were arrested this week and charged with kidnapping a 14-year-old girl and murdering a second victim, who was found shot to death at the side of road.
The 14-year-old told cops she ran away from school and ended up being held against her will at two apartments in Houston, Texas, for 18 days where she was drugged, tortured and raped by another gang member.
The court heard how at one point during the ordeal Alvarez-Flores tattooed an image of the grim reaper on the girl’s lower leg.
The second victim - an unidentified woman known only as “Genesis” - was also being held against her will at the apartment, according to the teen.
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Genesis apparently angered the men by insulting a shrine dedicated to Satan, which they worshipped.
Alvarez-Flores offered the statue a cigarette as an offering before declaring that the “Beast” demanded a soul sacrifice following the outburst, the court heard.
The next day Genesis had disappeared, according to the kidnapped teen.
Investigators believe the pair shot the woman in the head and chest, then dumped her body at the side of the road.
Police have released a facial reconstruction image of the victim and pictures of her three silver rings in a bid to identify her.
They believe she was aged between 15 and 25 year old when she died.
Prosector Lisa Collins told the court that Hernandez-Rivera told cops he took the woman to a remote area where he shot her twice.
The two men, who are both originally from El Salvador, laughed and waved at TV cameras as they appeared in court.
They are being held in Harris County jail, Houston, on $300,000 bail.
The pair were in the country legally but will be held by immigration authorities if they make bail.
MS-13 is a notorious criminal gang which originated in Los Angeles, California, but gang members are predominantly from El Salvador in Central America.
Its members are famous for sporting tattoos all over their faces and bodies and the gang is known to be involved in drug smuggling, people trafficking and contract killings.
The gang has members across the US and central America and as far afield as Australia.