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| | | Temperature: 40.0°F | Humidity: 78% | Pressure: 29.87in ( Falling) | Conditions: Light Rain | Wind Direction: ESE | Wind Speed: 0.0mph |
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| | | GOLD BAR |
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AUTHORITIES SAY WITCHCRAFT FIGURES INTO MURDER CASE AGAINST GOLD BAR MAN
January 31, 2010
(EVERETT, WA) -- A Gold Bar man, with a long history of violence and trouble with the law and who was charged Friday in Superior Court with killing his ex-girlfriend earlier this month had asked a friend to drive him around a wooded area of the upper Sky Valley so he could get rid of his victim's dismembered body.
That information is according to court documents filed in the case when the charge against him was upgraded from second to first degree murder in Superior Court.
Forty-year old Eric Christensen of Gold Bar was charged earlier this month with second-degree murder in Everett District Court murder in the slaying of his 35-year-old girlfriend, Sherry Harlan of Everett.
Later the friend led investigators to numerous areas around the Reiter Road gravel pit, east of Gold Bar, where body parts were recovered, according to prosecutors.
Court documents allege some of the body parts were buried and some had been left on the ground.
Christensen is a Level 1 sex offender with prior convictions for domestic violence, assault and forgery He is being held in Snohomish County Jail.
Prosecutors believe Harlan was murdered sometime between Jan. 2 and 3 after Christensen found a text message from another man on her cell phone.
Documents filed in the case say Christensen told investigating officers that he and Harlan were followers of the Wicca religion and that Harlan had broken a "Wiccan blood oath" she'd made to break off a relationship with the other man.
Christensen also allegedly told police that breaking the blood oath in the Wicca religion would make Harlan a warlock, or an evil traitor.
Wicca is a Neopagan religion and is often described as a form of modern witchcraft. It is often referred to as Witchcraft or the Craft by its adherents, who are known as Wiccans or Witches.
Wicca is typically a duotheistic religion, worshipping a Goddess and a God, who are traditionally viewed as the Triple Goddess and Horned God. These two deities are often viewed as being facets of a greater pantheistic Godhead, and as manifesting themselves as various polytheistic deities. Other characteristics of Wicca include the ritual use of magic, a basic code of morality, and the celebration of eight seasonally based festivals.
Harlan was reported missing January 5th after she failed to show up for her job at a Lynnwood Penney’s store. Her burned-out car, which had been missing, was found Jan. 7 on a road off U.S. Highway 2 with partial human remains inside.
About 80 relatives and friends of Harlan gathered for a candlelight vigil at 6:00 p.m. Saturday evening at the Alderwood J.C. Penney store where Harlan worked.
Many spoke of the fond memories they had of the woman that was their co-worker, friend and relative.
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