On February 5, 2001, a foul odor drifting through a Las Vegas storage facility led police to a discovery straight out of a nightmare. Inside a trash can sealed with duct tape and plastic wrap was the decomposed body of an elderly woman, submerged in her own liquefied remains. Surrounding the unit were books on witchcraft, astrology, black magic, and devil worship. The renter of the unit was Brookey Lee West — a woman police would soon label the Witch of Las Vegas.

In this episode of The Ritual Rewind, we rewind to the early 2000s to uncover the disturbing case of Brookey Lee West and the murder of her mother, Christine Smith. Was this a satanic ritual sacrifice born from occult obsession, or a far more human crime driven by greed, hatred, and lifelong family trauma? Drawing from court records, investigative reporting, and the book Witch: The True Story of Las Vegas’ Most Notorious Female Killer, we examine a lineage of violence, mental illness, and generational rage that culminated in one of Nevada’s most unsettling murder cases.

This is a story of hidden bodies, occult beliefs, alleged warlocks, and a crime concealed in plain sight for years — where Satanic Panic fears collided with a very real act of murder.

The Ritual Rewind explores true crime, occult history, and conspiracies from the late 20th century — when cassette culture met cult culture.

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On January 13, 1995, the mutilated body of 17-year-old Colleen Slemmer was found near the Knoxville Job Corps campus — a crime so brutal it shocked Tennessee and reignited fears lingering from the Satanic Panic era. This episode of The Ritual Rewind dives deep into the disturbing case of Christa Pike, the youngest woman ever sentenced to death in the United States, and the violent path that led to one of the most haunting murders of the 1990s.

We explore Christa Pike’s traumatic upbringing, her relationship with Tadaryl Shipp, the influence of occult symbolism, and the toxic, dangerous environment within the Job Corps program. From jealousy and manipulation to abuse, mental illness, and escalating violence, this case raises unsettling questions: Was this fate shaped by nature, nurture… or something darker?

Join us as we rewind through the crime, the investigation, Pike’s trial, her later violent incidents behind bars, and the legacy of a case that continues to disturb decades later.

🕯️ The Ritual Rewind — where cassette culture meets cult culture.

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The Devil and Union County - The Unsolved Murder of Jeannette DePalma | Ritual Rewind Podcast

In September of 1972, a dalmatian trotted out of the New Jersey woods carrying a human arm in its jaws — and with it, unleashed one of the most disturbing true crime mysteries in American history. When police followed the trail into the overgrown quarry known as Devil’s Teeth, they found the decomposed body of 17-year-old Jeannette DePalma, surrounded by what looked like ritual symbols: twig crosses, rock formations, and a coffin-shaped outline in branches.

Whispers spread fast through Union County: witches, cults, Satanic sacrifice, and a coven believed to be operating in the Watchung Reservation. But Jeannette’s case was only one part of something far darker. Within a few square miles, five young women were murdered or vanished — including Columbia doctoral student Joan Kramer, hitchhiking victim Carol Anne Farino, and the brutal double homicide of teenagers Mary Ann Pryor and Lorraine Kelly.

Was Union County gripped by occult terror… or was a hidden killer stalking New Jersey’s suburbs? From rumors of ritual altars to the violent past of Otto Nilson — a man linked to multiple strangulation murders and a green Buick that keeps appearing like a ghost — this episode retraces a string of crimes long buried under local legend, police missteps, and the early rumblings of the Satanic Panic.

The Devil and Union County pulls you deep into a world where faith, fear, and folklore collide — and where the truth is as unsettling as the myths that tried to explain it.

🎙️ Ritual Rewind explores the crimes, conspiracies, and occult anxieties that shaped the 1970s and 80s — when cassette culture met cult culture, and paranoia became a national pastime.

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SOURCES -

Death on Devils Teeth by Jesse Pollack

https://a.co/d/iD7qaow

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