Goat Murderer

Court orders goat thief to say sorry

Tue Nov 6, 2007 9:14am EST

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian woman who stole a pet goat and was involved in slaughtering it in a mock Satanic ritual in a church, was ordered by a court on Monday to apologize to the church and the dead goat's owners.

Tracey Arnold, 26, was drinking with friends at a Friday the 13th party in 2006 when she decided to steal the pet goat named "Maddie" from the front garden of a house in the northern city of Brisbane, local media reported from the court.

The partygoers then broke into a local church, dragging the goat onto a raised platform and killed it in a mock Satanic ritual, reported Brisbane's Courier Mail newspaper.

The goat's head was later found by police in the freezer of Arnold's home, along with a camera containing photos of members of the group with the head.

Arnold's lawyer told the Brisbane Magistrates Court that his client did not have a "macabre disposition" but that when she drank alcohol she made poor decisions.

Magistrate John Costello ordered Arnold to apologize in person to the goat's owners and the Bellbowrie Community Church and undergo psychiatric treatment.

Arnold was also ordered to pay A$70 (US$64) in compensation to the goat's owners and $1,535 for damage caused to the church.

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