Special Investigator Shares Experiences with Ritual Crimes
Corey Morris
Issue date: 11/18/09 Section: News
"It takes a powerful, powerful church to host this symbol," said Don Rimer as he pointed to an image of the devil with a pitchfork on a slide show just outside the pulpit of the Farmville United Methodist Church (UMC). Rimer was the special investigator called in to aid in the investigation into the quadruple homicide on First Ave., where four bodies were found bludgeoned to death on Sept. 18 by suspect Richard Alden McCroskey. Rimer was back in Farmville for a special presentation on Sun., Nov. 15 to educate the community about the occult, which Rimer refers to as "the hidden," and ritual crimes. He called the message "An afternoon of awareness and recognition, not a cure."
The hope of a cure for what happened to small town Farmville is a stretch. The recent quadruple homicide in Farmville has brought the world of the occult to dinner tables. The Reverend Sylvia Meadows of Farmville UMC told the audience beforehand that the homicide case was not a part of the presentation and asked the 100 or so people in attendance to refrain from asking questions regarding the matter. McCroskey was convicted two weeks ago with six counts of premeditated murder and a single count of grand larceny. He is being held at Piedmont Regional Jail in solitary confinement.
Rimer opened his presentation with a disclaimer. "If you don't commit crimes, I'm not going to talk about you today." Clearly, that was the message Rimer stuck with throughout his four hour long presentation, which he called a "brief understanding" into the world of sects and ritual murders.
Rimer has a unique life in that he lives unlike any other member of society. Rimer spends most of his time as a retired investigator with the Virginia Beach Police Department following around Goths, Wiccans, Vampires, and Juggalos. He immerses himself in their lives to learn more about their subculture. Rimer said he tells these cult members that he is doing research in an effort to understand them better so society can do the same. Rimer stated, "I'm always threatened. But do I feel threatened? No." He always has his personal entourage in case things get out of hand. He quickly made the point that not all people associated with these particular sects are criminals.
The hope of a cure for what happened to small town Farmville is a stretch. The recent quadruple homicide in Farmville has brought the world of the occult to dinner tables. The Reverend Sylvia Meadows of Farmville UMC told the audience beforehand that the homicide case was not a part of the presentation and asked the 100 or so people in attendance to refrain from asking questions regarding the matter. McCroskey was convicted two weeks ago with six counts of premeditated murder and a single count of grand larceny. He is being held at Piedmont Regional Jail in solitary confinement.
Rimer opened his presentation with a disclaimer. "If you don't commit crimes, I'm not going to talk about you today." Clearly, that was the message Rimer stuck with throughout his four hour long presentation, which he called a "brief understanding" into the world of sects and ritual murders.
Rimer has a unique life in that he lives unlike any other member of society. Rimer spends most of his time as a retired investigator with the Virginia Beach Police Department following around Goths, Wiccans, Vampires, and Juggalos. He immerses himself in their lives to learn more about their subculture. Rimer said he tells these cult members that he is doing research in an effort to understand them better so society can do the same. Rimer stated, "I'm always threatened. But do I feel threatened? No." He always has his personal entourage in case things get out of hand. He quickly made the point that not all people associated with these particular sects are criminals.
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