Judge in the Delphi Case dismisses Odinism defense theory

"Meet The New Judge In The Delphi Case!" 
https://youtu.be/vpZfXD7t7ww?si=zlKpisdHZRvCAZkf

I just learned this morning that the judge in the Delphi murders case has thrown out the Odinist defense theory as impermissable in the trial. Here is the report on the judge's decision as reported by the Wild Hunt. The judge ruled that the defense had “failed to produce admissible evidence demonstrating a nexus,” meaning a connection between Odinism and the murders. Hopefully, the judge's action will finally put these speculations to rest. 

I have no expertise in this case, nor in ritual killing, and I am not claiming any. I definitely don't want to participate in or be dragged into a true crime drama. I am not an Odinist nor a practitioner of Norse Paganism. I am a scholar of religion and new religious movements, who has researched and written on Norse Paganism and has put in a great deal of effort to understand this religious movement. In my estimation, this defense theory is an example of how marginal, controversial religions can be used and mischaracterized in order to generate fear, doubt, and scapegoating in the mind of the public. We should remain aware of the potential for Odinist violence and hold Odinists accountable for crimes they commit, which are heinous enough without fabricating tales of ritual Odinic sacrifice to stir the pot of conspiracy theory and true crime speculation. 

 
The defense suggested that the evidence was best explained as a ritual sacrifice performed by Odinists - white nationalist Norse Pagans who are devoted to the god Odin. To support these allegations, the defense brought in Dawn Perlmutter as an expert witness. Perlmutter has an expertise in ritual murders and has acted as a consultant to law enforcement agencies who investigate these crimes. She wrote a 2003 book on the subject, Investigating Religious Terrorism and Ritualistic Crimes. I will discuss the book in another post.

At a recent pre-trial hearing on the Delpi Case, Perlmutter offered testimony that the murder were ritual sacrifice, stating unequivocally that "In my opinion, this was a textbook ritual murder. It has all the elements listed there.” According to a Knoxville, Tennessee news station reporting on Perlmutter's testimony, she pointed to several signs of ritualistic murder: (my comments are in italics)

• "The place of the killing was outdoors."  
• This sort of overgeneralization is concerning. It surely does not narrow this down as a ritual sacrifice. What is the percentage of murders (ritualistic or not) that occur outdoors? 
• "February 14 is a sunup to sundown Odinistic sacrificial holiday." 
• I was not aware of February 14, Valentine's Day, as a significant Heathen holy day and have never heard it mentioned by practitioners. A few contemporary Heathen sources mention Vali's blot being observed on February 14, "probably because of the similarity of the name to Valentine." It is sometimes called the "Heathen Valentine's day" and as a spring observance is celebrated as "the returning light, of romance, and of marriage. Even the Odinic Rite called the Feast of Vali a "Festival of the Family" and a celebration of Nature's fertility, planting, and remembering "Frey’s wooing of Gerd," which is another Norse myth of love, desire, and marriage. That said, in the Poetic Edda, Vali was the son of Odin who avenged the death of Baldr. So if someone wanted to find it, there is a theme of violence, murder, and revenge in the Vali story.  However, it is not prominent in contemporary Heathen interpretations of Vali's blot.
• "The symbolism of the sticks and body positions were consistent with Odinistic Runes."    
• First, not sure what "Odinistic Runes" are. And the interpretation of the sticks or branches as runes is really in the eye of the beholder. According to the prosecution, the branches were simply thrown over the bodies to hide them. So is it a rune or a random pile of branches? If you know the runes, the Court TV sketch that has been displayed online is not conclusive. But I haven't seen actual crime scene photos, so who knows what it looked like in real life? Could I rule out that these branches were meant to represent runes? No - but the description that appeared in the defense filing does not sound like Odinism. If you wanted create a runic association or correspondence, why not bring a rune set and leave an actual rune stone at the scene?
• The defense memo claims that the sticks were arranged as a hagalaz rune over one of the bodies. See blood pattern below.
• "Body positioning"  
• I have seen a sketch of the body positioning and the defense is claiming that one body was  positioned intentionally to represent the elhaz or algiz rune. Again, that is an interpretation and the sketch is inconclusive. Certainly, there are mystical connotations to Algiz in runic lore and Volkisch and Nazi esotericism as the life and death rune.
• "Atypical blood pattern" 
• Perlmutter is probably referring to a mark on a tree at the crime scene that allegedly depicts an ansuz rune. The defense memorandum and all the media coverage call this the "F tree" claiming that the blood mark on the tree resembes a letter F. I was confused by this until reading the defense memorandum, which clarifies that this "F rune" is actually meant to be an ansuz. No Heathen practitioner nor anyone with knowledge of the runes would refer to Ansuz as an "F rune." So this is a major strike against this claim, in addition to the inconclusive nature of the mark itself. 
• The defense claimed that the presence of both these runes - the hagalaz made of crossed sticks and the ansuz marked in blood on the tree - are symbolic of "Hail Odin." And that these are a clear indication that this is a ritual sacrifice. Certainly hagalaz is associated with "hail" but usually of the precipitation variety. And there is an associated between Odin and ansuz as the rune of wisdom and insight. These two runes could be an abbreviation for Hail Odin. That said, using these two runes mixes the Elder and Younger Futharks - but that could be a mistake that a new Odinist or an unaware Odinist might make. However, the evidence is highly ambiguous, unclear, and inconclusive. Neither are obviously runes at all. It is a major leap to the conclusion that this marks the crime scene as an Odinist sacrifice. 
• "Cause of Death" 
• I am not sure that the cause of death has been released officially in this case. However, Perlmutter believes that this particular cause of death ("throat is slit with a sharp object") is almost always ritualistic in nature. This is discussed on page 378 in her book. I would just as that there are ritual sacrifices described in Heathen sources, including sacrifices to Odin. There is a clear pattern or typology of Odinic sacrifice in the Lore  involving stabbing with a spear and hanging by the neck. This typology is evident, for instance,in the death/sacrifice of Vikar in Gautrek's Saga, as well as in Havamal 137. If a Heathen wanted to recreate or enact an Odinic sacrifice, they have a symbolic precedent. And this cause of death does not follow that pattern of ritual sacrifice described in those Norse sources. 

Overall, I don't find this testimony to be persuasive. The main issues I have are 1) the so-called evidence is too general - I mean, "outside"? Come on. 2) The evidence is too ambiguous - are they runes or piles of sticks? 3) Dawn Perlmutter and the defense team are not experts in Odinism or Norse Paganism and they are making connections that aren't accurate - from the February 14th thing to the "F rune" the evidence doesn't seem like a pattern of Norse or Odinist activity. 

 

It points to the importance of scholars of religion who have developed a rigorous methodology and studied religions in some depth. An attorney, scrupulous or not, can see what they want in the evidence if it helps their case. But it the interpretation actually consistent with the religion in question? A scholar of religion hopefully knows the religion well enough,  and knows its symbols, discourses, and culture to make strong interpretations.