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 book on the subject, Investigating Religious Terrorism and Ritualistic Crimes, originally published in 2003 and about to be re-released by Routledge. 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 Odinims. If you wanted create a runic association or correspondence, why not bring a rune set and leave an actual rune stone at the scene?
• "Body positioning"  
• I have seen a sketch of the body positioning and the defense is claiming that the positioning was 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 a Fehu rune. Fehu, a rune associated by some practitioners with wealth and prosperity, does not have a particular connection to Odin or to Odinism. It is not clear why this rune would appear at the crime scene. It does not look like a Fehu rune and, absent the whole Odinist theory, there doesn't seem to be a good reason to interpret this as Fehu.
• "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 in the Lore associated with a sacrifice to Odin.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. 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.