False Innocence
Human nature is to hide behind good deeds when in fact they may have done something bad before and are atoning for their wrongdoings. Such as someone on the road to redemption after thwarting someone they love. Making up for cheating while in a romantic relationship. Giving money away after being found guilty of financial crimes. There are many other instances whether big or small. Let’s look into a situation of someone trying to make amends for what they did.
A woman in 1972 was caught by reports from concerned neighbors for engaging in strange rituals. Rosaline Sheridan believed in the old ways of sacrifices to the gods. Disoritentedly thinking that if she appeased the gods she sacrificed animals to, they would bring her good fortune and virtually anything she wanted.
It all started after her twin children were taken away from her by a rare disease. She had it in her grieving mind that if she committed these heinous crimes, maybe she would see them again. That really is all that she wanted from the gods she pleaded to.
The first time she decided to do this was not an easy task. Rosaline started looking into the lore about the goddess Hecate of ancient Greek mythology. From this research, she found that a dog was required to be slaughtered. The goddess is the guardian of the dead, which piqued her interest when she tried to figure out what to do. So, Rosaline thought that this was the perfect diety to ask for her childrens’ salvation.
Figuring it would not be best to look for a dog in the neighborhood and thinking that the pound would be too obvious she looked for a stray dog two miles away from where she lived. She drove her old van during the nighttime at about eleven. Parking on a side street a few blocks away from her hunting ground. She had heard reports of strays walking about on this particularly long street. Staking out the area behind some bushes she waited to see if one would turn up. This bush was a good vantage point and the street lights were well light on this road. She did bring a flashlight as backup though. After about forty-five minutes of waiting and searching one showed up and scoured about on the sidewalk looking grey in the pale moonlight. The dog was so small it is a wonder she even saw the dog trotting about. Deciding this was her chance Rosaline went after the pup and gave it a treat. While the dog was eating out of the palm of her hand, she picked it up. This dog was rather tiny and easy to carry. Luckily for her, the dog was friendly to her even though she’s a stranger and went willingly. The dog did squirm a little with barely any force from their petite and bony body.
Rosaline put the canine into the back of the car. Then drove off as quickly as possible to get back to her house. When she arrived at her small house’s driveway covered in shadow, she removed the dog from the car and walked as fast as possible into the house.
Earlier in the evening, she had made a relatively beautiful alter and lit some candles after putting the Yorkie in a cage that was way bigger than necessary. This little pup barked quietly when they were put in the large cage with a folded-up blanket inside. This barking prompted Rosaline to put two fingers in front of her dainty lips and when she said,
“Shh!”
Getting to work on the final preparations Rosaline was starting to get nervous. When she shakily opened up the cage she took a look at the dog’s collar and saw that the dog’s name was Shelly. This made it harder for Rosaline to do what she had to do. Gathering herself, she placed Shelly on the center of the alter holding her captive with one strong hand. Then grabbed the sharp dagger with her other hand and plunged it into Shelly’s heart. This caused Shelly to whimper before truly dying. Rosaline cried for an hour before going out back to bury Shelly. Her grave was a simple boot box that was placed in a shallow hole underneath the daisies. The irony was not lost on Rosaline.
The next few times and with different animals it became easier to sacrifice them. For the ones she hunted out in the woods she did the ritual sacrifices there. Using a large tent to construct a makeshift alter and to conceal what she was doing. At some point, she didn’t even shed mournful and guilty tears. The emotions she felt for these animals did not stop her from going on the mission she thought was absolutely imperative. She would not seize to do these horrid acts until she got what she wanted. A want that was never fulfilled.
Before her next and last sacrifice of a bunny, she was arrested. The police were tipped off by her next-door neighbors the Kinz’s. Once she was in custody and when the premises were searched, the police dug up fifteen animals she had buried in her backyard and sideyards. The bodies of the wild animals were never found or traced back to Rosaline. This was disgusting and detective Collins was glad to put this deranged woman in jail.
Left to rot for a long time and to finally be released she decided not to go back to her sacrificial deeds. They never brought back her children anyways. Nor did it bring her cheating husband back into her life. Not that he would be with her after he learned of what she had done. When she was released to a halfway house she wanted to find a way to clear her conscience. Speaking to the women and children at a local food bank, she was told about a charity that focuses on feeding homeless people on the streets. Where volunteers would round up food from the food bank and other places such as grocery stores and go around the city looking for people to give food to. The woman who organized this program knew that Rosaline was previously in jail and what for but Rosaline’s plea of needing some redemption got her the volunteering gig. Helping people instead of hurting animals gave her the reprieve she had been looking for. She couldn’t help her children before they died but maybe she could help children on the streets.
Now this charitable cause that Rosaline was a part of was a great thing but it does not exonerate her from the unspeakable things she had done. Seeing the error of her ways and trying to make good on that does not make her a good person. Rosaline let herself feel innocent and redeemed by volunteering for a good cause. When in fact hiding behind this did not change the fact that she killed animals for her own possible gain.
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