HOUSTON – More evidence of satanic markings were discovered on the streets of a southeast Houston neighborhood Thursday, members of the community said.
Neighbors said an animal was sacrificed in an abandoned house on St Augustine Street.
While police have yet to make an arrest or confirm a person of interest, Ryan Roberts' family and neighbors say they know who killed Roberts and the connection to devil-worshipping strengthens as a possible motive.
The satanic markings on the street resemble the ones Channel 2 found inside an abandoned house on St Augustine. Neighbors say they are part of rituals Roberts' killer created.
"Our viewers unfortunately know this story to be the sequel and not the original," said Brian Wice, Channel 2's legal expert.
Wice is referring a brutal murder case from the 1990s when two teenage girls were tortured, raped and murdered by six gang members in TC Jester Park as a part of a gang initiation. All were convicted and three of them executed.
Wice said whether it's an initiation or a satanic ritual, it's not a sound defense for murder.
"What's happened in the past juries understandably have not been kind to defendants who have been involved in this kind of criminal wrongdoing," Wice said.
What about pleading insanity?
"Your typical defendant has a better chance, by in large, of winning the Heisman trophy than ultimately being able to convince a Harris County jury that he or she couldn't understand right from wrong," Wice said.
Regardless, if worshipping the devil comes in to play as a possible motive for the death of Roberts, there's still a lot of unanswered questions.
"As I would with any situation, no matter how violent or senseless the facts of any criminal case are, let's wait and see what law enforcement does to bring us the big picture before anyone rushes to judgment," Wice said.
Houston police investigators say there are still no developments on naming a potential suspect of person of interest and no one is in custody.