Satanic goat-killer says she was drunk

Brisbane, Australia -- An Australian woman who slaughtered a goat in a mock satanic ritual in a Brisbane church has been ordered to apologize.

The (Brisbane) Courier-Mail newspaper reported that Tracy Lee Arnold, 26, was sentenced to two years probation Monday for the killing of a pet goat named Maddie in the Bellbowrie Community Church, west of Brisbane, on Oct. 13, 2006.

Arnold had pleaded guilty in Brisbane Magistrate's Court to three counts of stealing and injuring an animal.

The magistrate also ordered that Arnold apologize in person to Maddie's owners and the Bellbowrie Community Church.

The court heard that Arnold and three other people had been drinking at a party in Bellbowrie when they decided to conduct a mock satanic ritual. The group dragged away a goat that was grazing in a nearby property, broke into the church and slaughtered the animal.

Police later found the goat's head in the freezer at Arnold's home along with photographs of the group with the head.

Arnold's lawyer said there was nothing in her "personal background or her psychological character that makes her any more likely to be involved in offenses of this nature but, when she drinks alcohol, she makes poor decisions."

© 2007 United Press International.