S.African burned alive in suspected satanic ritual: report

An 18-year-old South African woman was in a coma Monday after being doused in petrol and burned alive by friends in a Johannesburg park, in what police suspect was a satanic ritual, local media said.

Kirsty Theologo suffered burns over three quarters of her body, damaging her lungs and throat, when she was set alight in a park in southern Johannesburg, her sister Samantha told The Star newspaper.

While she was burning, one boy cut her hand and held it over a Bible so that the blood could soak it, according to one of the girls who was in the group, the paper said.

A 16-year-old girl tried to put out the flames by rolling Kirsty Theologo in the sand, burning herself in the process, the paper said. She was also hospitalised.

Provincial police spokeswoman Captain Pinky Tsingane said the girls had been tied up and there was speculation the attack was a satanic ritual. Two men aged 19 and 21 who took part in the incident turned themselves in on Sunday, the paper added.