Ruthless

Ritual

Warner: "Black male, I'd say seven or eight years old. Head, arms and legs are missing."

Elliot: "Looks like some kind of ritual killing."

Warner: "Could be. The limbs were severed through the bone instead of at the joints. There are easier ways to cut up a body. I'll check the blood in those bowls to see if it's his." she informs as he nods, moving over to where the Benson siblings are talking to one of the men who found the body

Olivia: "Did you see anybody hanging around?"

Man: "No, it's too cold, even for the homeless."

Olivia: "We're gonna need all the trash you picked up in the area. Everything."

Elizabeth: "Have you ever found something like this before?"

Man: "Couple of dead goats, birds. There's pretty freaky people in this city."

Warner: "Detectives."

Olivia: "Thank you so much." she hums

Elizabeth: "I've never understood the purpose of sacrificing a living being. Human or animal" she scoffs, shaking her head "I mean when you really think about it, what "God" is gonna want a dead head or body part in exchange for money or power?"

Elliot: "So if you were a God what would you ask for?" he snickers, giving her an amused look

Elizabeth: "Depends on what they want in return." she shrugs

Elliot: "Any chance he died of something else and this is some kind of a funeral rite?"

Warner: "There's blood clotting at the neck. This boy's throat was cut when he was still alive."

•••

Warner: "The child bled out when his carotid artery was cut, then he was dismembered. He's in rigor, so I'd put time of death around 12 hours ago."

Olivia: "Is there anything to support the ritual sacrifice theory?"

Warner: "Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing."

Elliot: "So this wasn't a hack job. No. After he died, the extremities were removed methodically. First, the flesh around the limbs and neck was flensed."

Elizabeth: "It was what?"

Warner: "Scraped from the bone using a sharp knife like this. Then the bone was severed with one blow from something like a butcher's cleaver."

Elliot: "What about the blood in the bowls?"

Warner: "Blood type matches your victim. I bet DNA will, too. I've never seen anything like this before."

Elliot: "A dismemberment? Sure you have."

Warner: "Not where blood was drained from the body by hanging it upside down." she informs, making their eyes widen

Olivia: "How can you tell?"

Warner: "The blood coagulated at the top of the spleen which means the body was inverted."

Elizabeth: "Any chance we have a way to ID him?"

Warner: "An old scar on the abdomen. Not surgical, but the wound was severe."

Elliot: "If it's from abuse, maybe we got a record of it."

Warner: "I doubt it. No signs of torture or other trauma. This child was healthy and well-fed."

•••

Elizabeth: "No hits from missing persons in the tri-state area going back three years."

Olivia: "National Center for Missing and Exploited Children lists four kids with the right age and race, none with abdominal scars."