I was a cop for 15 years in north Philly (retired)

Get a call one night around 3-4am for a person with a weapon/male unresponsive on loc. . It was about 10 years ago so the details are a bit fuzzy but I’ll never forget the utter shit show I walked into

Upon arrive my partner and I were met by a woman crying and clearly very shaken up speaking Spanish . neither myself or my partner were able to understand exactly what was going on but As we entered the home the woman pointed to the stairway and quickly exited the home barley able to hold herself together.

approaching the stairs i could hear a male voice that sounded muffled yet forceful coming from the back bedroom.. it wasn’t English or Spanish And the cadence was off putting .I settle on the landing for about 10 seconds attempting to gather whatever information I can before we climb the last flight of stairs to the dimly lit second floor ..as i approach the landing I see over the top step about 20 feet away a man’s severed head at the center of a large shoddily drawn circle no crazy markings .. no pentagrams . Just a trail of blood leading from the head to the bathroom and the same man’s voice reciting who the fuck knows ..

The man exits the room puts his hands up turns around and lays on his stomach he was arrested without incident . After the apprehension we check the crime scene to make sure it’s safe for the techs to process . As I entered the bathroom I saw the man’s headless torso face up in the bathtub .. he actually had a pair of really nice Jordan4’s on but that’s beside the point .

I don’t usually follow up on cases untill I get subpoenaed for court but this one I did . Perhaps the strangest part of this strange experience was that the man who committed the murder … never arrested , worked full time , was a former youth minister and had no history of mental illness and a clean toxicology… not even a beer in his system and was declared fit for trial by 4 dr’s 2 were independent

Fast forward 13 months and his trial is starting ..as I get called to testify I enter the courtroom and the moment I put my hand on the Bible to swear in … he begins reciting that Hymn .. the same one from that night .

Weirdest fucking thing I’ve seen in 15 years working in one of the most volatile areas in the country .. that wasn’t the reason I left the police department … but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t help me out the door .

Notes:

• ORIGINAL comment posted: Thursday June 8th 2023 at 5:06:32pm UTC
  • OP says this call was “about 10 years ago,” placing this story APPROXIMATELY around 2013 – give or take a few years based on OP’s recollection of the event
• Follow-up comment by OP: “I did see it on the news that night but it was just a quick shot of the house roped off and a blurb. Unfortunately we hit 350+ homicides easily every year (that gets properly coded) so add another 80-100.. unless it’s a mass shooting or a slow day they only really cover 1-2 murders on the news .. hahah sad .. but true”
• 2013 2014 homicide “bathtub” “severed head” “philadelphia” no prior arrest record “youth” minister