8. The Carny Cult
In 1991, William Anthony Ault was working for a traveling carnival in the US. His coworkers Jimmie Penick, Mark Goodwin, and brothers Keith and David Lawrence were involved in a Satanic cult—and Ault wanted to join. When the cult rejected him, Ault turned to blackmail. He knew about the murder of an 18-year-old boy in Fulton County, Georgia, committed by Penick and Keith Lawrence earlier that year. However, the cult had a different plan to ensure Ault wouldn’t talk.
On September 25, 1991, after the carnival had closed, the five men were driven to a secluded area and Ault was asked to lie on a makeshift altar. The four cult members then tied and gagged him. Keith Lawrence said a prayer to Satan before Penick picked up a knife and cut Ault from his neck to his stomach. The men then took turns cutting his abdomen and chest, making an inverted cross. Finally, Penick asked Ault if he was ready die beforeslitting his throat. The four men later cut off Ault’s head and hands and tried to burn them, before throwing his body in a field. Then they took the money Ault had on him and went to Arby’s.
The police were tipped off to the location of the body by Mark Goodwin’s father, and the cult was arrested a short time later. Penick was given a 60-year sentence, Keith Lawrence was given 20 years, and David Lawrence and Goodwin were both given eight years.
When asked about their Satanic connections, Keith Lawrence said that Satanism was “like a drug: “You get high, and once you’re over it, you’ve got to inject even more than the first time.”
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