A Nigerian murder suspect accused of killing his brother with an axe told police investigators he actually attacked a goat, which was only later magically transformed into his sibling’s corpse, officials said Thursday.
The man, whose name wasn’t released, offered police his explanation after his arrest on Tuesday in the death of his brother the previous day at Isseluku village in southern Nigeria.
“He said that the goats were on his farm and he tried to chase them away. When one wouldn’t move, he attacked it with an axe. He said it then turned into his brother,” Police Commissioner Udom Ekpoudom told the Associated Press.
Murder suspects in Nigeria, where many people believe in black magic, sometimes claim spirits tricked them into killing. In 2001, eight people were burned to death after one person in their group was accused of making a bystander’s penis magically disappear.