Boy, 11, was raped, hung with a wire and dismembered 'in suspected satanic ritual'
Seven people have been arrested in the boy's murder, including a family of four.
An 11-year-old boy in Argentina was kidnapped, raped and brutally murdered in a satanic ritual, authorities have said. Mario Agustin Salto was found dead in June 2016, just 48 hours after going missing.
The boy, nicknamed Marito, went missing on 31 May after telling his family he was going on a fishing trip in the small town of Quimili, in the province of Santiago de Estero. Two days later, stray dogs pulled the boy's legs out of a nylon bag abandoned on the roadside.
According to The Sun, an onlooker saw the dogs with the boy's legs, opened the bag and found his torso and head. A post-mortem found that Marito had been raped, hung with a wire and dismembered.
Around 8,000 locals gathered where Marito planned to fish to demand justice. The victim's father said: "I will not get my son back alive, but they must catch the killers who did this, I want justice for him."
Four men and a school principal were charged over the death of Marito, according to The Mirror. Police arrested 57-year-old school director Arminda Lucrecia Dia, her 58-year-old husband Miguel Angel Jimenez, their 40-year-old son Alfredo Daniel Albarracin and 38-year-old Pablo Ramirez.
Authorities found a pair of boxers with blood stains on them and are testing them to see if DNA matches the victim, The Sun reported.
A total of seven people have been detained in connection to the brutal murder, with three men being detained last June, the Mirror reported. The suspects previously arrested were identified as Rodolfo Sequeira, David Tomas Sosa and Ramon Salvatierra.
Four of suspects detained are part of a family, authorities said. Police said they could be additional arrests as the investigation continues.
Judge Rosa Falco de Rainieri, who is leading the case, said it is believed the boy was killed as part of a satanic ritual.
