Man buries nephew alive in an act of witchcraft in Peruvian jungle

There were moans from beneath the ground. Rapid breathing that was becoming increasingly fainter. Gasps that begged for help. It was a January morning in the thick Peruvian jungle, in the Indigenous community of Chequitavo in the municipality of Oventeni in Ucayali, a region bordering Brazil. On the outskirts of the town, a man blinded by his grief and superstitions has just committed an atrocity.

Rubén Sabino Oviriano’s mother died of tuberculosis. But he refused to listen to reason or accept the truth. He went to a healer and asked him what had killed her. The man, in an incomprehensible act, told him that it had been the evil work of his nephew, his brother’s son, a tiny 11-year-old boy who has not yet finished primary school.

Angry, Sabino Oviriano hatched a plan. He asked the boy to accompany him to bury his paternal grandmother. They went to an open field, found a spot and began to dig. After depositing the remains of the old woman, the uncle tied his nephew’s hands and feet and placed him inside a black raffia bag. He had decided to bury him alive due to the delirium of his beliefs. He was convinced that the little boy was responsible for the death of his own grandmother.

Nothing seemed to oppose his macabre fate. It was an informal cemetery in the middle of nowhere. But Sabino Oviriano did not count on the presence of the rondas campesinas (peasant patrols). Three members of the Gran Pajonal patrol, from the Asháninka ethnic group — to which the minor and his family also belong — were aware of the grandmother’s burial and went to the cemetery in case Sabino Oviriano needed help. They knew that his nephew had gone with him and asked about him. Sabino Oviriano did not give a very convincing answer, so they approached the grave.

“When we went up the hill, we heard breathing. The hole was not very deep. Otherwise, we would not have heard it,” said the leader of the patrol. After removing the earth, they found the bag and, inside, the child, who was barely moving. He was suffocating. A few minutes later, the horror was consummated.

After he caught his breath, the villagers took him to his father. They say that the boy barely spoke. He was terrified. He drank his masato — a traditional drink based on fermented yuca — in silence. There is a video where the boy is facing away from the camera and a local authority figure asks him questions: Why did they bury you? Have they accused you of being a witch? Was it your uncle Rubén? The boy just nodded.

A week after the events, the justice of the peace and community representatives traveled to the city of Atalaya to file a formal complaint at the police station. They explained that the delay was due to the poor condition of the road, a result of the incessant rains. The case is moving slowly in the Provincial Corporate Criminal Prosecutor’s Office of Atalaya. Sabino Oviriano is being investigated for the crime against life, body, and health in the form of attempted homicide.

The Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations reported that it is providing comprehensive care to the victim and issued a call to the community and authorities to reinforce the protection of minors. Meanwhile, the Atalaya Health Network, through the community mental health center, has provided workshops on healthy coexistence in the Indigenous community of Chequitavo. “We focus on violence, conflict resolution, and also on how they can organize themselves as a community,” said one of the social workers. The Asháninka child who was rescued from a pit is currently under the care of an aunt. “I am reading the word of God to him,” she said.

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