MS-13 gang members charged in Satanic killing of unidentified woman

Two members of the notorious gang known as Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 have been charged with the murder of an unidentified woman as part of an alleged Satanic sacrifice. The two men were also accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting another 14-year-old girl.

Miguel Alvarez-Flores, 22, and Diego Hernandez-Rivera, 18, who were arrested on Feb. 27, laughed and smiled at members of the media when they appeared in a Houston courtroom last Wednesday to face the charges.

Prosecutors said that the 14-year-old kidnapping victim ran away from school and went into an apartment complex where she met some members of MS-13. The gang members held her against her will and took her to other locations where she was tortured and sexually assaulted by other members. The 14-year-old was held down while they tattooed an image of the grim reaper on her leg, according to Houston Press.

The 14-year-old provided the evidence linking the two men to the murder of a woman identified only "Genesis," who was with her in the apartment. She told the investigators that Genesis spoke out against the shrine dedicated to the satanic beliefs of the gang members.

Alvarez-Flores, known in the gang as "Diabolico," reportedly took offense at the outburst and offered a lit cigarette to the satanic statue.

"He returned from the statue and told the entire group that the beast did not want a material offering. It wanted a soul," the prosecutors said.

When the kidnapping victim woke up the next day, Genesis was gone. She was found dead on the side of a Houston road on Feb. 16. The police released a composite sketch of the murder victim in a bid to identify her.

Hernandez-Rivera admitted to the police in a statement that Alvarez-Flores told him it was "his turn," which he understood as an order to kill Genesis.

Alvarez-Flores reportedly shot Genesis in the chest at close range. Hernandez-Rivera confessed that he shot the woman once in the head.

The two men, who requested a court-appointed lawyer, are scheduled to appear in court again on April 18.

MS-13 started out as a prison gang in Los Angeles in the 1980s. Since then, the gang, which has about 800 members in Houston, has spread its mayhem internationally, particularly in El Salvador where it wages its territorial wars against rival gangs.