In a Romanian village, residents neutralized a deceased vampire and were put on trial

Vampires have plagued humans for centuries, attacking them and turning them into their fellow humans. To protect against evil spirits, dozens of effective methods have been invented using improvised means and consecrated objects. Then they stopped believing in the story about bloodsuckers and the art of fighting them was forgotten. But recently it turned out that in Dracula's homeland, Romania, vampires are still mischievous and they have to fight back. This is exactly what the relatives of one deceased woman did, deciding that after her death she became a vampire.

In the Romanian county of Valcea, relatives of a deceased woman dug up her grave two months after the funeral. They decided that after her death she became a vampire and haunts people at night. To get rid of the persecution of the undead, the relatives removed the body from the coffin and pierced the deceased’s heart with a knife. After that, they buried the corpse back and went home with a clear conscience.

But the manipulations with the body in the rural cemetery did not go unnoticed. Outsiders saw the creepy medieval ritual and reported the vampire fighters to the police. Law enforcement officers went to the scene and made sure that the coffin had been dug up. Therefore, they opened a criminal case for desecration of the body.

Not only the relatives who suffered from vampire attacks were under investigation, but also the local priest. It turned out that the action in the cemetery was carried out with his tacit consent. The Holy Father knew about the illegal exhumation, but did not prevent it and did not notify the police.

Surprisingly, the incident occurred in broad daylight on September 18, 2019. Four people were operating at the woman’s grave, not hiding their intentions at all. During the investigation, they did not hide anything and fully admitted their guilt. True, repentance did not overtake them, since they remained confident that they had done the right thing.

The four defendants entered into a plea agreement. In February 2020, they received suspended prison sentences. As for the priest, he was accused of abuse of office and complicity in desecration of a grave. The proceedings against him lasted more than four years. It was only on February 8, 2024 that he was finally acquitted by the Appeals Chamber.

The clergyman said that he never approved of such methods of fighting vampires. He also told the investigation that he tried to dissuade the grave desecrators from their reckless act. Unfortunately, they did not listen to him. Despite his acquittal in a secular court, the village cleric was punished by a church court. The Archdiocese of Rymnik applied a disciplinary sanction to the priest and removed him from office for negligence and dishonest performance of statutory and regulatory duties.