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TMCNet: Vandals leave bloody trail at Modesto's St. Stanislaus church

[August 28, 2010]

Vandals leave bloody trail at Modesto's St. Stanislaus church

Aug 28, 2010 (The Modesto Bee - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Authorities Saturday morning discovered that vandals broke into St. Stanislaus Church in west Modesto overnight, leaving behind a lot of damage and a trail of blood around the altar.

Modesto police said the blood might have come from a cut someone suffered while breaking a window to enter the Catholic church on Maze Boulevard, just west of South Emerald Avenue.

The blood was not found near the broken window, said church member Steve Turner.

He said the blood was splattered around the altar and down one of the aisles, but there was no message scrawled to indicate the vandalism was ritualistic in nature.

"It's like they didn't plan on being in here," said Turner, who was helping with the cleanup Saturday afternoon.

Security officials spotted the vandalism abut 6 a.m. and informed Modesto police. Officers gathered evidence at the scene, which included collecting some blood samples from the floor.

Police did not have any suspect description Saturday afternoon.

By 1 p.m., the blood had been cleaned off. Turner and his son were installing plywood to cover the large window that was shattered to enter the church.

Four large statues were destroyed, including a Virgin Mary statue 200 years old, Turner said. The statues were knocked off their mantles.

Several vestments, ceremonial garments, were pulled from a closet and thrown out on the lawn, along with a 12-inch wooden crucifix. A large mirror, a few chairs and a few large flower pillars were broken.

A computer that operates the sound and music in the church was also damaged. Turner said the church has a second computer that can do the job.

Other than a chrome crucifix that was missing, Turner said nothing else appeared to have been stolen from the church.

There were no estimate yet on the cost of the damage. Despite the vandalism, Turner said Sunday's masses will be held as normally scheduled.

The vandalism was the first reported at the $20 million church since it opened in July 2008.

Police ask anyone with information about the vandalism to call Crime Stoppers at 521-4636. Tipsters also can e-mail tips through the Crime Stoppers Web site, www.stancrimetips.org, or text tips to CRIMES (274637) by typing "Tip704" plus your message. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and are eligible for a cash reward.

Bee staff writer Rosalio Ahumada can be reached at rahumada@modbee.com or 578-2394.

To see more of The Modesto Bee, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.modbee.com/. Copyright (c) 2010, The Modesto Bee, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail services@mctinfoservices.com, or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544).

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