It was the morning of October 29th, 1989. Eyota would never be the same.

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Some of you might remember the name Dan Naylor. Some of you may hope to forget it. It wasn't a "normal" murder - if you can call it that. According to an article in the Post Bulletin from 1990,

Dan Naylor admitted killing Wayne Lange early the morning of Oct. 29, and claimed to be involved in the practice of Satanism, separate witnesses testified Friday.

Lyle McIntyre, probably the key co-defendant in Naylor's trial for the murder of Lange, testified that Naylor told him he had "chopped him (Lange) up like a piece of raw meat.'' McIntyre said Naylor made the comment as a group drove back to Rochester from the rural Eyota field where Lange's body was later found."

Satanism? In the Rochester area? A group of five young adults behaving like the "Manson" clan?

I found this pretty hard to believe when I first heard about this case. For starters, upon reviewing this article, it's noted that the lead witness had a pretty shakey memory of what happened to begin with.

The Post Bulletin reported more creepy facts that day too. They explained,

All five people involved have testified that Naylor told them at various times he was a warlock or high priest in Satanism. The three women, Jennifer Keller, Michelle Toche and Cynthia Blomgren, have admitted discussing a witchcraft-like plan to confront and humiliate Lange because they believed he had stolen from them and interfered in relationships. But all the women said the plan never got beyond the talk stage. They all also said they were not involved in the occult or Satanism.

Amstutz told jurors that Naylor spoke to a community education class he was teaching on Satanism in 1988 and told that class he was a high priest in a satanic group."

A year later, Naylor still claimed his innocence. He says he's not sure why his friends testified against him.

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