By Chester Seaton, News

11/10/282- Police in the growing city of Ilya in the province of Yves released a statement today concerning a rash of brutal murders in the city’s South Ward that have shaken the community to its core over the last couple of weeks.

“The first incident was reported at the end of last month,” said Chief Inspector Tristan Robeau. “Details of the murder were kept a secret from the public, being deemed too grisly for civilized consumption. Then another body showed up, and another, and another. Releasing the details is now a matter of public safety.”

The bodies are said to have been discovered in isolated, out of the way places, such as warehouses, empty lots, and alleys in the city’s South Ward, along the river front.

“The bodies are mutilated,” Inspector Robeau said. “I wish there were a more diplomatic way of saying it, but they were torn to shreds. Our initial thought was some sort of animal, perhaps a mountain lion from the nearby des Anges range (which isn’t unheard of, though the creatures are usually shot or run off before they can do anything) but the wounds are too clean for tooth and claw and there is no sign of mastication on the victims.”

In short, none of the victims were eaten. Thank heavens for small favors.

“Besides the grotesque manner in which the victims died, only one other detail links them; small burns with no rhyme or reason on the bodies. We’ve no idea how the burns are caused or what the purpose may be, but we’ve ruled out fire or chemicals. It seems completely random.”

Inspectors say that they are devoting the majority of their man power and resources to the investigation, and doubling patrols in areas where they believe the murderer may strike next. A small comfort, to be sure, for the citizens of Ilya.