A 35-year-old British man found dead and naked in Italy in September had reportedly attended a “queer” pagan gathering organized by a New Age group known as the Radical Faeries, according to The Telegraph.
John Benjamin Braithwaite, from Leeds, was found dead near the tent where he had been staying in a rural area between Noto and Canicattini Bagni, in Sicily’s Syracuse province. Italian media reported that his body was found naked, with a rope nearby and signs of injuries around his neck.
Authorities reportedly also found items associated with esoteric practices, including chemicals, near the area where the tent had been set up.
A former member of the group told The Telegraph that he had participated in pagan and New Age rituals and alleged that drug use and sexual manipulation were also present within the group. The source suggested Braithwaite may have died during a drug-fueled sexual encounter, but those claims have not been established as facts.
The circumstances surrounding Braithwaite’s death remain under investigation.
