An Easton angler says he stumbled upon a slaughtered ram and a burning candle last week at his favorite fishing spot.

Landscaper and avid fisher Kris Mancini says he was ready to drop a line at the Warner Anglers Preserve when he found a lit candle a few feet away from a ram's body discarded in the water.

"Obviously, it was dead, and a section of its throat was cut," said Mancini.

He found a chalky pattern on the ground nearby, described by police as a rectangle. That's where Mancini saw the shape of a human body.

Police say the animal was likely butchered elsewhere professionally, and then brought to the area to dump. Mancini says his biggest concern is the fire risk posed by a lit candle.

"We could have lost hundreds of acres in a forest fire, you know? Because someone decided to light a candle and do what they were going to do on the stream," Mancini said.

Experts in world religion say the site doesn't resemble sacrificial rituals in Caribbean religions like Vodou and Santeria.

"I think that's making certain assumptions, that every time an animal is found it's automatically this ritual from this Caribbean religion," said Dr. Miguel de la Torre, a published author focusing on world religions. "It seems like whoever did this, somehow thought of connecting the candle with the ram. Why? Who knows."

He says the site has all the hallmarks of copycat behavior rather than a recognized religious or magical ritual.

"If that was the intention, it was done wrong," said de la Torre.

Easton police say state DEEP and the Department of Agriculture assisted in their investigation.