Atheist Woman Murdered In Arizona For Not Believing In God
An Arizona woman is dead after authorities say being an admitted atheist led to her murder. Now another woman is behind bars, charged with first-degree murder. The Raw Story reports that 39-year-old Anitra Braxton was arrested the day after Christmas when authorities in Phoenix discovered the body of her alleged victim on the couch in her home. The other details surrounding this incident are simply disturbing.
Braxton reportedly admitted to Phoenix police officers that she had shot the female victim in the eye because she did not believe in God. After she allegedly shot the woman in the eye, she propped her up on her couch, wrapped in a towel, and left her there. She called the display a “shrine from God” in a bizarre confession.
Arizona News 3 reports that the female victim’s atheism angered Braxton, who shot her in the eye before partially cleaning the crime scene. Braxton reportedly told police that the body had been on her couch for two or three days by the time authorities made the disturbing discovery.
To make matters worse, the woman that was shot may have been pregnant. The victim has also not yet been identified by authorities. Her identity is currently unknown, and the circumstances which led her to being shot in Braxton’s home have yet to be revealed.
Interesting that after the recent religious attacks there hasn’t been a single atheist suicide bomb or murder…..
— Tim R6 (@timonther6) December 10, 2015
Atheist Blogger Rajib Haider murder case will beginning Thursday. https://t.co/n8FzL8zHsm
— Mik Shakil (@mik_shakil) December 22, 2015
Trapped Between Murder and Repression: Life as an Atheist Blogger in #Bangladesh https://t.co/EDC6zuIe5Y
— Anna Guèye (@annagueye) December 28, 2015
It seems that even in the modern age, it’s dangerous to be an atheist. This is not the first case of an atheist being slain or violently attacked for their lack of belief in deities. Over the span of 2015, four atheist bloggers were killed in Bangladesh for simply voicing their lack of beliefs in gods. One of the victims was found partially dismembered and decapitated in his home. As recently as August, nobody had been arrested in the slayings of atheist bloggers in Bangladesh.
In 2013, an Oakland, California, man named Douglas Yim was convicted in the violent murder of 25-year-old Dzuy Duhn Phan. The 33-year-old man killed his friend during an argument over the existence of God. Duhn Phan did not believe in deities, which angered Yim, who shot him dead.
All the warning signs, were they ignored? Phoenix Police say Anitra Braxton said the dead woman on her couch was… https://t.co/Wio8gQ5Uxr
— Wendy Halloran (@WendyHalloran12) December 29, 2015
Christian kills woman for being #Atheist. of course she’s mentally ill. if she was Muslim they’d blame Islam https://t.co/tyQniTkkhT
— Mister C (@misterchuck719) December 29, 2015
As far as the most recent murder of an atheist goes, social media is showing a lot of attention. Most of the sentiment being expressed about Anitra Braxton is that of disgust and shock. Meanwhile, other details are being shared by Arizona journalists.
Phx Pd can’t confirm whether victim was pregnant. Suspect, Anitra Braxton, told them she was..
— ashley thompson (@AshleytABC15) December 28, 2015
Do you think it’s dangerous to be an atheist, even in America?
[Image via Maricopa County Sheriff]
