Benjamin Lewis, 48, of Totton, has been sentenced to detention in hospital after stealing lambs and leaving carcasses, body parts and occult symbols at churches and an NHS mental health office in Hampshire in 2025. Southampton Crown Court heard that Judge William Mousley KC imposed a hospital order with restrictions and said Lewis was likely to be detained for a
"significant"period of time.
Lewis, who had previously pleaded guilty to stealing lambs on two occasions and admitted five charges of religiously aggravated harassment, was described in court as a man with autism and personality disorders who saw himself as belonging to a vampire cult. Psychiatrist Dr Gauruv Malhan told the court that Lewis had progressed from harming animals as a child to slaughtering stolen lambs and displaying their body parts, and that there was concern his risk could escalate to humans as well.
"There is a concern his risk will escalate from harming animals to humans as well,"
Dr Malhan also told the court that during Lewis's assessment he tried to attack the psychiatrist, and was restrained and put in seclusion. Police said the case involved repeated incidents at churches and other sites across Hampshire, including attacks that appeared to coincide with full moons or dates in satanic calendars.
What did police find at churches and other sites?
Dead deer and lambs were discovered tied to a flagpole, in a pulpit or otherwise displayed at churches and at an NHS mental health office in Hampshire in 2025, the court heard. In February 2025, a headless deer was found at Christ Church, Emery Down, followed two weeks later by a deer's head in the pulpit.
In the following month, Lewis left a deer's head on gates at Anchor House, an NHS facility involved in his psychiatric treatment. In the same month, the rector of St Peter's Church, Bramshaw, found a dead lamb tied to a church flagpole along with a tarot card.
Months later, a decomposed deer's head was found on a pew inside the church. In April, several lambs were stolen from a farm and a smallholding nearby, and some of those were later found dead, including at Christ Church, Colbury, and at St Theresa's Church, Totton, where
"distressed"children saw the carcass, the court was told.
St Theresa's Church in Totton was one of the sites where animal carcasses were dumped.
How did police respond?
Hampshire Police noticed that the attacks coincided with phases of the moon or dates in satanic calendars and deployed officers to churches on those nights to catch the culprit. PC Jess Surman said police patrolled churches on full moon nights to catch the culprit.
Lewis was arrested in May 2025 and then again in September after one further church attack. At his address in Kinross Road, police found
"items referencing death and killing", as well as Satanic symbols and objects relating to vampires, prosecutors said.
He also had a suitcase with laminated newspaper clippings of similar crimes dating back to 2003, according to police. PC Jess Surman said the impact on local people had been severe, with some too frightened to attend church or visit graves of loved ones in church grounds.
"We've had people who were so upset and frightened by it that they couldn't go to church, or see loved ones who are buried in the church grounds because they've been scared of bumping in to him.
"It's only through perseverance and getting enough evidence that we've got a really good result this time and I can only hope that the community can sleep at ease with it."
What sentence did the court impose?
Judge William Mousley KC ordered Lewis detained in hospital under restrictions, saying he was likely to remain there for a significant period. The court heard that Lewis's offending involved repeated thefts of lambs, the display of animal carcasses and religiously aggravated harassment at churches and related sites.
Lewis's case also led police to maintain patrols at churches on nights linked to the moon or satanic calendars, as officers worked to identify the person responsible for the offences across Hampshire in 2025.
Key Facts
- Benjamin Lewis, 48, of Totton, was sentenced to detention in hospital at Southampton Crown Court.
- He admitted stealing lambs on two occasions and five charges of religiously aggravated harassment.
- Dead deer and lambs were found at churches and at Anchor House, an NHS mental health office, in Hampshire in 2025.
- Police arrested Lewis in May 2025 and again in September after another church attack.
- Officers found items referencing death and killing, Satanic symbols and vampire-related objects at his home in Kinross Road.
