Satanic message written in blood of 63-year-old woman who was raped and tortured

A man has been arrested in relation to the murder of a 63-year-old woman from Seattle, after police found her bloody corpse at her home in Lake City. Police have charged Michael Ross Giordano with the rape and gruesome stabbing of Jennifer Ayers after he confessed to the crimes.

"The facts here are extremely violent and disturbing," a prosecutor told the judge overseeing the case.

According to probate documents, Giordano confessed to choosing Ayers at random based on the number of cars outside her home. He reportedly used X Box cables to bind her before raping her and slitting her throat. He also stabbed her multiple times and used her blood to write Satanic messages on the wall.

The 23-year-old then set the woman on fire before leaving the scene. According to Kiro7, a witness saw Giordano on the street with blood on his hands as he was throwing credit cards into the bushes.

"The officers immediately dragged the woman out of the house and into the backyard. Once clear of the smoke, officers were able to see the woman's hands were bound behind her back, she was only partially clothed, a large knife handle was sticking out of her right buttock, and her inner thighs and crotch had been severely burned away. She was clearly deceased," the court documents read.

"In addition to suffering a multitude of stab wounds throughout her body, the victim had extremely large lacerations on her neck. There was writing on the walls inside the home and it appeared to be written in blood. In the immediate area of the fire where the victim's body was found burning, detectives found a red plastic gasoline can."

Following his arrest, Giordano told authorities that he had killed a man who was attempting to rob him. He later confessed to killing Ayers and stealing her valuables.

"He also explained that he used gasoline and intentionally set the victim's crotch on fire to destroy evidence of the rape," the documents said.

The suspect claimed he wrote Satanic messages on the wall in the hopes of misleading investigators.

He has been charged with first-degree aggravated murder and with a bail set at $10m (£7.2m).