Sebastian Woodroffe Canadian Man lynched in Peru for killing shaman

Sebastian Woodroffe

Sebastian Woodroffe is the man who was strangulated by angry villagers in Peru after he was accused of committing murder.

Originally from Brittish Columbia, Woodroffe is thought to have travelled to Peru in order to study hallucinogenic medicine. A day prior to his death, 81-year-old Olivia Arévalo had been shot dead. Her killing prompted outrage in Peru, following other unsolved murders of indigenous activists. Sebastian Woodroffe has been described as her client/student and locals believed he killed her. However, he had not been named a suspect in her murder.

The elderly Arévalo was a member of the indigenous Shipibo-Conibo group, who was known as a spiritual healer and shaman in her local community. She ran a healing center offering ayahuasca – an Indigenous hallucinogenic mixture.

BBC notes that in a Youtube video from 2013, Woodroffe reveals a family member’s struggle with alcoholism inspired his decision to become an addiction counsellor using hallucinogenic medicine.

As a result of Arevalo’s killing, 41-year-old Sebastian Woodroffe was strangled to death after receiving several blows across his body.

Police began looking for him after a video emerged on social media showing a man being dragged by the neck, before being left motionless on the muddy ground. The footage also shows Sebastian begging for his life just moments before he appears to go limp. Peruvian authorities identified the man in the video as Sebastian Woodroffe.

His body was found in an unmarked shallow grave in the forest in Victoria Gracia in North East Peru. No arrests have been made in relation to Mr. Woodroffe’s death.

Sebastian who was active on social media has been described by those close to him as a ‘good friend’ and as having a ‘sensitive heart.’ His Facebook profile has now been turned into a remembering page. He is survived by a son, Piper.