Hunter Goldberg, 'William the Conqueror Descendent', Arrested for Attempted NYE Goat Sacrifice

Hunter Goldberg

Hunter Goldberg is a 23-year-old young man from Oregon who was arrested on New Year's Eve for what police say were party plans involving the sacrificing of a live goat. Fortunately, Hunter has a genealogically endowed father who keeps things in a historical perspective.

KPIC News reported first on Hunter's arrest. Police say that the man had attempted to purchase a goat from a farm and was in the process of writing an apology note for the sacrifice he was about to perform when he was arrested.

The trooper found two machetes in Goldberg's car. He allegedly told the officer that he had sacrificed a goat a few weeks earlier and dumped the remains in a creek.

The young man is now being held in Douglas County Jail on $100,000 bail.

Reached by phone, Hunter's father, Josiah Goldberg, had an interesting take on his son's mishap--one that involves the early days whom he calls their mutual descendent: William the Conqueror.

William the Conqueror overcame more than a goat-sacrificing arrest in his ascent to the history books.

"Before William the Conqueror was William the Conqueror, he was called William the Bastard. It was later in life that he became great," Josiah tells Seattle Weekly. "Hunter is a nice boy. He's going through a difficult period in his life. Hopefully 20 years from now he'll be doing something worthwhile."

Josiah says his family's claim to William's bloodline isn't unique and, in fact, anyone who looks will likely find that they're "descendents from kings and queens." Still, Josiah says that he thinks his son's goat-related criminal mishaps may someday be merely a footnote on an otherwise great life.

"One has to have a historical perspective," Josiah says. "It's unfortunately that this is happening with my son. But a goat is just meat."

It's unknown if William the Conqueror ever sacrificed a goat to ring in the new year. But considering that he did sacrifice thousands of Normans, Flemings, Bretons and Frenchmen in order to secure his crown in the 1066 Battle of Hastings, we think he wouldn't have minded a goat here and there.

Besides, stranger things have happened involving locals and livestock.

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