DEAD CAT, RAVEN, CHICKENS FOUND IN CEMETERY.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Daily News Staff Writer

A dead black cat, a dead raven and six dead chickens were found Wednesday in the tiny Palmdale Cemetery, animal control officials said.

All covered in plastic bags, the decomposing carcasses were dropped at different places in the cemetery and outside its back fence.

``It might have been something as innocent as somebody trying to get rid of dead animals, or it might have been a prank. We really can't tell at this point,'' said Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control Sgt. Alex Flores.

The century-old graveyard's remote location, at 20th Street East and Avenue S, makes it a regular target for vandalism, often with occult overtones. In October 1997, vandals toppled three of the oldest and largest headstones - dating to the 1890s - and broke seven wooden crosses.

The cemetery's volunteer caretaker says he frequently finds dead animals in bags - sometimes with trash inside the bag as well - and he attributes it to Satanism. Once he found a trash bag containing rotten meat, perhaps gizzards from a turkey, in a hole dug into a grave.

``I would say it's juveniles. They always come out at night,'' said Lee DeRosier, a 79-year-old retired firefighter.

DeRosier said he has found other signs of intruders with occult intentions: a candle left burning on a grave, or rotten fruit and a candle left on a red, white and black cloth.

The cat and birds, found by neighborhood youngsters, appeared to have been dead at least two days, Flores said.

One of the chickens was beheaded, but decomposition was such that officials couldn't tell what killed the cat and the other birds.

One bag contained dead branches, as well as a dead chicken, Flores said. Another plastic bag contained cloth with blood on it and a woman's panties and bra, prompting animal control officials to notify sheriff's deputies.