Haiti's first three presidents sought to suppress Vodou, using police to break-up nocturnal rituals; they feared it as a source of rebellion. In 1847, Faustin Soulouque became president; he was sympathetic to Vodou and allowed it to be practiced more openly. In the Bizoton Affair of 1863, several Vodou practitioners were accused of ritually killing a child before eating it. Historical sources suggest that they may have been tortured prior to confessing to the crime, at which they were executed. The affair received much attention.