National

Woman gives ill child ‘exorcism’ to purge ‘demon,’ Florida cops say

A woman is facing one count of child abuse after investigators say she performed an ‘exorcism’ on a child, Florida cops say.
A woman is facing one count of child abuse after investigators say she performed an ‘exorcism’ on a child, Florida cops say.

A woman performed an “exorcism” on a child to purge her of a “demon,” according to an arrest report from a Florida sheriff’s office.

The woman’s roommate told deputies that at around 9 p.m. on Oct. 21 she saw the woman, who is 33, on the phone with her sister “praying and talking” while a child vomited in the room, according to the report from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

The roommate left for about 20 minutes, and when she came back, she saw the child had a “makeshift noose” made out of a robe tie around her neck, the report says.

The child told the roommate that the woman was trying to get a “suicidal demon” out of her, according to the report.

“The child was scared and felt sick,” the report says.

The woman later told deputies the child was sick because she had eaten lobster the day before, according to the report.

The woman is facing one count of child abuse, according to the sheriff’s office.

The woman, who lives in Seminole, about 25 southwest of Tampa, was released from jail on Oct. 23 on a $10,000 bond, according to Pinellas County jail records.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

Read Next
Read Next
Read Next
ML
Madeleine List
mcclatchy-newsroom
Madeleine List is a McClatchy National Real-Time reporter. She has reported for the Cape Cod Times and the Providence Journal.
Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER