Deadly Exorcisms in the Modern Era
It’s not just a menacing movie tradition or a practice of the past — exorcisms of supposed demons are still actively performed by clergy across the world. As ABC News admits, it’s hard to find official statistics on the cases, as they usually only reach the news when something has gone terribly wrong.
It happened to a 3-year-old girl last fall in San Jose, California. Arely Naomi Proctor Hernandez was killed in the Iglesia Apostoles y Profetas, a Pentecostal church, on September 24th. Her mother, Claudia Hernandez, had taken her there for an exorcism in the belief that the child was possessed because she would "wake up and scream or cry periodically." CBS News reports that Pastor Rene Huezo, the grandfather of Arely, joined Claudia in attempting an exorcism which involved “holding the girl's neck, squeezing it and depriving her of food while her father and brother held the child down.” In court documents, deputy district attorney Rebekah Wise added that Claudia strangled her child till unconsciousness and “stuck her hands down her throat,” but continued the procedure for most of the day.
Arely’s death was ruled a homicide by asphyxiation, resulting in her mother, grandfather, and uncle being charged with child abuse leading to her death. Claudia faced a judge yesterday, reports NBC Bay Area, with her sentencing upcoming, but due to few witnesses and the factor of freedom of religion, prosecutors may not be able to land a 25-to-life murder sentence. Because Arely was killed with the alleged intent to exorcise her “evil spirits,” the jury may instead lean toward a manslaughter conviction.
Arely isn’t the only victim in the last few decades, and most, like Arely, tragically met their deaths at the hands of their own family members. 59-year-old Susan Kay Clark was reported dead by her husband Jan David Clark on February 3rd, 2008. According to 6abc Philadelphia, the Texan woman’s body was found “wrapped in a bed sheet with a cross and sword on top of it.” After admitting that Susan had died while he pinned her down on the carpet, attempting an exorcism, Jan was charged and convicted with murder. Documents from the case add that he received a life sentence and a fine of $10,000. He had testified to smothering her even after hearing her say she couldn’t breathe. Jan claimed he had lost control of himself, “overcome with the spirit of a Cherokee witch doctor,” as he fought his wife down and ultimately suffocated her.
In 1996, begging 911 for help, 51-year-old Yeong Yeom had been beaten and choked by her husband and a Presbyterian minister to the point of full-torso bruising. The Chicago Tribune narrates how husband Yang Yeom and Minister Ze Guen Miung were charged with aggravated battery, unlawful restraint, and mob action. They were trying to “[strike] the devil” in Yeong. She was hospitalized for eight days, but lived, making her a luckier victim than some.
The Chicago Tribune brings up further cases in the same vein as the Yeom’s: a Methodist missionary “stomped to death” in an attempt to flush out spirits of illness, a woman allegedly killed by five Pentecostalists “who thought her schizophrenia was devil-inspired.” Evangelism that attributes faults to evil spirits and claims to promise cures through violent ‘faith healing’ becomes dangerously prone to targeting victims with neurodivergent symptoms or behavior apart from the norm.
Another, 25-year-old Kyong-A Ha, beaten to death in 1995 by women from her church who believed demons were to blame for her insomnia and “mild personality disorder.”
Another in 1998, 17-year-old Charity Miranda, suffocated with a plastic bag by her mother and sister. According to AP News, her mother Vivian Miranda had led the attack on her daughter, attempting to rid her of possession. Charity had supposedly been reluctant to engage in ceremonies of her family’s religion, Santeria.
It would be impossible to list the entirety of victims who have been tortured to death in the vain pursuit of demons. Though details vary, victims are very frequently attacked by their own families. Even when culpability is admitted by their perpetrators, murderers like Claudia Hernandez fail to concede guilt, still claiming that their actions were in the service of religion. The idea that intentional, prolonged strangulation could be tried as a well-intentioned accident is dangerous. Unfortunately, the myth of successful exorcism has outlived many of its victims, and shows no signs of disappearing yet.
