Exorcism Gone Wrong? Woman Goes Into Cardiac Arrest During Ritual
A Wyoming woman receiving an exorcism went into cardiac arrest after being anointed with Holy Water. The woman is now in stable condition at a local hospital, but authorities have questions about the incident.
According to reports, a call to 911 said that the unnamed woman stopped breathing after she was sprayed with Holy Water. The caller said that she had been possessed by a "Poltergeist" and was undergoing an exorcism when she went into cardiac arrest.
Officials arrived at the home, found her breathing, and rushed her to the Riverton Hospital. She was listed in stable condition upon arrival, but authorities have questions about the incident.
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Occupants of the residence told police that a demon had been haunting the home, breaking windows and dishes and biting them. When a Deputy Sheriff investigated, he found no evidence that anyone had been bitten and no criminal activity that might substantiate the residents' claims.
Exorcisms are controversial throughout the country, as many do not believe in possession of the human body. The rituals are traditionally associated with the Catholic faith, which teaches priests how to identify demons, those who are possessed, and the practice of exorcism. Yet civilians often try to perform exorcisms on their own if they believe a loved one is possessed.
In April, Eder Guzman-Rodriguez was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for the first-degree murder of his 2-year-old daughter, Jocelyn. He claimed that she was possessed and that he was trying to exorcise the demon when she died. Guzman-Rodriguez said that he saw his daughter gesturing to him, as if she wanted to fight him.
He then began punching the little girl "over and over" with his bare hands, attorney Stephanie Shortt said. She suffered fractured ribs, abrasions, contusions on a lung, and hemorrhaging. Jocelyn died of manual asphyxiation.
When police arrived at the home, they found that Jocelyn's body had been wrapped in a blanket and her room filled with Bibles and "other religious literature," Shortt testified.
"I didn't mean to kill the baby," Guzman-Rodriguez told police after he was arrested. "I didn't mean to choke her. The demon used my body to kill her."
