A 3-year-old girl in San Jose, California, died after being subjected to an exorcism performed by her own grandfather at a religious congregation, according to court documents and local media reports.
The death of Arely Naomi Proctor last September was classified as a homicide by suffocation by the authorities, who arrested her mother, Claudia Hernandez, accused of assaulting a minor resulting in death.
The girl was taken to the Apostles and Prophets church, located in a small basement of a house, to be subjected to an exorcism and freed from "evil spirits," according to the Mercury News newspaper, citing the leaders of that religious group, which They indicated to this medium that what happened was "the will of God".
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During the ritual, her mother deprived her of food and pressed her neck, making her vomit, among other alleged abuses reported by authorities.
According to the aforementioned publication, the woman took between one and two hours to alert the 911 emergency telephone number.
According to court documents, Hernandez subjected her daughter to this ritual because she woke up at night crying and screaming.
Rene Huezo, the girl's grandfather and pastor of the church, told the Mercury News: "If you read the Bible you will see that Jesus casts out demons and heals the sick."
Neither Huezo nor the girl's uncle, who also participated in the ritual, have been arrested or charged.
"What happened is what... well, what we know,
" the pastor added, adding that when the minor arrived at the church she was asleep and did not cry or show signs of distress at the ritual.
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Oscar Ayala, a preacher from the religious center who also spoke to the local outlet but did not participate in the ritual, admitted that medical assistance should have been sought earlier.
"We know that we have not done anything dark, we know that we have a clear conscience," he said, although he admitted that "due precautions were not taken" and "what happened was natural."
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Authorities did not comment to the press because "the investigation is ongoing," according to the Los Angeles Times.
The newspaper also assures that the church allegedly implicated in this death is the same one attended by a woman related to the kidnapping of a three-year-old minor who was kidnapped from a house in San José when his grandmother was withdrawing the purchase of a car.
