In the US state of Massachusetts, two sisters tied up and set fire to a five-year-old girl, exorcising from her the demon, because of which she allegedly misbehaved. The women also threatened to cut off the head of her eight-year-old brother with machetes. The incident is reported by the New York Post.
The boy told police that exorcists Peggy LaBossiere and Rachel Hilaire tied his sister twice, then set her face on fire, stuck needle-like objects in her arm and neck, and bleed. The girl added that burning liquid was also poured into her eyes.
The victim was taken to hospital with third-degree burns to her face. She was then taken away with her brother by social services.
The mother of the children hired the women to perform the ritual. She is from Haiti and works as a hairdresser and Labosière was her client. The parent complained that her daughter did not obey and behaved capriciously, and asked for a voodoo ritual to expel the demon from her. The woman was not prosecuted, but was sent to psychiatric treatment.
Labosière and Hilary said they often performed “cleansing” procedures for friends and family using baths. The ritual included chanting prayers, rubbing incense and oils over the body, and burning myrrh. According to them, children were sometimes burned when the spirits left their bodies.
Both sisters deny that the girl was mutilated, and they will stand trial on February 7. The public defender he provided has not yet commented.
Voodoo is an African religion based on the belief that spirits are part of the material world and can affect events and people. Haitian Voodoo is the most orthodox form of religion.