WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.760 --> 00:00:04.360 The following episode includes descriptions of violence against women and 2 00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:09.199 children through real life cases of exorcisms. Listener discretion is 3 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:15.359 strongly advised. In nineteen ninety nine, the Catholic Church made 4 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:19.359 a major update. You see, they have rules about exorcisms 5 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:23.679 and they hadn't been changed since sixteen fourteen. The point 6 00:00:23.719 --> 00:00:27.120 of it was to address an important issue, what is 7 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:32.039 the difference between demonic possession and psychological or physical illness. 8 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:35.759 If someone is displaying signs like what we see in 9 00:00:35.799 --> 00:00:39.960 the movies, like twisting, yelling out curse words, hurting others 10 00:00:40.039 --> 00:00:43.520 or themselves, would a preset automatically assume that they were 11 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:47.520 being possessed by the devil maybe some other demonic entity 12 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:52.679 by default, And if they displayed multiple personalities, was that 13 00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:59.560 considered grounds to perform an exorcism? That's what changed now. 14 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:02.079 You must a lot causes, So they're going to work 15 00:01:02.119 --> 00:01:06.200 with teams of doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists to roll out everything. 16 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:09.840 After all, you might have a case such as epilepsy 17 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:15.359 or schizophrenia and not something supernatural. If nothing else worked, 18 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:18.959 they would begin what they call deliverance prayers, and if 19 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:23.480 those don't work, then a major exorcism was next, and 20 00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:28.040 that would be sort of a last resort. But not 21 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:32.599 everyone follows these rules, things that go from simple things 22 00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:36.040 like what a priest must wear, tools to use, and such, 23 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:41.239 to the actual process and things to say. But in 24 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:44.359 two thousand and five, a Romanian priest and four nuns 25 00:01:44.359 --> 00:01:49.319 were standing before a judge, receiving sentencing fourteen years in 26 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:52.400 jail for the priest and the nuns receiving between five 27 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:58.079 to eight years each. The reason the death of Arena Carnucci, 28 00:01:58.840 --> 00:02:01.680 a twenty three year old none that had died during 29 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:05.879 an exorcism. That's only one of the cases I will 30 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:10.319 tell you about today where exorcisms, the practice of getting 31 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:16.240 devils out of a person, have turned deadly. My name 32 00:02:16.280 --> 00:02:25.240 is Edwin and here's a horror story. Most of what 33 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:28.199 we know about the case of Arena Carnicci was documented 34 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:31.439 by the former editor of the Bucharest, Romanian Bureau of 35 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:35.000 the BBC, one who followed the story closely and wrote 36 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:39.479 a nonfiction novel about it, ended up being called Deadly Confession. 37 00:02:40.199 --> 00:02:42.240 This was written in two thousand and six and then 38 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:46.599 a second edition published in twenty twelve. The story was 39 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:49.400 so bizarre and tragic that it was later made into 40 00:02:49.479 --> 00:02:52.879 a film called Beyond the Hills is based on these 41 00:02:52.919 --> 00:02:57.719 two books, but despite the success of these stories, the 42 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:01.960 actual case was nothing to be happy about, and it 43 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:09.080 starts off in a state orphanage. Two friends, Irena and Kitsa, 44 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:12.879 had spent their childhood there an orphanage subjected to abuse. 45 00:03:13.960 --> 00:03:16.840 Once they turned eighteen, Irena decided to go to Germany, 46 00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:19.840 but before she leaves, she goes to visit her friend 47 00:03:20.439 --> 00:03:24.159 that had also been her teenage sweetheart. The thing is 48 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:27.599 Kitsa as now living a religious life and worships God. 49 00:03:27.639 --> 00:03:31.879 In this convent, Irena can't stand the fact that she's 50 00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:36.719 lost Kitsa, and eventually she suffers a violent fit. Turns 51 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:40.319 out Kitsa had confessed their sexual experiences in the orphanage 52 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:44.360 to Father Daniel, which is, of course, in the Catholic Church, 53 00:03:45.080 --> 00:03:49.560 a sin. Because of this fit, they desperately try to 54 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:51.919 get her some help and are finally able to get 55 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:56.759 her to the hospital. Irena was sedated and diagnosed with schizophrenia, 56 00:03:57.159 --> 00:04:01.919 moved from place to place, but neglected by the staff. Eventually, 57 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:04.680 still in two thousand and five, even though Irena is 58 00:04:04.759 --> 00:04:07.960 not doing well, she is discharged from the hospital because 59 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:10.639 they say that she's going to get better at the convent. 60 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:14.240 They take her there and she's given a booklet kind 61 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:17.319 of thing, a list of a bunch of sins, and 62 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:19.920 she's supposed to check mark the sins that she's committed. 63 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:24.480 You see the head of the convent here, Father Daniel, 64 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:27.879 is a super traditionalist priest from the Romanian Catholic Church. 65 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:31.879 He performs healing sessions for pilgrims and believes that evil 66 00:04:32.040 --> 00:04:35.120 is all around them. But a few days go by 67 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:38.519 and Arena is having trouble because, if you remember, she's 68 00:04:38.519 --> 00:04:40.800 trying to get to Germany, but the place where she's 69 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:43.399 trying to go to, once she gets there, working with 70 00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:46.519 a wealthy family, it turns out someone else had taken 71 00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:50.439 that job. Irena then has another fit and begins to 72 00:04:50.519 --> 00:04:54.519 kick everything and everyone around her. But at this time 73 00:04:54.680 --> 00:04:57.959 there are pilgrims at the ceremonies that Father Daniel is running, 74 00:04:58.439 --> 00:05:00.720 so in order for no one to notice, they take 75 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:02.879 Erina up to her cell and tie her to the 76 00:05:02.920 --> 00:05:07.360 bed Erna obviously isn't happy about this and begins hurling 77 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:11.839 insults and yelling. Eventually they tie her to another stretcher 78 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:14.439 that they made on the spot, one in the shape 79 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:17.639 of a cross to bring her into the church, and 80 00:05:17.839 --> 00:05:23.720 that's where the exorcism begins. For two days, the priest 81 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:26.240 and the nuns are fasting and praying for the demons 82 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:29.199 to go away, the ones they believe are possessing her. 83 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:33.240 She's chained to this cross. A towel is stuffed in 84 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:37.199 her mouth so she stops screaming. All while she's mumbling 85 00:05:37.240 --> 00:05:42.160 curses and kicking. Eventually, Irena calms down and Father Daniel 86 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:46.360 thinks that the job is done, but then Irena faints. 87 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:50.240 They call an ambulance who finds her unconscious and gives 88 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:53.199 her shots of adrenaline, but once they get her to 89 00:05:53.199 --> 00:06:01.800 the hospital, they found out that she's actually dead. What 90 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:05.279 happens after is a series of blames. Was it the 91 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:08.120 member of the church that killed her, or was it 92 00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:11.639 the ambulance medic. Was she alive when she got to 93 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:16.759 the actual ambulance, or did she die along the way. Eventually, 94 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:19.319 the manager that was in the emergency units gives out 95 00:06:19.319 --> 00:06:22.199 a report, one that says that Arena was dead for 96 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:25.000 a few hours, even though the nuns that called in 97 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:28.720 the emergencies say that Arena was still speaking that's when 98 00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:33.560 they called the ambulance. Still, the court spoke and made 99 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:39.240 the ruling. The victim, Irina Cornici, twenty three years old, 100 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:41.959 was killed during the ritual at the convent in the 101 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:47.079 northeast of Romania. An article by the BBC mentioned Daniel 102 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:51.560 Petru Koragino, thirty one years old, Father Daniel, the priest 103 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:54.959 at the Holy Trinity Convent in Tanuuk Village, as a 104 00:06:55.000 --> 00:07:00.800 main guilty person. Manslaughter was a charge, fourteen years in 105 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:05.800 jail was a sentence. Father Daniel was banned from priesthood. 106 00:07:06.439 --> 00:07:10.920 The four nuns were excommunicated, one of which Nicoletta Arcolinu 107 00:07:11.079 --> 00:07:14.519 got eight years in prison for while the rest Adina 108 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:21.040 Sipraga Elena Hotel Simona Burdana got five years each. Sadly, 109 00:07:21.079 --> 00:07:25.040 though Irena would still not rest, the appeal from the 110 00:07:25.079 --> 00:07:29.120 accused led to Arena's body being exhumed for a second autopsy. 111 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:34.040 The results were that she had died from suffocation and dehydration, 112 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:39.079 Consistent to what another novice nun had said, Irena had 113 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:44.079 not been given water during the ritual. This case would 114 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:48.279 later become known as a Tenaku exorcism, something you may 115 00:07:48.279 --> 00:07:54.160 have heard of before. Many things bothered me about this case. 116 00:07:55.079 --> 00:07:57.879 There was a history already from a psychiatric hospital that 117 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:02.560 Arena Carniccci had symptoms of skin zophrenia. This was noted 118 00:08:02.680 --> 00:08:06.519 by doctor Georgia Sevostrovicci, who said that Arena thought that 119 00:08:06.600 --> 00:08:09.319 the devil was talking to her and was telling her 120 00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:13.600 that she was a sinful person. This would make sense 121 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:16.879 considering she was given a list a checkmark with sins 122 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:19.600 that she had committed, things like falling in love with 123 00:08:19.639 --> 00:08:24.160 another woman. When more details came out, they came up 124 00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:28.160 with the truth. Irena had been gagged with a towel, 125 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:31.360 left in a room at the convent for three days 126 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:38.159 without food or water, bound to a cross. This was 127 00:08:38.200 --> 00:08:40.960 something that the priest said was necessary because she was 128 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:47.080 violent and refused to drink holy water. Of course, as humans, 129 00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:50.159 we hold our own biases with this like for me, 130 00:08:50.360 --> 00:08:53.480 for example, it was once observing a ritual in the 131 00:08:53.559 --> 00:08:56.720 hills of Peru, a food offering to the Bacha Mama 132 00:08:56.840 --> 00:09:00.000 Mother Earth, when due to the heat of the middle 133 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:02.519 of the day, a woman we had been talking to 134 00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:06.360 began to faint. Instead of taking her to the shade, 135 00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:10.360 offering her water or getting medical help. The group leader 136 00:09:10.679 --> 00:09:13.120 lit up the cigar like thing they had and started 137 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:17.840 blowing smoke on her face while chanting. Thankfully, she reacted 138 00:09:17.879 --> 00:09:20.039 and was sat down to rest, but I was still 139 00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:23.279 pretty shaken up. My point is that if we're going 140 00:09:23.320 --> 00:09:26.480 to believe in the power of rituals and exorcisms, something 141 00:09:26.519 --> 00:09:30.360 that requires us to trust experts with our lives, there 142 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:34.720 needs to be more than just quote medical clearance, especially 143 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:39.279 if it's monitored by themselves all Catholics, as established by 144 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:43.639 the Catholic Church. Of course, the nuns and the priests 145 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:46.360 believe that they were helping her, which if we look 146 00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:50.679 at it with an open mind, could be possible. But 147 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:55.080 as a person living in a human body no food, water, 148 00:09:55.720 --> 00:10:03.840 no air, well, we know what happens and these types 149 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:08.399 of cases are not uncommon. More recently, in twenty twenty two, 150 00:10:08.519 --> 00:10:12.039 Claudia Hernandez Santos was arrested with assault on a child 151 00:10:12.080 --> 00:10:15.759 in San Jose, California. The victim was her three year 152 00:10:15.799 --> 00:10:19.519 old daughter. She told the police that her daughter was 153 00:10:19.559 --> 00:10:22.240 possessed because she would be sleeping and then wake up 154 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:25.879 out of nowhere, screaming and crying. She was taken to 155 00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:28.840 church where they performed in exorcism along with her father. 156 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:32.799 I will spare the details here, but the little girl 157 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:36.159 was held down and was left unable to breathe. The 158 00:10:36.360 --> 00:10:40.559 entire thing took about two hours. The child's grandfather and 159 00:10:40.679 --> 00:10:43.440 pastor of the small Pentecostal church, as well as a 160 00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:50.159 child's uncle, Renee Nande Santos, were arrested. There was another 161 00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:52.399 case that I could not immediately find the time or 162 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:55.440 location about it, but in the Journal of Forensic and 163 00:10:55.519 --> 00:10:59.080 Legal Medicine by Science Direct, I found another case of 164 00:10:59.080 --> 00:11:01.399 a nine year old child taken by her mother to 165 00:11:01.480 --> 00:11:05.559 an exorcist. This was to expel a demon from her body. 166 00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:09.519 On the second day, after being given only water to drink, 167 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:13.399 she lost consciousness and then she was taken from medical attention, 168 00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:17.480 but she was pronounced dead. It turns out they had 169 00:11:17.480 --> 00:11:21.039 been giving her medicinal syrups by force and some of 170 00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:27.159 it had gotten into her lungs, causing aspiration pneumonia. And 171 00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:29.320 then in twenty twenty three, a man died of an 172 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:32.639 exorcism performed on him by his family, according to a 173 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:36.960 Taiwanese article. And like this, there are many more accounts 174 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:41.039 of deaths by exorcism, but there was one case you 175 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:43.519 may have heard of. It was from a woman in 176 00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:48.039 Karawa that sparked an entire movement to protect women in 177 00:11:48.240 --> 00:12:04.679 the Latin American country. High in the mist covered mountains 178 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:08.960 of northern Nicaragua, deep within the rural committee of El Cortessal, 179 00:12:09.720 --> 00:12:13.840 a chilling event unfolded in twenty seventeen, an event that 180 00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:18.679 would horrify a nation and draw international headlines. It began, 181 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:24.559 as many stories in isolated villages do, with whispers. Vilma 182 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:28.559 Trujillo was a twenty five year old woman, young, quiet, 183 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:32.960 and deeply religious. She lived in a small wooden home 184 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:37.399 with her family, including her husband and two children. Life 185 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:41.000 in El Cortresal was simple and steeped in tradition. It 186 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:43.159 was a place where neighbors were lied on each other, 187 00:12:43.320 --> 00:12:45.799 and faith was not just part of life, but it 188 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:51.080 was life. But in late February of that year, something changed. 189 00:12:52.519 --> 00:12:55.960 Wilma began acting strangely. According to those who knew her, 190 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:00.200 she wandered off into the forest alone and returned saying things, 191 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.440 things that frightened her family. She spoke of visions of evil, 192 00:13:05.320 --> 00:13:08.759 of something trying to take control of her. People said 193 00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:13.559 that she was no longer herself. In many places, someone 194 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:16.480 in Wilma's states might have been taken to a hospital, 195 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:21.679 diagnosed and treated. But Cortesale is a place far removed 196 00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:25.519 from cities and doctors, and so her family turned to 197 00:13:25.559 --> 00:13:33.159 the only authority they trusted, the church pastor Juangregorio Rocha. 198 00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:37.200 Romero was a spiritual leader of a small and magelical congregation. 199 00:13:38.200 --> 00:13:41.279 It was not a man of formal theological training, but 200 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:45.919 he was deeply respected. When Wilma's relatives brought her to him, 201 00:13:46.279 --> 00:13:50.840 he didn't hesitate. He said it was clear Wilma was 202 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:56.240 possessed by the devil. What followed can only be described 203 00:13:56.279 --> 00:14:00.039 as a nightmare. Cloaked in the language of faith, the 204 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:03.679 pastor ordered an exorcism. For several days, Villema was held 205 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:08.480 inside the church, tied up, denied food, water, subjected to 206 00:14:08.519 --> 00:14:13.919 repeated prayers and spiritual cleansing. According to some accounts, she 207 00:14:14.039 --> 00:14:17.720 was physically abused during this time, her body showing signs 208 00:14:17.720 --> 00:14:22.600 of restraint and injuries, but it wasn't enough. On the 209 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:26.399 fourth day, Pastor Rocha told his followers that the only 210 00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:30.679 way to rid Vilma of the demons was by fire. 211 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:35.320 He claimed the spirit within her had resisted all prayer 212 00:14:35.559 --> 00:14:39.759 and that the only thing that would help would be flames. 213 00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:44.559 So they took Vilma, frightened, exhausted, and still alive, to 214 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:48.639 a ravine near the church. There they built a fire 215 00:14:49.480 --> 00:14:53.440 and then, in front of several witnesses, they threw her 216 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:58.320 into the flames. When asked later why he did it, 217 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:02.120 Pastor Rocha insists that it was not him, but the 218 00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:05.840 voice of God that spoke through him. He said the 219 00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:08.840 fire would not harm her, that it would only burn 220 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:14.360 the demon, But it burned her. Vilma was pulled from 221 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:17.799 the fire, still breathing. Her body was covered and burns. 222 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:21.799 Over eighty percent of her skin had been seared. She 223 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:24.559 was rushed to a hospital in critical condition, and for 224 00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:28.720 days doctors tried to save her, but the damage was 225 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:34.559 too severe. Vilma died on February twenty eighth, twenty seventeen. 226 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:41.919 Her death sparked national outrage in Karawa. Protests erupted and 227 00:15:42.039 --> 00:15:47.080 human rights groups demanded justice. How, they asked, could something 228 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:50.519 like this happen in the twenty first century? How could 229 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:53.200 a woman be burned alive under the belief that she 230 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:58.600 was possessed? Pastor Drocha and four of his followers were 231 00:15:58.679 --> 00:16:03.440 arrested and later convince for Villema's murder. The trial revealed 232 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:07.159 horrifying details how the group believed so deeply in their 233 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:12.000 spiritual mission that they ignored her screams, her pain, and 234 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:18.399 her humanity. For many, Villema's death exposed the dark undercurrent 235 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:23.519 in parts of Nicaragua, the dangerous intersection of religious fanaticism, 236 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:28.519 poverty and isolation, and communities without access to proper health care, 237 00:16:28.679 --> 00:16:36.399 mental health support, or education. Superstition can become deadly. But 238 00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:38.559 at the heart of it all was a woman, a mother, 239 00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:42.279 a daughter, someone whose life had ended not because of evil, 240 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:46.120 but because of those around her believed in it too much. 241 00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:51.919 Vilmatruhillo became a symbol, a cautionary tale of what can 242 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:57.679 happen when blind faith replaces compassion. Though her voice was silenced, 243 00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:03.279 her story continues to echo across Nicaraiwa, a tragic reminder 244 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:11.079 that belief, when twisted, can become a weapon. Joanna Lee 245 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:14.480 born kilm Oak Lee was a South Korean woman in 246 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:18.119 her late thirties, carrying with her a life marked by trauma. 247 00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:23.559 Daughter of divorced parents, she had battle depression, attempted suicide 248 00:17:23.640 --> 00:17:27.359 more than once, and lived with vitoligo, a condition that 249 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:31.119 made her skin change color in patches, something that reportedly 250 00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:35.720 contributed to her emotional struggles. In nineteen ninety nine, she 251 00:17:35.759 --> 00:17:39.240 met a man named Luke Lee, a self declared pastor 252 00:17:39.319 --> 00:17:42.559 with a criminal past. He had served prison time in 253 00:17:42.599 --> 00:17:46.759 South Korea for fraud and dodging military service, and yet 254 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:51.000 somehow he entered New Zealand on a student visa and 255 00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:56.119 began building a following. He founded a small religious group 256 00:17:56.160 --> 00:18:00.240 he called Lord of All in Auckland Part It's been 257 00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:07.440 a costal part cult like and deeply secretive. Joanna identified 258 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:11.480 with Luke Lee's message, his charisma, his conviction, and his 259 00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:14.640 promises of healing seemed like answers she had long been 260 00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:18.960 searching for, and by October two thousand, she left her 261 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:21.720 life in South Korea and traveled to New Zealand on 262 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:25.279 a three month visitor permit. She moved in with a 263 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:29.359 pastor and became immersed in his church and the community. 264 00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:33.799 By early December, pastor ly announced to his congregation that 265 00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:38.000 Joanna was possessed by demons, at least twenty of them, 266 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:43.079 he claimed, and to free her she needed deliverance, and 267 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:46.160 what followed would be called in exorcism by those inside 268 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:52.039 of the church. Others would later call it torture. On 269 00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:54.680 the night of December eighth, the ritual began in the 270 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:58.359 church hall. It continued the following day in Pastor Ly's 271 00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:03.519 rented home in Mount Roscoe. Witnesses described a six hour ordeal. 272 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:08.119 Joanna screamed, cried, thrashed, and Pastor Lee sat on her chest. 273 00:19:08.839 --> 00:19:11.400 He balanced on her body, he struck. Her bones were 274 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:17.680 broken and bruises spread. Finally, she was strangled and she 275 00:19:17.720 --> 00:19:24.359 stopped breathing, and yet no one called for help. Instead, 276 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:27.359 Pastor Lee told this congregation that she would rise again, 277 00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:33.119 that she would resurrect, and so they waited. They recorded 278 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:36.160 her lifeless body on video. They tried to clean her 279 00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:40.200 corpse with alcohol to suppress a stench of decay, but 280 00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:44.680 after nearly a week, someone on the outside grew suspicious 281 00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:49.960 and alerted the authorities. When police arrived on December fifteenth, 282 00:19:50.039 --> 00:19:55.799 they found Joanna Lee's body decomposing in the home. Pastor 283 00:19:55.920 --> 00:20:01.119 Luke Lee was arrested in charge with manslaughter. At trial, 284 00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:07.000 Lee represented himself, but he barely participated. When he did speak, 285 00:20:07.240 --> 00:20:11.759 it was to say something strange like Joanna will rise 286 00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:16.000 from the dead. His court room performance must have been 287 00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:20.319 bizarre to witness. In two thousand one, he was convicted 288 00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:23.240 and sentenced to six years in prison, but a story 289 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:28.039 wouldn't end there. By two thousand five, while appealing the conviction, 290 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:31.240 he was deported back to South Korea, and then in 291 00:20:31.240 --> 00:20:34.000 two thousand and six the New Zealand Court of Appeal 292 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:38.400 overturned the ruling. They argued that Joanna may have consented 293 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:42.720 to the exorcism, and that this possibility hadn't been adequately 294 00:20:42.759 --> 00:20:47.119 addressed in court. Every trial was ordered, but by then 295 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:53.359 Pastorly and most of the witnesses were gone. Authorities issued 296 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:56.079 a warrant for his arrest should he ever return to 297 00:20:56.160 --> 00:21:00.680 New Zealand, but he never did. To day, the house 298 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:04.440 on Mount Roswell stands quiet. Most people have forgotten the 299 00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:08.480 name Joanna Lee, but her story lives on in whispers. 300 00:21:09.319 --> 00:21:14.319 A desperate woman, a dangerous pasture, and a fatal ritual 301 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:22.599 in the name of salvation. Del Gooda, a town nestled 302 00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:26.279 about forty kilometers from Colombo in Sri Lanka, is a 303 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:31.119 place where ancient beliefs intertwined with daily life. Among its 304 00:21:31.160 --> 00:21:33.799 residents was a woman who was known for her ability 305 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:38.440 to expel demons, a self styled exorcist whose methods were 306 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:42.480 as feared as they were sought after her local mother 307 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:45.279 grew convinced that her nine year old daughter was possessed 308 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:48.680 by a demon, and in her desperation, she turned to 309 00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:52.039 this exorcist, hoping to free her child from the unseen 310 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:57.480 forces she believed were at play. The ritual was brutal. 311 00:21:58.759 --> 00:22:01.839 Oil was poured onto the young girl's forehead, a traditional 312 00:22:01.880 --> 00:22:06.079 preparation for the ceremony, and then the exorcists began to 313 00:22:06.119 --> 00:22:09.559 beat her with a cane, striking repeatedly in an attempt 314 00:22:09.559 --> 00:22:14.000 to drive out the supposed demon. The child's cries echoed 315 00:22:14.039 --> 00:22:18.960 through the neighborhood, prompting concerned neighbors to intervene, but despite 316 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:24.559 their efforts, they couldn't stop the ritual's deadly progression. The 317 00:22:24.599 --> 00:22:28.640 girl lost consciousness and was rushed at the hospital, where 318 00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:33.119 she was later pronounced dead. The authority swiftly arrested both 319 00:22:33.119 --> 00:22:36.119 the mother and the exorcist, and they appeared in court 320 00:22:36.279 --> 00:22:41.079 facing charges that underscored the tragic consequences of deeply held superstitions. 321 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:46.079 Police issued warnings about the dangers of such rituals, noting 322 00:22:46.119 --> 00:22:48.640 that this is the first time an exorcism had resulted 323 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:53.160 in injury or death in the area. This incident forced 324 00:22:53.160 --> 00:22:56.440 Algoda to confront the perils of unchecked beliefs and the 325 00:22:56.440 --> 00:23:00.599 practices they engender. It served as a grim room reminder 326 00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:04.720 of the need of awareness and education to prevent such 327 00:23:04.839 --> 00:23:10.119 tragedies in the future, and again cases like these continue. 328 00:23:10.440 --> 00:23:13.640 In October of two thousand and seven, in Wellington, New Zealand, 329 00:23:13.960 --> 00:23:17.640 twenty two year old Janet Moses tragically drowned during a 330 00:23:17.640 --> 00:23:22.079 family conducted exorcism. It was a ritual intended to lift 331 00:23:22.079 --> 00:23:26.519 a Morrowi curse or a makutu. It was believed that 332 00:23:26.599 --> 00:23:29.400 it was afflicted due to a relative's theft of a 333 00:23:29.480 --> 00:23:35.880 sacred artifact Taunga. Approximately forty family members gathered, using large 334 00:23:35.920 --> 00:23:39.559 quantities of water in an attempt to cleanse her. The 335 00:23:39.640 --> 00:23:44.240 ceremony turned fatal as Janets was held under water, leading 336 00:23:44.279 --> 00:23:49.160 to her death. Authorities treated the incident as a homicide, 337 00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:56.200 highlighting the dangers of such intense spiritual practices. My intention 338 00:23:56.319 --> 00:23:59.279 for this story I was telling you about now initially 339 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:02.079 was to just share with you how cult like following 340 00:24:02.119 --> 00:24:05.200 can turn deadly, but very quickly, I was thrown into 341 00:24:05.240 --> 00:24:09.119 religious and cultural ideas that are near impossible to argue with. 342 00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:14.119 They're just too massive, they have a large following. Who 343 00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:16.079 is to say that there isn't power of belief to 344 00:24:16.119 --> 00:24:19.839 cast out devils? Though? But then again, what if there 345 00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:22.680 are just mental and psychological issues that must be dealt 346 00:24:22.680 --> 00:24:27.079 with using the tools we have available. It's up to 347 00:24:27.200 --> 00:24:29.279 us to make our own decisions as to what we 348 00:24:29.400 --> 00:24:33.119 choose to believe. But the more I read up on this, 349 00:24:33.319 --> 00:24:36.119 the more I realize what a slippery slope our mind 350 00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:40.039 can be when we start believing something that gets reinforced 351 00:24:40.079 --> 00:24:44.759 by others. Losing control of our minds is a real horror. 352 00:24:46.119 --> 00:24:48.880 How can we firmly believe that we are doing something 353 00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:55.160 good when quite literally, we might be making a fatal mistake. 354 00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:06.480 This episode of Horror Story was written and produced by 355 00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:11.200 me Edwin Kowarubyas. I've been receiving cases and places to 356 00:25:11.319 --> 00:25:13.960 research through email and DM so we have a lot 357 00:25:13.960 --> 00:25:16.039 of work to do over here, which I'm thankful for. 358 00:25:16.759 --> 00:25:19.039 I'm also looking for new cases I can talk about 359 00:25:19.079 --> 00:25:22.440 in my new podcast called Paranormal Club. You can find 360 00:25:22.440 --> 00:25:25.400 Paranormal Club by searching for it right now on your app. 361 00:25:26.440 --> 00:25:28.880 Links to everything, including how to get in touch and 362 00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:31.200 how to support the show, are in the description of 363 00:25:31.240 --> 00:25:35.039 this episode. If you are following this podcast, I will 364 00:25:35.079 --> 00:25:38.480 tell you another story next week. Thank you very much 365 00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:43.200 for listening, but scary everyone so soon.