3-Year-Old Girl Suffocates To Death During 'Exorcism' Endorsed By Mother

A video of a mother from San Jose, California defending her 3-year-old child’s exorcism resurfaced on Tuesday, as the mother faces child abuse charges due to her sanctioning of the exorcism that killed her toddler.

Claudia Hernandez, the 25-year-old mother who was arrested in January for felony child abuse, was seen defending her choice of putting her child through an exorcism weeks after her toddler was confirmed to have died due to the incident, according to NBC News.

Hernandez had brought her child to the Iglesia Apostoles y Profetas church in San Jose, which operated in the back of a private home after believing that her child was possessed by a demon. During the exorcism, the child reportedly died due to asphyxiation, with officers ruling her death a homicide, the Daily Beast reported.

Among the things that the church did in order to get the supposed spirit out of her body was to induce vomiting in the three-year-old, as well as squeezing the child by the throat while being held down by people in her legs, waist, and arms, the Sacramento Bee reported.

Hernandez’s father, who was a pastor of the church, also arrived to help with the exorcism.

“Like, I could sit here and be negative… be sad about the whole situation that she passed away, but it’s like, there’s no point, you know, because it is what it is. It is what it is. You know, she’s not here with me, it is what it is, you know?” Hernandez said in the video about her child.

Prof. Allison Kavey, a researcher on religion, magic, and science in the community, has linked increasing cases of exorcisms in the local Christian community over the last seven years to the scepticism of the public towards government and scientific institutions.

“When people choose an explanation like demonic possession in the 21st century, I think we need to ask why,” Kavey said. “And I have argued that when people choose a magical explanation or a supernatural explanation, it’s because natural explanations are not satisfying.”