SAN JOSE, Calif. (TND) — A 3-year-old girl's death, now ruled a homicide, allegedly followed violent attempts to "exorcise" demons from the toddler.
Arely Naomi Proctor died in September 2021 after family members attempted to “liberate her of her evil spirits,” officials at a Northern California church told the San Jose Mercury News.
The Santa Clara County Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner ruled Arely's death a homicide by asphyxiation, according to the Associated Press.
The mother of the toddler, Claudia Hernandez, is reportedly accused of squeezing her daughter's neck and depriving her of food. The AP reports Hernandez was arrested and charged with the death in January 2022.
Hernandez reportedly posted a video to YouTube describing, in her words, what happened to her daughter.
I could sit here and be negative be sad about the whole situation that she passed away," Hernandez says on her YouTube video. "But it’s like, there is no point because it is what it is. It’s many reasons why God took her. What if something would have happened to her, what if she would have had a sickness?“It is what it is. I gotta be positive about the situation. You know, like at least she’s not suffering. That’s what I’m thankful for, that she’s not gonna grow up in that world, like in that world we live in," Hernandez says in the video.Court records say Hernandez told police she had begun to believe her daughter was possessed because she would “wake up and scream or cry periodically," according to the AP.
Hernandez and her brother reportedly brought the toddler to a tiny Pentecostal church in San Jose called the "Iglesia Apostoles y Profetas," where Arely's grandfather was a pastor. The AP reports the church operates out of a basement of a home.
Arely's grandfather, Rene Huezo, reportedly assisted in the exorcism, but is not facing charges. Huezo reportedly said he doesn't believe the exorcism caused Arely's death.
Santa Clara County deputy district attorney Rebekah Wise wrote details of the alleged exorcism in court documents, according to KRON News. Arely's mother, uncle, and grandfather reportedly held the toddler down for several hours and attempted to make her vomit by shoving fingers down her throat.
Arely lost consciousness and also suffered "multiple injuries around her eyes, face, neck, and chest," KRON News reports Wise saying in the court documents.
Reportedly, Arely died after experiencing 12 hours of "torture" the documents claim. The family also reportedly waited a couple of hours before calling the police.
Hernandez faces 25 years to life in prison if she is convicted in her daughter's killing, according to KRON News.
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