A woman said to be possessed with evil spirits was reportedly burned alive as a priest and several parishioners allegedly performed an exorcism ritual on her.
Vilma Trujillo, 25, was taken away from church by Pastor Juan Gregorio Rocha Romero and four members of the Church of the Assembly of God in the northeastern village of El Cortezal, Nicaragua on Feb. 22, according to the newspaper La Prensa.
They removed all of her clothes and tied her arms and legs before tossing her onto a flaming pyre at a location in the capital Managua, the report said. Those who abducted her allegedly tried to drive away the evil spirits inside her before they tossed her onto the flaming logs.
The woman was rescued by her relatives and rushed to a hospital in Managua. However, she died from her injuries on Tuesday.
Police arrested Romero and his cohorts on Feb. 24. At the police station, Romero claimed innocence, saying the victim was responsible for her own death. "She hung up and fell into the fire" because she knew that she was "demon possessed," Romero said. "And when we were praying, we looked at her and she was on fire."
The victim's husband, Reynaldo Peralta Rodriguez, said his wife was kidnapped while attending church service last week. They live in the town of Rosita, which is 300 miles northeast of Managua.
Church members thought Trujilo was possessed after she allegedly tried to attack people with a machete.
Rodriguez vehemently denied the accusations. "It's unforgiveable what they did to us. They killed my wife, the mother of my two little ones," he said. "Now what am I going to tell them?"
The Assemblies of God, meanwhile, issued a statement denying that Romero is one of its leaders.
Nicaragua's First Lady and Vice President Rosario Murillo told state media that Trujillo's abduction and burning were "deplorable and to be condemned," according to The News.
"Something like this cannot happen again," she stressed.
