LONDON, Ontario — Two men have been sentenced to four years each in prison for causing the death of one of their sons in a botched exorcism.
Walter Zepeda, 19, died of dehydration early last year after he had been strapped to metal chairs for six days in an attempt to drive away the demons his father was certain possessed his son. Ontario Court heard that Diego Zepeda-Cordera was convinced his son’s increasingly strange behavior meant he was possessed by the devil.
The father called a friend, a fellow member of the Missionary Church of Christ and a man of equal devotion, to help him rid his son of the evil. The boy’s mother, who didn’t originally agree with the exorcism, gave in because she too believed Satan had control of her son, the court heard.
The boy was tied to chairs and Guillermo Fabian, the pastor of the Pentecostal church, was summoned to the home. As Walter swore and squirmed, Fabian prayed with the family to help exorcise the demon. Over the weekend, at least 10 other members of the church visited the home and joined in the prayer sessions. Zepeda-Cordero’s lawyer told the court his client took some solace in his belief that, in the hours before Walter died, the devil left his body.
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