A New York man is dead and three of his relatives are hospitalized after what appears to be an attempted exorcism ritual at a Queens home on Thursday.
According to the New York Post, 30-year-old Jamie Walker, 30 is now in custody after telling responding police officers early Thursday morning at the Queens Village residence that he had hurt someone.
The officers reportedly found Loandous Walker, 72, dead of multiple stab wounds in a bathroom of the home. The other people — the suspect’s mother Valda Walker, 72, the couple’s other son, Orel Walker, 31, and Orel’s wife, Caryn Rose Walker, 29 — were found unresponsive and unconscious on a mattress.
The three injured relatives did not have signs up visible trauma, but sources reportedly told the New York Post that they were ‘near death’ of suspected poisoning: Multiple bottles of an unknown substance were found near the victims.
Neighbors reportedly told the newspaper that the family appeared to be religious, but it is not known what specific religion they practice. Sources said that the family could sometimes be heard chanting in the home, and neighbors did not immediately hear anything suspicious when they heard noises early Thursday morning, a friend told the New York Post.
“They know they do their chanting so they didn’t take it into consideration,” the friend told the newspaper.
But detectives are reportedly looking into the possibility that the family was trying to perform an exorcism. According to the report, sources said Jamie’s father had accused of him of being possessed by the devil before Jamie attacked him.
Two of the three family members found unresponsive have since regained consciousness, though it is unclear if they have yet spoken to the police or any media.
NYPD Assistant Chief Joseph Kenny told reporters that a medical examiner would perform toxicology tests on the injured family members to determine what they ingested.
This is a developing story. CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information is available.
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