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Five jailed for exorcism death
19/02/2007 22:26 - (SA)
Bucharest - A Romanian court sentenced an
Orthodox priest and four nuns to prison on Monday for killing a
23-year-old nun in a crucifixion exorcism ritual in the cellar
of a church.
Maricica Irina Cornici died in June 2005 after spending
three days tied to a cross with no food or water in the
northeastern county of Vaslui as the priest and nuns prayed to
chase out evil spirits they believed possessed her.
Prosecutors had sought a life sentence for priest Daniel
Corogeanu with charges of aggravated murder with cruel intent,
but the court convicted him of a lesser crime.
"Corogeanu is sentenced to 14 years in prison for
deprivation of freedom followed by the victim's death," a judge
reading the sentence on private television Realitatea TV said.
The court also sentenced the church's mother superior to
eight years and the three other nuns to five years each. They
have all denied wrongdoing and said they would appeal.
Romanian media have said at the time the victim suffered
from schizophrenia and showed behaviour that the other nuns
believed proved she was possessed by the devil.
- Reuters
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