A 41-year-old woman in Fort Pierce, Florida, is facing murder charges after authorities found her 6-year-old son dead and decomposing in his bed, nearly two weeks after he was last seen.
Police discovered the body of Ra’myl Pierre on Friday following a call from school officials who had grown concerned after the child missed more than two weeks of school. According to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, the boy’s mother, Rhonda Paulynice, was arrested the same day.
Authorities said the child’s body was found in an advanced state of decomposition. An autopsy is pending to determine the official cause and time of death, according to the New York Post.
“What we did learn in speaking with the mother is she believes she was being told by God to basically exorcise demons out of the child’s body,” Sheriff Richard Del Toro said during a press briefing.
“And when the child had stopped moving and basically passed away, at that point she felt that the child had been released from those demons, and was waiting for him to basically come back, at that time.”
Paulynice had posted a series of religious-themed messages on Facebook in the days leading up to