NAN-F-29
Death
Frankfurt, Feb. 20, 2017 (dpa/NAN) The trial in Germany involving five South Korean nationals suspected of killing a woman during an exorcism ritual in a Frankfurt hotel room draws to a close on Monday.
The main suspect is facing up to eight years in jail.
The 41-year-old victim died in December 2015 after suffocating during a two-hour-long effort to allegedly cast out the devil from her.
The suspects, all related to the victim allegedly believed she was possessed by a demon after she began to beat herself, talk to herself and became physically aggressive, prosecutors said.
The family had moved into the hotel fearing a house they had rented outside Frankfurt was inhabited by demons.
They are members of a Christian group practicing the ancient Asian religion of shamanism, which is based on the belief that spirits play a powerful role in the world.
The five are charged with murdering the woman during the alleged act of exorcism.
However, state prosecutors are calling for their indictment on the grounds of causing bodily harm with lethal consequences as a lesser charge.
One of the convict, a 44-year-old woman will be facing up to eight years imprisonment. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Grace Yussuf