4-Year-Old Dies After ‘Exorcism’ by Adoptive Parents: Cops
TERRIBLE TRAGEDY
A North Carolina couple was charged in the death of their adopted son this month after the four-year-old died from injuries that authorities say were related to abuse—including alleged “exorcisms.” Joseph and Jodi Wilson were arrested on Jan. 13, eight days after Surry County emergency services responded to a call and found the boy, Skyler, “unresponsive and not breathing on his own.” After Skyler’s death on Jan. 9, a doctor told investigators that the toddler’s hypoxic brain injuries were consistent with excessive restriction associated with swaddling, according to WXII 12. Police said that they later found that Jodi had texted her husband that there had been a “problem” with swaddling Skyler on the day he was transported to the hospital, according to a warrant obtained by WGHP. Jodi also sent Joseph a photo of the boy face-down, wrapped in a sheet or a blanket, and duct-taped to the living room floor, the warrant stated. Little detail was provided in the warrant on the alleged exorcisms, which were reported to the police by Skyler’s former foster mother, who said that Jodi had also told her that she’d “gated” the child “for excessive ‘alone’ time.”