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South Korean family charged with murder over brutal hotel exorcism

A 41-year-old woman was “severely” beaten, allegedly by a group including her own son.

intercontinental The Intercontinental Hotel in Frankfurt Google Maps Google Maps

GERMAN POLICE HAVE arrested five South Korean family members suspected of beating to death a 41-year-old woman in an exorcism ritual performed in a hotel room, prosecutors said.

The relatives allegedly believed the woman, also South Korean, was “possessed by demons” and tied her to a bed, gagged and severely beat her for two hours, with the goal of “driving out the devil”, the prosecutors said.

“I have never seen anything like it,” said chief prosecutor Nadja Niesen of the western city of Frankfurt.

Police arrested on murder charges a 44-year-old woman, her 21-year-old son and 19-year-old daughter as well as two boys aged 15, one of whom was the victim’s son.

The suspects had used “severe violence” against the woman, beating her chest and stomach while gagging her with a towel and then a cloth-covered coat hanger.

National news agency DPA reported the five were South Koreans of unknown religious affiliation who had arrived in the city around six weeks earlier.

The body was found Saturday in a room in what local media identified as the Intercontinental Hotel, where the five suspects were arrested over the attack, which investigators said was driven by “unfeeling and pitiless” sentiment.

The cause of death was “suffocation due to massive chest compression and trauma to the neck”.

The investigation led police to discover a second suspected victim, a badly injured female relative suffering hypothermia and dehydration, in the garage of a house the group had rented in the town of Sulzbach.

- © AFP 2015

Read: Seven charged with murdering teenager in secretive church “confession” beating>

Read: Parents charged after teenager is beaten to death in secretive church “confession” ritual>

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17 Comments
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    Mute mary cooke
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    Oct 6th 2023, 11:27 PM

    Good man Lula, way to go!!!

    137
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    Mute John finn
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    Oct 6th 2023, 11:37 PM

    Just stop buying Brazilian beef…. They will always be deforestation there. Europe imports of Brazilian beef have increased 23 precent 2023. While China has banned it. Well done European Union.

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    Mute Brendan O'Brien
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    Oct 6th 2023, 11:40 PM

    @John finn: Individual countries within the EU, perhaps, which can take the blame. Not the EU per se.

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    Mute David
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    Oct 7th 2023, 3:30 AM

    @Brendan O’Brien: Under the umbrella of the EU and the EU allow it, so yes, it is the EU.

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    Mute ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere
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    Oct 7th 2023, 6:15 AM

    @Brendan O’Brien: Individual corporations, within the EU.

    Within the EU which controls trade, and allows it.

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    Mute Timo
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    Oct 7th 2023, 2:48 PM

    @John finn: it must be fairly toxic of China banned it

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    Mute Brendan Godley
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    Oct 6th 2023, 11:32 PM

    Does this mean we can’t import as much Amazon rain forest mulsh to generate our green energy this year

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    Mute Seanfhear míshásta
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    Oct 7th 2023, 2:02 AM

    Well done Lula!

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    Mute Pato
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    Oct 7th 2023, 9:37 AM

    Good man Lula. Stop being distracted by beef imports, a bigger problem is soy imports to Ireland to feed our famous “grass fed” cattle. Deforestation is used to clear space to grow soy.

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    Mute eoin fitzpatrick
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    Oct 7th 2023, 9:43 AM

    @Pato: and our pigs and chickens

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    Mute Steve O'Hara Smith.
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    Oct 7th 2023, 12:11 PM

    Sometimes I think it’s a little hypocritical to complain about deforestation in other countries, after all the only reason we’re not doing the same thing is that here in Europe we ran out of forest to de centuries ago.

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    Mute Timo
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    Oct 7th 2023, 2:45 PM

    Amazing, a desire by government to import beef from Brazil and Argentina who cut down the rainforests to make way for Grazing cattle and growing soy crops.
    Cull 50% of the Herd in Ireland, and the population growing like wildfire. Let’s eat grass
    You will have 1845 back again before you know it.

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    Mute Paul Moloney
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    Oct 7th 2023, 10:30 AM

    Just cut the whole thing down and move on to the next forestry

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    Mute Monetpenny
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    Oct 7th 2023, 10:34 PM

    I have seen reports that as they remove amazon forests they are finding the ruins of ancient cities. This is evidence that there were civilisations previously where there are now forests. There are more forests in these areas than there was previously.
    A north American example is the ancient native American ruin (Cahokia) outside St. Louis in Missouri that dates from approx 1050-1350. At it’s height it was the largest human settlement in the world. The ‘Americas’ were much more ‘civilised’ & settled hundreds of years. These were more recently overrun by forests & the deforestation that is taking place is returning to the state that existed hundreds of years ago.

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