According to ABC News, a woman who operates a church in suburban Dallas,Texas with her family starved a two year old boy to death and later held a resurrection ceremony to revive him back to life but to no avail. An anonymous person linked to the church tipped off the police regarding this incident, leading to the arrest and investigation of the Church leaders, according to ABC News. The Balch Spring Police Department Lt. Mark Maret confirmed the incident and the woman Araceli Meza and her husband Daniel Meza were detained to expedite the investigation.
“They didn’t give the child any food for about 25 days,” Maret said. “They just gave him some water, which ultimately caused the child to die.”
Church member Nazareth Zurita said she saw the child “looking frail and weak” the day before the resurrection ceremony, according to a police affidavit. She said the toddler fell and hit his head several times, but she hesitated to help him “due to his demon possession.”
Zurita said the next time she saw the child was the next day being held by church leader Daniel Meza, who was trying to revive the boy through a miracle during the ritual. Zurita said “it took her a while to figure out” the child was dead, according to the affidavit. Investigators believe the boy died on March 21 or early the next day, and that the ceremony was held March 22 at Meza’s home.
“Apparently… they had a ceremony called ‘the rising,’ trying to resurrect the child back to life,” Maret said.
Another church member, Delia Guadalupe Oyervides Herrera, told the police she tried several times to feed the child during the 25-day fast, “but was scolded by the pastors of the church,” according to the affidavit. She asked the child’s mother why she would allow her child to be starved and was “advised that it was God’s will.”
