Surprise Exorcism

This is a story that you would guess took place in Africa or India, not modern-day California, but you would be wrong. A California man and his son are being charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment after abducting the man's ex-wife and forcing her to undergo an exorcism - because they apparently believed she was possessed by demons.

Jose Magana-Farias, 42 and his son, Victor Farias, 20, arranged to meet with his ex-wife and mother of the son at a Wal-Mart in north Stockton on Saturday under the pretense of trying to make the marriage work, San Joaquin sheriff’s Lt. Mike Jones told KCRA-TV.

But after getting into the car, the men allegedly picked up two priests before forcing the woman to undergo an exorcism, Jones said. The men apparently believed drastic changes she’d made in her life were a sign that she was possessed by demons.

The woman was allegedly doused with sacred oil and “purified” during a religious ritual, according to KCRA-TV, which cited a deputy’s report. No torture was involved and the woman was found physically unharmed after the victim’s roommate reported the alleged kidnapping.

There's no mention of what the "drastic changes" the woman underwent might have been. My guess is that the husband was so incredulous that the woman would divorce him that clearly the only explanation had to be demons - and not, say, that he was the sort of abusive shit who would kidnap someone in order to perform an exorcism on them against their will.