A 30-year-old Filipina was detained by South Korean police Monday for allegedly killing a three-year-old son of a member of the United States Forces in Korea (USFK) and told the police she did it because the child was possessed by an evil spirit.
The police in Pyeongtaek City, Gyeonggi Province in South Korea said the Filipina, who was not identified, and the USFK member knew each other.
The military man asked her to look after his two sons, the three-year-old and a seven-year-old, the Korea Times reported.
According to the report, the woman allegedly beat the child to death at about 7:30 a.m. Sunday in her room that was provided by a bar where she worked. The other child was unharmed.
The victim was found by the owner of the bar at 8 a.m. and reported the incident to the Pyeongtaek police.
When the police started searching for the woman, she was already in the custody of a police station, which received a report of a naked woman roaming the streets.
The Filipina allegedly confessed to the police that she assaulted the child during questioning but her response was incoherent during further investigation.
She allegedly told the police that there was an evil spirit in the child’s body and she did it to send him to heaven, according to Korean media outlet The Fact. The police are baffled by her motive, calling it absurd. The police will investigate the suspect’s mental history.
The police have applied for an arrest warrant against her and have requested an autopsy of the victim from Korea’s National Forensic Service.