An Arizona man murdered his son while trying to exorcise a demon from him — pouring boiling hot water down the boy’s throat and drowning him, according to local media reports.
Pablo Martinez told investigators he saw something evil inside his son, 6, while giving him a bath on Thursday — admitting to holding the boy under a faucet of hot water to cast the demon out, according to NBC affiliate News 4 Tucson.
Police were first called to the home on the Pascua Yaqui Native American reservation to a report of a burned child when the man’s wife called 911.
According to court documents, the boy’s adopted mother heard “a gurgling sound coming from the bathroom” and found her husband holding the boy under the faucet in the bathtub.
When she told him to stop, Martinez told her he “had to do it,” according to court papers reviewed by News 4 Tuscon.
Martinez, 31, also admitted to holding his son under water for five to 10 minutes. Officers are charging him with first-degree murder.
Police found the child in his bed, completely naked and not breathing.
The boy had burns to 15% of his body, including on his forearms, elbows and head, and was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.