a 23-year-old Romanian nun who died after she was tied to a cross in an apparent exorcism ritual and left in a cold room for three days without food. Maricica Irina Cornici of the Holy Trinity convent in northeast Romania died late Wednesday. "An autopsy is being conducted to determine the cause of death," the Associated Press (AP) news agency quoted police spokeswoman Mihaela Straub as saying.
A monk and four nuns at the convent reportedly told police the young nun was chained to a cross and kept without food apparently because she was behaving violently. "They all said that she was possessed and they were trying to cast out the evil spirits," Straub said.
The British Broadcasting Corporation quoted Mediafax news agency however as saying that Cornici suffered from schizophrenia and the symptoms of her condition caused the priest at the convent and other nuns to believe she was possessed by the devil.
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Local media said the young woman had arrived at the remote convent three months before, having initially gone there to visit a friend and opted to stay. She grew up in an orphanage in Arad, in the west of Romania.
Father Daniel who is accused of orchestrating the crime is reportedly unrepentant. "God has performed a miracle for her, finally Irina is delivered from evil," he told reporters.
"I don’t understand why journalists are making such a fuss about this. Exorcism is a common practice in the heart of the Romanian Orthodox church and my methods are not at all unknown to other priests," Father Daniel added. If found guilty of killing Cornici, Father Daniel and the accused nuns could face 20 years in jail, the BBC said. (With reports from Romania)
