Detectives learned that the bonfire had been started by Richard Myron Ham and his girlfriend, 30-year-old Lakenya Lavonn Phillips, in order to burn the possessions of Phillips' son, according to the HCSO.
A Florida man threw a 9-year-old boy into a bonfire in order to rid him of a demon, according to the Highlands County Sheriff's Office (HCSO).
Deputies responded to a scene in Sebring on Tuesday afternoon in response to a report "about several people burning debris -- including live ammunition -- on the side of the road," says the HCSO.
Soon after arriving, deputies approached 39-year-old Richard Myron Ham, who was "armed with two metal rods," according to HCSO.
"Ham refused to follow deputies’ orders and a taser was deployed. The taser did not appear to have an effect on Ham, who dropped the metal rods and pulled the taser probes from his body," said the HCSO. "At that point, Phillips picked up one of the rods and handed it to Ham, who used it to strike a deputy in the head."
A deputy then fired at Ham, who was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, said the HCSO.
Detectives learned that the bonfire had been started by Ham and his girlfriend, 30-year-old Lakenya Lavonn Phillips, in order to burn the possessions of Phillips' son, according to the HCSO.
The two believed that the "boy was possessed by a demon," and "at one point, witnesses said, Ham put the child into the fire and covered him with a blanket that was also on fire," said the HCSO.
The child managed to avoid suffering "serious injury," and later told deputies he "had not bathed or brushed his teeth in at least 10 days ... and had not been fed for at least 24 hours," according to the HCSO.
The boy is now in state custody after his mother's arrest. She is facing charges of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence and cruelty toward a child.
Phillips has yet to enter a plea and no lawyer is listed on her court docket.
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