A Missouri man who took responsibility for a death that was previously ruled a suicide now claims he wrongly confessed while under the influence of an exorcism, according to ABC News.
Bethany Deaton was found dead in October 2012 in the back seat of her locked minivan with a note. "My name is Bethany Deaton. I chose this evil thing," the note read, according ABC News. "I did it because I wouldn't be a real person and what is the point of living if it is too late for that? I wish I had chosen differently a long time ago. I knew it all and refused to listen. Maybe Jesus will still save me."
Deaton was the 27-year-old wife of Tyler Deaton, leader of a religious group called the International House of Prayer. Micah Moore, a fellow member of the cult, walked into a police station and confessed to killing the woman a few weeks later, according to ABC News.
At the time of his confession, Moore claimed that Tyler Deaton ordered the murder of his wife because she was about to uncover charges of sexual assaults in the communal house.
Moore is now pleading not guilty to first-degree murder. "They were the statements of a distraught and confused young man," Moore's lawyer Melanie Morgan said, according to ABC News. "We are aware of no evidence that a crime has occurred."
The medical examiner has since changed the cause of death to "undetermined," according to ABC News.
The International House of Prayer denies any connection to Deaton and his followers.
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