The horrific ‘exorcism’ of Janet Moses: ‘Possessed’ mum drowned in her bed after 40 family members filled her lungs with water and tried to ‘suck the evil’ out of her eyeballs
New documentary looks into the 'crime of love' that left a young mum dead at hands of her family
A WOMAN whose family believed she was possessed was drowned in her own bed as her relatives SUCKED her eyeballs.
Janet Moses was just 22 when she woke in the night, screaming and threatening to kill her family and yelling that somebody was going to get her.
Her loved ones tried to restrain her and decided an exorcism was necessary in to rid the young mum of her “demons”.
Around 40 relatives - aunties, uncles, brothers and sisters – gathered at her grandmother’s home in Wainuiomata, a suburb of Wellington in New Zealand.
They surrounded Janet, stomping their feet and chanting: “Go with peace and love.”
They then began to throw bowl after bowl of water at her, while restraining her and sucking her eyeballs.
The room was flooded and everyone was soaking wet as the hellish scene unfolded.
But Janet’s struggle to breath was seen as an epic fight with the demons – and the “possessed” mother drowned in her bed after water filled her lungs.
Janet died in October 2007 and no family members were jailed as the courts deciding grief was enough punishment for those involved
A new documentary – Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses - has set out to uncover the truth about whether the ‘exorcism’ was an act of love or a callous murder.
BACKGROUND
Janet, a mum of two young children, was in a turbulent relationship with a man who cheated on her and was struggling with the recent death of her grandmother.
The lawyer who defended her say her loved ones “genuinely believed there was something malignant and dangerous within her.”
They also believed the “possession” stemmed back to the theft of a stone lion from a local hotel, some weeks before Janet started to behave strangely.
When she began showing signs of psychotic behaviour, the family called in a Kaumatua, an elder of the Maori community, who told the family the lion had bought evil into the home.
The lion was returned, but after a small improvement, Janet went downhill again.
Forensic psychiatrist Rees Tapsell told the documentary a combination of her relationship breaking down and her grandmother dying would have put a huge amount of stress and pressure on Janet.
“It’s difficult to be certain what happened but there’s evidence of her becoming psychotic, having extreme changes in her mood,” Dr Tapsell said.
THE EXORCISM
The family refused to take Janet to hospital and denied any access to the home before beginning the ceremony.
Neighbour Viv Babbington recalled: “I could hear stomping, boom, boom, boom, it was deafening.
“There were so many people, there were heaps of them, the place was chocca man, some couldn’t get in.”
The documentary gathered reports from various family members and one teenage girl said Janet was affected with a curse called Makutu, which made you mentally sick.
The family did not believe she had psychiatric problems and believed her psychotic episodes were all part of this curse that came from the lion.
Phil Mitchell said: “The family lacked any external contact, it was so closed and insular and suffocating.”
The exorcism lasted several days as the 40 relatives passed bowls of water to throw on Janet as they tried to kill the evil spirit.
During the trial, the court heard several people also leant over the woman and placed their mouths over her eye balls and tried to suck them out in an attempt to remove the curse.
Janet begged them to stop, but they just thought that was the demon talking.
The young mother was coughing and spluttering, turning her head erratically as people tried to hold her head still.
The room was hot, family members had not slept in days, and the bathroom was closed off so people urinated in nappies, towels and the clothes they were wearing.
RELATED STORIES
A teenage girl’s eyes began to roll back and family members believed she too was possessed and began throwing water over her as well and she nearly died.
“It went blank, I think that’s when they nearly lost me,” the teen told police.
“I don’t feel like they were trying to hurt us, they would’ve had their reasons.”
She tried to punch and claw herself away but the family took that as a sign she was possessed.
Both the teenager and Janet then broke free but they were quickly forced down again.
Water was poured on Janet’s face for hours and eventually her jaw locked.
Her family thought it was the demon trying to stop the water from getting to it, so the family pried her mouth open and soon after she drowned.
As soon as she died, the family put more effort into the teenage girl’s exorcism, believing the evil spirit escaped and was taking over the young girl’s body.
The teenage girl blacked out but one of the family members called a respected community leader who came to the home and urged the family to take the young women to the hospital.
Superintendent Tusha Penny was second in charge of the investigation of the exorcisms called the case: “Incredibly tragic and something very challenging.”
She said: “We worked very hard to understand how a family could do that to one of their own.”
THE TRIAL
Nine members of the family appeared in court on manslaughter charges and they all pleaded not guilty.
Defence lawyer Mike Antunovic said the accused, who cannot be identified, believed Janet was possessed and they were trying to help her.
The trial, which was held for almost a month, focused on the issue of consent and whether Janet had agreed to the exorcism.
Five members of the family were convicted of Ms Moses’ death, but the court decided they had suffered enough and spared them jail.
The home where the exorcism took place was later knocked down.
“I heard they still believe the curse is alive in their family,” Dr Heather Kavan, a lecturer in extraordinary religious experiences said.
Documentary maker David Stubbs said it was a “crime of love.”
He said: “They never meant to kill her.
“They already paid a heavy price, what use would jail do?
“It’s a crime of love. There’s no doubt Janet loved them, and they loved Janet.
“It’s recognised there are times when hysteria can take over and people are not in control of their actions, almost like being controlled by a substance. You’re not in your right mind. Nobody intended to murder anyone.
“When they discovered she was dead they couldn’t quite believe it themselves and blamed it on the demon, not themselves.
“It wasn’t calculated, it wasn’t deliberate and it was coming from a place of love, not malice.”