An Oklahoma woman has been convicted of killing her 33-year-old daughter by forcing a crucifix and medallion down her throat because she believed she was possessed by the devil.
Juanita Gomez, 51, was found guilty of first-degree murder on Thursday in the gruesome 2016 death of her daughter Geneva Gomez.
Jurors recommended a sentence of life in prison without parole.
Police were called to Gomez’s home in Oklahoma City in August 2016 after the victim’s boyfriend came across her bruised and bloodied body lying on the floor.
Juanita Gomez, 51, was found guilty of first-degree murder in Oklahoma on Thursday in the gruesome 2016 death of her daughter Geneva Gomez
Geneva was found with her arms spread out as if she had been crucified and a large crucifix had been placed on her chest.
The boyfriend, Francisco Merlos, testified during the trial that when he asked Gomez why she did not seek medical help for Geneva, the woman ‘kept mumbling about “devil and money”,’ and told him that her daughter was ‘possessed’.
When Merlos tried to leave, he said Gomez put him in a headlock but he was able to free himself from her grasp and call police.
Court documents indicate that Gomez told police her daughter had been speaking in tongues in a demonic voice the night before her death, her eyes had rolled back in her head and that she had threatened to kill her mother.
Gomez also said the bruises on her arms and hands were from her daughter resisting her attempts to exorcise Satan from her body.
Juanita Gomez smiled as she was led into court on Thursday prior to being found guilty of murdering her 33-year-old daughter Geneva (right) in August 2016
Police were called to Gomez’s home in Oklahoma City (above) in August 2016 after the victim’s boyfriend came across her bruised and bloodied body lying on the floor
The mother told police she then forced a crucifix down her daughter’s throat until blood came out of her mouth and watched her die.
Assistant District Attorney Suzanne Lavenue likened the crime scene inside the home to a ‘horror film’.
During the trial, jurors were shown a crime scene photo of the victim lying on the floor with the crucifix on her chest.
She had pleaded not guilty to the murder charge against her.
Her lawyers had signaled their intent to present an insanity defense at trial but later scrapped that plan.
A court-appointed forensic psychologist found Gomez competent to stand trial and said she was feigning memory problems and mental illness to appear incompetent.
Geneva (pictured above) was found with her arms spread out as if she had been crucified and a large crucifix had been placed on her chest
Jurors recommended a sentence of life in prison without parole when Gomez fronted court on Thursday