Kali, Devil Implicated in Queens Murders
From last week's New York Press:
Last Wednesday, two defendants in two separate cases tried to weasel their way out of the Firm Grip of Justice by claiming that they had no choice—they had to do what they did, given the presence of malevolent spiritual forces.
In Queens, Krisna Soogrim, 38, was trying to work out a plea deal in the murder of his girlfriend back in February 2002. Last week, he said that while, yes, he killed her, he couldn’t help himself. See, he was possessed by the Hindu god Kali at the time. The judge informed him that possession by Kali (a force of dissolution and destruction) wouldn’t exactly hold up under the law—and what’s more, blaming everything on a Hindu deity might be perceived as falling a little short of taking full responsibility, which meant going to trial.
It wasn’t long before Soogrim (apparently a diagnosed schizophrenic) decided to just plead guilty and be done with it.
In Brooklyn, Zoila Mosquera, 46, was being arraigned for the stabbing death last January of her 87-year-old grandmother. Mosquera allegedly used a scissors to stab her grandma 600 times. According to court papers, the Flatbush woman claimed she was convinced that her grandma—the woman who’d just made her French toast that morning—was possessed by the devil. Or was the devil. Ripping her apart with a scissors was apparently the only way to save her. Although she had earlier been declared mentally fit to stand trial, the fact that she kept laughing as her grandmother’s wounds were described led the judge to rule that (maybe) she should probably be given another psychiatric exam.
Last Wednesday, two defendants in two separate cases tried to weasel their way out of the Firm Grip of Justice by claiming that they had no choice—they had to do what they did, given the presence of malevolent spiritual forces.
In Queens, Krisna Soogrim, 38, was trying to work out a plea deal in the murder of his girlfriend back in February 2002. Last week, he said that while, yes, he killed her, he couldn’t help himself. See, he was possessed by the Hindu god Kali at the time. The judge informed him that possession by Kali (a force of dissolution and destruction) wouldn’t exactly hold up under the law—and what’s more, blaming everything on a Hindu deity might be perceived as falling a little short of taking full responsibility, which meant going to trial.
It wasn’t long before Soogrim (apparently a diagnosed schizophrenic) decided to just plead guilty and be done with it.
In Brooklyn, Zoila Mosquera, 46, was being arraigned for the stabbing death last January of her 87-year-old grandmother. Mosquera allegedly used a scissors to stab her grandma 600 times. According to court papers, the Flatbush woman claimed she was convinced that her grandma—the woman who’d just made her French toast that morning—was possessed by the devil. Or was the devil. Ripping her apart with a scissors was apparently the only way to save her. Although she had earlier been declared mentally fit to stand trial, the fact that she kept laughing as her grandmother’s wounds were described led the judge to rule that (maybe) she should probably be given another psychiatric exam.
posted by Johnny at 1:08 PM
3 Comments:
600. 600. It just won't compute.
Soogram's history with schizophrenia should at least be a mitigating factor in his trial, and I wouldn't be surprised if a psychiatrist finds Mosquera to suffer from SED.
The 600 times kinda computes, actually, if you consider psychosis. You have to keep killing the Devil, see. He just won't stay down.
But 600. Swinging your hand up and down 600 times and in that state with the adrenaline rush and anger... Yeah, it's possible but the normal, rational, human part of me keeps repeating 600 times. It's so much.
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