Aracely Meza: Dallas Pastor Who Starved Toddler To Death To Get Rid Of A ‘Demon’ Gets 99 Years
Aracely Meza, a Dallas pastor who ordered a 2-year-old boy to be starved to death in order to get rid of a “demon,” has been sentenced to 99 years in prison, ABC News is reporting.
On Friday, a jury convicted the 52-year-old of felony injury to a child causing serious bodily injury for a series of events that took place in 2015.
As the Dallas Morning News reports, the boy, Benjamin Aparacio, was a few weeks shy of his third birthday when his parents, who were members of Meza’s church, sought the pastor’s help. Meza told the parents that the boy had a “demon of manipulation,” and that the only way to rid the child of it was to deny him food for 21 days.
At different points during his “fast,” Meza would allow the boy to be given food, only to then take it away again for minor infractions, such as failing to say “Amen” properly or failing to use the restroom properly.
“The Spirit was telling me that Benjamin should start eating.”
Three weeks later, on March 22, 2015, Meza and her church held a series of ceremonies for the boy, who at this point was near death. Damning video from those ceremonies was shown to jurors.
Warning: the next paragraphs contain content that may be disturbing to some readers.
In video taken from before Benjamin died, Meza can be saying holding and praying over the near-lifeless body of the young boy, who was now just a week shy of his third birthday. Child-abuse pediatrician Dr. Suzanne Daikil, who analyzed the videos, described the young boy as “severely emaciated.”
Continúa el juicio, esta vez con testigos de la defensa, en el caso de Benjamin Aparicio, quien habría fallecido tras un ayuno impuesto de 21 días. La acusada es la pastora Aracely Meza, quien decidió hambrear al niño por supuestos “demonios ” @UnivisionDallas pic.twitter.com/HTqa6fvFMK
— Karen Falla (@fallakaren) March 23, 2018
Before his death, Meza could be seen attempting to prop-up the nearly-lifeless toddler, eyes sunken, bones jutting out. Unable to hold himself up, he’s seen falling face-first onto a floor. Meza can be seen pulling down the boy’s pants and spanking him repeatedly.
Following his death, Meza held a “resurrection ceremony,” during which she and the congregation prayed over Benjamin’s lifeless body for hours.
“I thought that God would wake him up.”
Benjamin’s parents, Liliana and Zenon Aparacio, who at the time were undocumented immigrants from Mexico, took the boy’s body back to Mexico to be buried. They are still believed to be living there, and should they return to the U.S., they are facing charges in connection with Benjamin’s death.
