Police suspect exorcism in woman's death

FAIRFAX, Va., Oct. 22 (UPI) -- An 18-year-old Virginia woman died during a Korean exorcism intended to evict demons or other spiritual entities believed to have possessed her, police say.

Rayoung Kim of Centreville, Va., was involved in "a religious ritual" moments before she passed out July 26, 2008, a police affidavit filed in Fairfax Circuit Court quotes Kim's brother as saying.

Kim died four days later. The filing quotes a medical examiner's report as saying she died from "blunt force trauma and asphyxiation."

No one has been charged in the case, but police continue investigating, Officer Don Gotthardt told The Washington Post.

Kim's father, Kyung T. Kim, said police had their facts wrong, but wouldn't comment further, the Post reported.

Homicide detectives recently obtained search warrants to take DNA samples from Kim's mother and brother, whom they suspect might have participated in ancient Korean services known as kut, or gut, in which a shaman communicates with spirits.

While exorcisms are often associated with the Catholic Church, the practice is ancient and part of the belief system of many cultures.

"Historically, the Korean culture has been very deeply shaped by shamanism," Peter Cha, a professor of pastoral theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Ill., told the Post.

Korean shamanism encompasses indigenous beliefs and practices influenced by Buddhism and Taoism.

A woman is typically the shaman, or mudang, who communicates with gods or spirits not only to drive out evil but also to resolve financial problems or improve a person's health, Cha said.

It is extremely rare for murder or manslaughter charges to be filed in relation to religious rituals, the Post said.