Exorcist sentenced to death for killing 6 followers

Kyodo News Service in Japan Today/November 23, 2005

Sendai — The Sendai High Court on Tuesday upheld a death sentence against a woman calling herself an exorcist for killing six of her followers by repeatedly beating them on the pretext of exorcising evil spirits.

The ruling at the Fukushima District Court said Sachiko Eto, 58, beat followers with drumsticks in her house in Sukagawa, Fukushima Prefecture, where she lived with them, between January and June 1995 as a way to force demons from their bodies.