In an ordinary townhouse in Camden County, N.J., some not-so-ordinary things happened one Saturday night.
At 11 p.m. on July 11, police responded to a 9-1-1 call to the townhouse on Loch Lomond Drive in Gloucester Township and found eight people inside the house – one of whom was dead, Philly.com reported.
Police pronounced Lucille Hamilton, a 21-year-old man living as a woman, dead at the scene. Hamilton flew from Arkansas to New Jersey Friday night and paid $621 to Houngan Hector to perform a voodoo spiritual ritual-- one that would remove her “spiritual grime,” reported the paper.
Hector claimed he was initiated as a senior voodoo priest in Haiti and planned to perform a ritual called Lave Tet, or head washing, on Hamilton. The three-day program starts with a cleansing, after which participants lie in a "badji," or altar room, before they are “baptized,” Philly.com reported.
Hamilton was supposed to start college next month, Billie Miller, Hamilton's boss at Arkansas Flag and Banner said.
“I'm still trying to find a scenario that makes sense. She was very spiritual and beautiful. She was not there for some dark purpose. She wasn't depressed; in fact, you couldn't meet a more upbeat person,” Miller said.
Authorities are waiting for an autopsy and toxicology reports to come back. No charges have yet been filed.
