The Tragic Exorcism of Janet Moses

On October 12, 2007, twenty-two-year-old Janet Moses died in her family’s home in Wainuiomata, New Zealand. She drowned during an attempted exorcism conducted by relatives who believed she had been cursed after touching a tapu object at a museum. Over forty family members participated in or witnessed the ritual that killed her, and the subsequent trial raised difficult questions about culture, belief, and the limits of religious practice. The case became one of the most significant legal examinations of exorcism-related death in Commonwealth history.

Janet Moses

Janet Moses was a young Māori woman living with extended family in Wainuiomata, a town in the Wellington region of New Zealand. She had struggled with some mental health issues and had been hospitalized for psychiatric treatment earlier in 2007. Despite these challenges, she was described by family as kind and loving, a valued member of their close-knit community.

In September 2007, approximately one month before her death, Janet visited the Te Papa museum in Wellington with her grandmother. According to family accounts, her grandmother allowed Janet to touch a stone artifact in the museum’s collection, an object that was tapu, or sacred and forbidden in Māori tradition.

Under traditional Māori belief, touching a tapu object without proper spiritual preparation can result in spiritual harm, including possession by malevolent spirits or the activation of a makutu, a curse. When Janet began exhibiting disturbing behavior in the days after the museum visit, her family interpreted her symptoms through this cultural framework.

The Deterioration

In the weeks following the museum visit, Janet’s behavior became increasingly erratic. She experienced what her family described as trances or fits. She spoke in ways that seemed unlike her normal self. She became violent and difficult to control. Her eyes, according to witnesses, would roll back in her head during episodes.

The family interpreted these symptoms not as a mental health crisis but as spiritual affliction. They believed Janet was possessed by a spirit released when she touched the forbidden object. Traditional Māori healing practices were attempted, including karakia (prayers) and other rituals.

When these initial efforts failed to produce improvement, the family decided more intensive intervention was required. They gathered at the family home on October 12, 2007, to conduct a ritual that would remove the curse or spirit from Janet.

The Ritual

What happened in the Moses family home that night involved over forty people across several generations. The exact nature of the ritual drew on traditional Māori practices but was not sanctioned by any established religious authority.

The family held Janet and attempted to remove the evil spirit through a combination of prayer, chanting, and physical intervention. Water played a central role in the ritual, as it does in many purification ceremonies across cultures. Family members poured water over Janet repeatedly in an effort to wash away the spiritual contamination.

As the night progressed and Janet continued to exhibit what the family interpreted as possessed behavior, the intensity of the ritual increased. More water was used. Janet was held down while water was forced into her mouth and poured over her face. She struggled and resisted, which the participants interpreted as evidence that the spirit was fighting against removal.

The ritual continued for hours. By the time the family realized Janet was no longer breathing, it was too late. She had drowned, her lungs filled with the water that was supposed to save her soul.

The Investigation

When emergency services were called, police found a scene that was both a tragedy and a crime scene. Over forty people, including children, had been present during Janet’s death. All were detained for questioning.

The investigation revealed a family that had acted out of genuine belief that they were helping Janet, not harming her. There was no intent to kill. The participants genuinely believed they were fighting a spiritual battle for her salvation. Many were deeply traumatized by her death and by the realization of what they had done.

The case presented New Zealand authorities with a complex problem. How should the legal system respond to a death that resulted from sincere religious belief? How could culpability be assigned when dozens of people participated and all believed they were acting in Janet’s best interest?

The Trial

In 2009, several family members were tried for Janet’s death. The charges included manslaughter, which in New Zealand law does not require intent to kill but does require criminal negligence or reckless behavior that results in death.

The defense argued that the defendants had acted according to their cultural and spiritual beliefs, which recognized the reality of makutu and the necessity of removing it. They did not intend harm and genuinely believed the ritual was helping Janet.

The prosecution countered that regardless of belief, the defendants should have recognized that forcing large amounts of water into someone’s mouth and nose was dangerous. When Janet struggled and showed signs of distress, they should have stopped. Their failure to do so, whatever their intentions, constituted criminal negligence.

The jury found multiple defendants guilty of manslaughter. Sentences ranged from suspended sentences to several years of imprisonment. The court recognized the role of cultural belief in the tragedy but affirmed that such belief could not justify actions that a reasonable person would recognize as potentially lethal.

Cultural Context

The Janet Moses case raised significant questions about the intersection of indigenous belief and modern law. Māori culture, like many indigenous traditions, includes spiritual practices that may seem foreign or irrational to outside observers. The belief in makutu and the necessity of spiritual cleansing is genuinely held by many Māori people.

At the same time, New Zealand, as a modern democracy, must apply laws equally regardless of cultural background. The right to practice one’s culture does not extend to practices that result in death. Finding the balance between cultural respect and legal responsibility proved challenging.

The case prompted national discussion about mental health services for Māori communities, the recognition of cultural beliefs in the legal system, and the dangers of mixing traditional spiritual practices with amateur medical or psychiatric intervention.

Aftermath

The Moses family was devastated by Janet’s death and by the subsequent legal proceedings. They had acted out of love and genuine concern for Janet’s spiritual wellbeing. That their attempt to help her resulted in her death was a tragedy compounded by the legal consequences they faced.

Janet’s death led to changes in how New Zealand authorities approach cases involving cultural or religious practices that result in harm. Training for police and social workers was updated to better recognize the signs of potentially dangerous spiritual interventions.

The case also prompted discussion within Māori communities about the appropriate role of traditional practices and when professional mental health care should be sought. While many Māori continue to believe in the reality of spiritual affliction, there is growing recognition that such cases require careful handling rather than amateur intervention.

Conclusion

Janet Moses died because her family loved her and believed she was in danger. They saw spiritual illness where doctors saw mental illness. They attempted a cure that killed her. And now they live with the knowledge that their attempt to save her soul cost Janet her life.

The case defies easy categorization. It is not a story of villains and victims but of well-meaning people trapped by belief in a situation that spiraled beyond their control. The family members who held Janet down and poured water over her face were not murderers in any conventional sense. They were parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles who thought they were helping.

Yet Janet Moses is still dead, drowned in her own home while surrounded by people who loved her. Her death was preventable. Her suffering, in those final hours, was real regardless of what was happening on any spiritual level.

The Janet Moses case asks us to consider the limits of cultural accommodation, the dangers of amateur spiritual intervention, and the tragedy that can result when sincere belief meets desperate circumstances. It offers no easy answers, only a young woman’s death and a family’s unimaginable grief, the terrible price paid when love and faith combine with ignorance and fear.