The Ossett Murder: Michael Taylor Exorcism

In October 1974, Michael Taylor killed his wife Christine in one of the most brutal murders in British history. Hours earlier, he had undergone an all-night exorcism conducted by a group of Christian ministers who believed he was possessed by demons. The case shocked Britain and raised profound questions about the dangers of amateur exorcism and the intersection of religious fervor with mental illness.

Background

Michael Taylor was a thirty-one-year-old butcher living in Ossett, a small town in West Yorkshire, England. He and his wife Christine had five children and were described as a normal, happy family. In 1974, they joined a local Christian fellowship group, part of the charismatic renewal movement that emphasized spiritual gifts and personal religious experience.

At the fellowship, Michael met Marie Robinson, the group’s leader. Their relationship became emotionally intense, though apparently not sexual. Christine grew concerned about her husband’s attachment to Marie and confronted them at a fellowship meeting. Michael’s reaction was explosive and disturbing.

The Possession

After the confrontation, Michael began exhibiting strange behavior. He experienced violent mood swings, spoke in unusual voices, and had episodes where he seemed to be a different person entirely. Members of the fellowship became convinced that he was possessed by evil spirits.

The group’s leaders, including Methodist minister Peter Vincent and Anglican vicar Raymond Smith, decided to perform an exorcism. On the night of October 5, 1974, approximately forty people gathered at St. Thomas’s Church in Gawber for the ritual.

The Exorcism

The exorcism lasted throughout the night, continuing until 6 AM the following morning. The participants, few of whom had any training in such rituals, improvised based on their understanding of Scripture and spiritual warfare.

During the roughly seven-hour session, the ministers claimed to have cast out forty demons from Michael, each identified by name: demons of insanity, lewdness, masochism, and many others. However, when dawn approached and the exhausted participants finally stopped, they acknowledged that they had not expelled all the demons. Specifically, they believed that demons of murder, violence, and insanity remained.

Despite this acknowledgment, they allowed Michael to leave with Christine. One of the participants reportedly expressed concern, but the exhausted group dispersed.

The Murder

What happened next was horrific. Shortly after returning home, Michael attacked Christine with extreme violence. He strangled her, tore out her eyes and tongue with his bare hands, and mutilated her face beyond recognition. When police found him, he was wandering naked in the street, covered in blood, with their family dog, which he had also killed.

Michael was arrested and charged with murder. He remembered nothing of the attack and was described as being in a daze when found.

The Trial

Michael Taylor’s trial became a sensation in Britain. The defense argued that he was not guilty by reason of insanity, presenting psychiatric testimony that he was suffering from an acute psychotic episode at the time of the killing.

The jury agreed, finding Michael Taylor not guilty by reason of insanity. He was committed to Broadmoor Hospital, a high-security psychiatric facility. The verdict placed blame not on Michael but implicitly on those who had performed the exorcism and then released a clearly disturbed man.

Aftermath

The case prompted widespread criticism of the charismatic movement’s practices regarding exorcism. The Church of England subsequently issued guidelines restricting exorcism to trained clergy and requiring psychological evaluation before any such rituals.

Peter Vincent, the Methodist minister who led the exorcism, faced intense criticism but was not prosecuted. He continued to maintain that Michael had been genuinely possessed and that the exorcism had been appropriate.

Michael Taylor was eventually released from Broadmoor after being deemed no longer a danger. He reportedly lived quietly thereafter, haunted by what he had done but with no memory of the act itself.

Legacy

The Ossett case remains a cautionary tale about the dangers of amateur exorcism and the religious interpretation of mental illness. Psychiatrists who examined Michael concluded that he was suffering from a severe psychotic break, likely triggered by the intense emotional and religious pressures of the fellowship group and the exorcism itself.

The case is studied in discussions of forensic psychiatry, religious practice, and the ethics of spiritual intervention. It demonstrates how sincere religious belief can have tragic consequences when combined with psychological vulnerability and inadequate understanding of mental illness.

The Christian fellowship disbanded after the case, unable to continue in the shadow of what had happened. Christine Taylor was buried, mourned by a community that struggled to understand how faith could have led to such horror.