Europe

Germany: 5 South Koreans convicted in fatal exorcism case

Associated Press
Published | Updated

A 16-year-old South Korean covers his face as he is led into a court room in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. He is the main suspect accused of murder following the death a 41-year-old woman in an apparent exorcism ritual in a room in a Frankfurt hotel. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) (The Associated Press)

A 16-year-old South Korean covers his face as he is led into a court room by a lawyer in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. He is the main suspect accused of murder following the death a 41-year-old woman in an apparent exorcism ritual in a room in a Frankfurt hotel. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) (The Associated Press)

A 16-year-old South Korean covers his face as he is led into a court room in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. He is the main suspect accused of murder following the death a 41-year-old woman in an apparent exorcism ritual in a room in a Frankfurt hotel. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) (The Associated Press)

A court in Germany has convicted five South Korean citizens over the death of a relative in an exorcism ritual at a Frankfurt hotel in 2015.

The Frankfurt regional court found the main defendant, a 44-year-old cousin of the victim, guilty Monday of serious bodily harm resulting in death. The dpa news agency reported that she was sentenced to six years in prison.

Four other defendants, including the victim's 16-year-old son, were given suspended sentences of between 18 months and two years.

The sentences were lower than prosecutors had demanded.

The court concluded that the defendants had genuinely believed they were driving a demon out of the 41-year-old woman's body and that reports of "gruesome torture" weren't proven.