Voodoo is the reason a 19-year-old man said he tried to kill a 72-year-old woman early Thursday morning, according to the man's mother.
The suspect's mother said Scott Pierre believed the woman was performing voodoo on him.
Witnesses said Pierre broke into the Poinciana home where the woman was staying with her daughter. They say Pierre dragged the 72-year-old out of the house, viciously beat her and walked back to his home, which is right next door.
That 72-year-old woman was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where doctors are treating her for life-threatening injuries.
Pierre's mother said her son has been acting strangely for the past two weeks, and they even went so far as to call a pastor to pray for him.
“I’m very, very, very sorry because that’s not my son doing that," said Yvette Pierre. "That’s something else. It’s the devil. I don’t know where that came from. We don’t know what’s going on. We don’t know. That’s what he said. He said it’s a spirit from Shiquo. So we don’t know. Therefore, I want to apologize to those people, to the neighborhood. I want to apologize, very sorry because that’s not my son."
Scott Pierre is locked up on several charges, including attempted murder.
He will face a judge Friday afternoon.