In a jarring incident out of Fort Pierce, Florida, a mother has been charged with second-degree murder following the discovery of her 6-year-old son, Ra'myl Pierre, dead in his home. Rhonda Paulynice, 31, is accused of attempting to "exorcise demons" from her child—a devastating act that allegedly led to his death, as reported by NBC News.
Details regarding the case emerged after the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office conducted a welfare check at Paulynice's residence at around 10 a.m. yesterday, with the prompt coming from a school resource officer's concern about the child's absence since May 14. Sheriff Richard R. Del Toro Jr. revealed that Paulynice met deputies in the driveway and escorted them to her son's bedroom, where he was found dead, according to a narrative given to CBS12 News.
An autopsy is scheduled to determine the exact cause of Ra'myl's death, during their investigation, deputies gathered that the mother, believing divine instruction, sought to rid her son of demons; this tragic belief seemingly culminated in the child's demise, with Paulynice last speaking to him on May 18, the date deputies suspect the child died. The sheriff added to the complexity of the backstory mentioning that while nothing involving the mother and child had precipitated a law enforcement response in the past, deputies had been to the home concerning a medical issue for the mother on May 17, and there had been previous domestic issues involving Paulynice and her sister, as detailed by NBC News.
The local community has been left in distress over the incident, with one local resident telling CBS12 News, "I’m devastated, I’m sick to my stomach," and a relative expressing disbelief at the surrealness of the tragic circumstances. As the investigation continues, Sheriff Del Toro conveyed his condolences to the school community of Pierre, a child who was said to light the room and was dearly loved, the emotional toll the case has taken apparent on all involved, in the sheriff's words, the mother exhibited "a lot of highs and lows"—at times laughing and then crying while at the scene of the investigation.
