Mother drowned 'during Maori exorcism'

A young mother drowned after having water continually poured down her throat in a Maori exorcism, a court in New Zealand has been told.

Janet Moses, 22, was held down on the floor of a house during the three-day long ceremony to lift a traditional curse, or makutu, prosecutors say.



Six men and three women, whose names have been suppressed by the court, pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of Ms Moses when their trial opened in Wellington yesterday.

One of the women and a seventh man are also charged with ill-treating a 14-year-old girl, after her eyes were allegedly gouged when the evil spirit was thought to have moved on to her.

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