May 1, 2008 6:00 pm US/Eastern
Grandmom: Toddler Murdered By Cult Members
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
A Baltimore grandmother claims cult members murdered her grandson and left his body inside a South Philadelphia shed.
Seeta Newton desperately pleaded for help for two years. She said she begged media and social service agencies to save her daughter and infant grandson from the grasp of a cult.
Newton's worst fears were realized Monday when her beloved grandson, Javon, was found murdered and stuffed in a suitcase in South Philadelphia. She believes Javon was murdered as part of a cult ceremony.
"They told him to say Amen after the grace and he couldn't say it or wouldn't say it and she took the food away from him and she beat him," Newton said. "She ordered nobody feed him because he had a demon in him."
Newton claims the cult, working from a home in Baltimore, brainwashed her daughter. She said her daughter and infant grandson were kept as virtual prisoners.
"He passed out, the cult leader took him from my daughter and said that he was going to be OK, she was taking care of him and praying for him and he was going to come back," Newton said.
Inside the alleged cult headquarters on Robinson Street in Baltimore, Newton said the group upheld bizarre rituals including members referring to themselves as king, queen and prince.
"They smoked marijuana and the cult leader pretend to be kissing the baby and she blew the marijuana smoke in his mouth," Newton explained.
Newton said the cult members are long gone from their home. While no charges have been filed, she holds them responsible for murdering her grandson.
"I'm angry, I'm really angry, I'm so angry and I want to watch them suffer the same way they made my little baby suffer," Newton said.
Investigators do believe the young child was murdered in Baltimore and brought to South Philadelphia, but they are not commenting on any possible cult connection.
The owner of the South Philadelphia row home is not under investigation.
The members of the alleged cult remain have not been questioned or charged with any crimes at this point.
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