Man blames spirit possession for infant’s child abuse injuries

Arrested last week for allegedly fracturing an infant’s skull, Juan Francisco Lobo Hernandez told Cobb police he believed the infant was possessed by spirits, and that he may have been too. 

Hernandez is accused of causing multiple skull fractures to an infant on April 20 at a home on Dodgen Road in Mableton, the warrant states.

According to his arrest warrant, Hernandez, 28, was booked into the Cobb jail on April 25 for child abuse and aggravated battery. 

Police responded to the house around 8:40 p.m. that day and found the infant girl breathing abnormally. The baby was transported to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. 

Her parents were unable to provide a reason for her skull fractures and internal bleeding to police, authorities said. Arrest records are unclear on the infant’s parents, but Hernadez was identified as the last caretaker of the baby before symptoms of blunt force trauma appeared.

Police interviewed Hernandez five days after the infant was brought to the hospital and it was during that interview that he said supernatural forces were at work targeting him and his family. 

The warrant says, “Said accused stated that he (believed) paranormal activity had been conducted by spirits or a bad person who attempted to make his family suffer. Said accused stated he believed said victim was possessed and that he may have been as well.”

Hernandez was arrested and remained in jail for three days before bonding out.