Autistic Boy Dies During Wis. Service [View All]

MILWAUKEE - An autistic 8-year-old boy died while being restrained during a church prayer service held in an attempt to cure him, and one man connected with the small storefront church was arrested, police and a church official said Sunday.

The boy's mother took him to the Faith Temple Apostolic Church for the prayer service Friday night. Several church members prayed over him for more than an hour until someone noticed he wasn't moving and called 911, said Bishop David Hemphill Sr.

Hemphill said the boy and his mother had been going to the prayer services for the past three weeks. Members of the church, made up of just six families, prayed for God to release the evil spirits that cause the boy's illness, he said.

"The boy just had a problem in his mind, and what we were doing was asking God to fix it," Hemphill said. "He chose to fix it by taking him back home to him."

"All I know is we're not guilty of anything," he said.

more