http://www.canoe.ca/LondonNews/lf.lf-01-10-0001.html
Thursday, January 10, 2002 Victim seemed possessed, pastor says 'It doesn't make sense' Walter Zepeda died of dehydration after spending the last three days of his life tied in his bedroom By JENNIFER O'BRIEN AND JONATHAN SHER, Free Press Reporters A 19-year-old London man struggled the last three days of his life to escape his bedroom, his arms and legs strapped to chairs with neckties, witnesses say.

Walter Zepeda died of dehydration, an autopsy showed, his slow death allegedly watched by his parents and a priest who says the teen might be have been possessed by the devil.

Delirious on Saturday, Zepeda was gaunt by Monday, according to the family's pastor, Guillermo Fabian.

"He was skinny in the face, I was worried," said Fabian, who visited the family home twice Saturday and three times Monday.

Fabian, whose church practices faith healing, believes Zepeda may have been possessed by the devil.

Zepeda's parents, Diego Cordero and Ana Meija-Lopez, and a friend, Alex Osegueda, were in court yesterday, all three charged with first-degree murder because the teenager died while forcibly confined. They were ordered not to associate with their pastor.

"The victim struggled for his release . . . he did not receive the fluids and nourishment required for his survival," London police Det. Supt. Rick Gillespie said yesterday at a news conference.

The victim was tied for several days for what is believed was "unacceptable behaviour related to matters of discipline within the family environment," Gillespie said.

Police refused to describe the behaviour or to comment on whether the killing occurred during a religious ritual or an attempt to conduct an exorcism on the teenager.

Fabian, the leading Canadian pastor of a church with a heavy presence in Central America, said Zepeda appeared delusional a week before he was confined.

At a service in Toronto on Dec. 29, with hundreds attending from London, Hamilton and St. Catharines, Zepeda approached the podium at the end of the service and asked to speak.

"He was OK at first, talking about Jesus his Saviour," Fabian said. "Then he was confused, mixing up English and Spanish, talking very strange. He said, 'I can see what you think. I can see in your heart what's happened.' "I tried to stop him from talking. He was talking crazy," Fabian said.

The next day Zepeda was back in London and appeared normal to co-workers at Archie's Seafood Restaurants, where he washed dishes. But that was the last he was seen at work.

"One of his parents called in sick for him on Wednesday," said cook Reggie Martinez. "When we called him on the weekend to see if he was coming in, they said he was still sick, but didn't say what was wrong."

Friday, Cordero placed a frantic call to Fabian, leaving a message on his answering machine: "Please ask the church to pray for our son."

The message wasn't heard until Saturday, when the pastor returned home after visits to other churches he presides over in Ontario, he said.

At 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Fabian said, he walked down the steps at 88 King Edward Ave., to the family's basement apartment, then to a bedroom.

Zepeda was tied down prone on four cushioned chairs pushed together like a bed. His legs and arms were held down with neckties secured to the legs of the chairs, Fabian said.

"He was awake but he didn't recognize me. He was acting like a crazy person, saying bad words, talking to himself, sometimes in English, sometimes in French," Fabian said.

"I was scared," the pastor said.

While the teenager remained strapped to the chairs, other church members visited and prayed, said Osegueda's wife, Hilma.

"They were praying for him and we were praying to God that he would heal," she said.

Neighbours were suspicious. Music blared from the typically quiet apartment. Hilma Osegueda said the music was played to calm Zepeda.

Fabian left the apartment. That evening at his church on Wharncliffe, the small congregation of about 50 people prayed for Zepeda. After the service, the pastor returned to the home at about 9:30 p.m.

Zepeda recognized people one moment, then asked who they were moments later, Fabian said.

"I told the parents again to get help. (I said) 'Please! You know what to do.' "

The father refused, saying his son was afraid of police.

The pastor left. On Sunday, Cordero phoned, saying his son was subdued and getting better.

"I felt relieved," said Fabian, who said he again prayed with congregation members for the teen to be healed.

Monday morning at 9:30, the pastor returned. Zepeda was still tied down, but he seemed more coherent and recognized him, Fabian said.

"He was almost normal but he seemed tired," Fabian said.

The pastor said he again asked the father to untie his son. Cordero refused, saying that once Fabian left, he feared his son would become violent.

Leaving to drive a relative to school, Fabian returned at 8 p.m. Zepeda slipped back and forth between coherence and delusion.

"Dad, Mom, I love you," the 19-year-old said in a moment of lucidity.

"I asked the parents, 'Why don't you take him to the shower or help him to walk?' " the pastor said.

The father refused yet again, saying he was afraid of his son.

By that time, Zepeda's face was gaunt, which medical experts say is a sign of dehydration.

Fabian said he asked if the teenager was getting water and was told, "Not much."

The pastor left. About midnight, his phone rang, Fabian said.

"It was (Cordero). He was crying. He said, 'Please come, please come. My son is feeling very bad,' " Fabian said.

When the pastor returned, Zepeda was in a bed. His hands were warm but his eyes were closed.

It wasn't clear if he was breathing.

Cordero called 911. Police and paramedics arrived at 1:12 a.m.

Zepeda was dead.

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