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| Leonora & Mark Joseph |
Mother and son born again Christians, accused of harassing their young mum neighbour with ‘death by fire’ chants told a court they were protecting themselves against witchcraft.
Leonora Joseph, 76, and her son Mark Joseph, 56, claim their neighbour, who has a six year-old autistic child, is possessed by the devil.
The Joseph’s, of Cromwell Road, Wimbledon have both pleaded not guilty to harassing neighbour Samantha Ginsburg between August 27 and November 30, last year.
Wimbledon Magistrates Court heard they shouted and chanted: ‘death to Samantha’ and ‘death by fire’ outside the converted property despite previous police harassment warnings.
Prosecutor Mr. Thomas John told District Judge Andrew Sweet: “The allegation comes from Samantha Ginsburg, who lives in a flat in Cromwell Road, SW19.
“Both accused live at their flat and you will hear Samantha Ginsburg’s account of her family circumstances and a course of conduct.”
The charge accuses both Joseph’s of shouting: “Death by fire,” playing their television loudly and calling their neighbour’s young daughter a: “Witch.”
The Joseph’s were bailed by the judge until May 10 for a pre-trial review.
Mrs Joseph told him from the dock: “We are born-again Christians. This witchcraft is not practised openly and in past times they were burned at the stake.
“The devil is the deceiver. He does everything in secret.
“They are always accusing the person they have attacked and they now use witchcraft as entertainment, magic.”
Mrs Joseph told the court she was simply quoting Psalm 94 Verse 1 of the Bible to protect herself from witchcraft.
Her son told the court they were living in “relative peace” with Samantha and her partner as neighbours for seven years until mysterious things began happening.
“There was a deterioration in our living standards that we have not experienced before.”
He claimed his mother was struck by a mysterious life-threatening illness in 2016. “Her vital signs were shutting down for a minute or so.
“For the first time in her life she had to go to hospital for a life or death issue.
“Over a period of time she was unable to walk. She was virtually bedridden for months, unable to go to the bathroom because she had becomes weak.
“There were a number of sicknesses and there was no diagnosis.”
Mr. Joseph said his mother spent 18 days in hospital. “They were unable to work out what was wrong with her.
“Now, thanks to God, she is able to move around and had her health.”
Regarding the charges he added: “This is a spiritual matter, not something that can be dealt with by any court of law or the police.
“We had been praying the word of God as our only defence, reading from the word of God. This is our way of dealing with it spiritually.”
His mother Leonora added: “None shall suffer a witch. That’s what the Bible says.”
Judge Sweet announced: “The court has been on notice there may be mental health issues in relation to this case. The question as to whether the Joseph’s are able to have a fair trial has been raised.
“Save for a good reason the trial should go ahead and the Crown are keen that it does.
“I have a doubt in my mind, having read the report, that if I go ahead with the trial there is a full capacity on the part of Mr and Mrs Joseph to put their defence and participate in the trial.
“I am asking for a full psychiatric report on Mr and Mrs Joseph, without which I cannot decide if there can be a fair trial.”
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