Girl, 3, tortured to death in ‘exorcism’ told mom ‘I love you’ — before body left on altar: docs

A 3-year-old girl was tortured to death during an “exorcism’’ that her family performed on her in a California church — where she futilely told her mother, “I love you’’ and her corpse was later left lying on the altar., authorities say.

Little Arely Naomi Proctor was found dead inside the Iglesia Apostoles y Profetas in downtown San Jose on Sept. 24, 2021, KRON 4 reported , citing new court filings.

The tot’s body was riddled with wounds she sustained when her mother, uncle and grandfather “forcibly grabbed her by the neck” to remove what they said was a demon, according to documents from Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Rebekah Wise.

“While this assault was ongoing, Arely struggled to escape from her abusers. The victim repeatedly said ‘No!’ ” Wise wrote in the troubling, 50-page memorandum.

Arely also told her mother, Claudia Hernandez, “I love you” during the vicious ordeal, Wise said.

Claudia, her brother Rene “Aaron” Hernandez Santos, and her father Rene Trigueros Hernandez were arrested several months after Arely died, KRON 4 said.

The trio has pleaded not guilty to felony assault on a child younger than 8 causing death.

Judge Hanley Chew is set to rule May 10 on whether the case can proceed to trial.

When authorities at the scene first asked Claudia, then 25, what happened to her daughter, the mother claimed that Arely was up screaming and crying the night before, KRON 4 reported.

Claudia told a police officer that her daughter was “possessed” and claimed that “Arely looked different.

“Her eyes were different. They looked empty, and it ‘wasn’t her,’ ” the mother said, according to the court filing.

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“What I believe is that she was possessed, you know, ’cause I go to church,” Claudia allegedly told the cops.

Claudia said she tried to shove her fingers into her daughter’s mouth to induce vomiting, but the little girl bit her finger.

Claudia and Aaron then brought Arely to the church around 7 a.m., where they said they performed a prayer ceremony.

Claudia and Aaron’s father, Rene, was the church’s pastor.

He met his children and grandchild at the church around 12:20 p.m. on the day of Arely’s death, authorities said.

The three relatives then allegedly held Arely in a “superman” position, suspended above the floor, Wise wrote.

Claudia told police that her daughter told her “I love you” but that she still believed the child was hosting an evil spirit.

“After Arely threw up, Claudia said they put her on the floor. Claudia said this is when Arely stopped breathing. Claudia said God made her understand that Arely was not coming back and was gone,” the document states.

Arely’s body was cold and her lips were blue by around 6 p.m., according to KRON 4.

“This was the last time Claudia believed Arely to be alive,” Wise wrote.

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A medical examiner later determined that the child succumbed to mechanical asphyxiation and smothering, which resulted in a long tally of horrific injuries including brain swelling, blood in the lungs, neck injuries and wounds inside her mouth.

When police asked Claudia if she thought she was responsible for her daughter’s death, she admitted that she was, “in a way,” Wise noted.

Claudia contacted police herself in October 2021 and told an officer that she spoke with God “daily” in the three weeks leading up to Arely’s death.

“During this time, Claudia was praying for Arely, and God told her that he was going to take Arely [on Sept. 24],” the court documents read.

“God told Claudia this was happening because she was never meant to be a mother,” the document continued, noting that Claudia did not previously tell anyone about these conversations.

When asked how she felt about God’s plan for Arely, Claudia told the cop that she “learned to accept what it is.”

Claudia was arrested and charged in January 2022, after police determined that she smothered and strangled Arely until she died from asphyxiation.

A few days before she was charged, Claudia uploaded a grinning YouTube video in which she repeated the phrase , “It is what it is” several times.

Arely’s uncle Aaron, then 29, and grandfather Rene, then 59, were arrested and hit with their own felony abuse charges in May 2022 .

At the time, Aaron told police that he attended church four days a week and had special “gifts” from God, KRON 4 said.

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“These gifts include the ability to speak in tongues, the gift to heal, the gift to interpret tongues, the gift of seeing visions, and the gifts of reprimanding,” the court documents revealed.

Aaron also allegedly believed Arely was possessed on the day she died. He later admitted that the prayer ceremony may have contributed to her death, the papers said.

“He said it was possible that the way he was holding her caused Arely to die. He said there were times when God would tell him to squeeze her harder. Arely’s death made him question his gift to heal,” Wise wrote.

Aaron claimed that he stopped attending the church for a while after his niece died but that he eventually returned as a preacher.

Arely’s grandfather, Claudia and Aaron’s dad Rene, told police that Claudia claimed the little girl was going to die, the court documents explained.

Claudia also told her preacher father that Arely was “not a normal little girl,” the allegations outlined.

When asked why they believed what Claudia said, “Rene Sr. shrugged his shoulders. Rene Sr. said he believed everything Claudia was saying to him,” Wise wrote.

In the most recent court filing, prosecutors insisted that they had sufficient evidence for the three relatives to stand trial for Arely’s death.

“There is no question from the testimony given at preliminary hearing that Claudia’s acts caused Arely’s death,” Wise wrote to the judge.

Claudia, Aaron, and Rene are due back in court May 10 for the ruling. All three are being held without bail in the county jails.

The church where Arely died also made headlines two years ago when one of the parishioners was accused of helping kidnap baby Brandon Cuellar from his family’s San Jose home.

The woman, 43-year-old Yesenia Guadalupe Ramirez, allegedly became obsessed with the tot after meeting his grandmother at a church service.

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