April 1, 2024 • 38 mins
Picture a house where a family's American Dream twists into a living nightmare of supernatural proportions. That's the tale of Latoya Ammons and her family, as they grapple with forces that defy explanation—flies swarming in winter, a child levitating, and shadowy apparitions stalking their home. Join us as we unravel the chilling narrative that took them from skeptics to believers in a world beyond our own. We recount the involvement of police, psychologists, and clergy in a saga that blurs the lines between the corporeal and the spectral, leaving even the most hardened officials questioning the nature of reality.
Have you ever wondered what it's like to battle with the unseen? As we navigate through the hauntings, the skepticism crumbles in the face of malfunctioning electronics, inexplicable voices, and ghostly images. The story deepens with psychological evaluations, suggesting a complex interplay of paranormal belief and potential delusion. We examine the harrowing intersection of mental health, supernatural claims, and the drastic steps taken by the Department of Child Services—actions that rippled through the Ammons' lives, sparking custody battles and a desperate search for normalcy amidst the unexplainable.
The climax of our journey plunges into the spiritual battleground as the conventional is defied to perform an exorcism without the church's initial blessing. The exploration into the aftermath—physical afflictions, a persistent mysterious substance, and the quest to name the demons—paints a vivid picture of a family under siege by forces unknown. Witness how this extraordinary case etched its mark on all involved, and left a community, and perhaps even you, pondering the realities that lie just beyond the veil of our understanding.
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Be Weird. Stay Different. Don't Trust Anyone!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Thank you, welcome to Dark Crossroads Podcast, hosted
(01:39):
by Roxanne Fletcher.
This is your stop for allthings true crime and paranormal
.
From the infamous story of theNew Bedford Highway Killer to
the chilling tale of the BlackEyford Highway Killer, to the
chilling tell of the Black EyedChildren, dark Crossroads
Podcast is a truly deep diveinto the stories that frighten
and fascinate you.
All links to the show will beprovided in this episode's
(02:00):
description, and don't forget tolet us know what you think of
today's episode.
Episode.
In 2011, latoya Ammons, hermother and her three children
(02:20):
moved into a new rental home inGary, indiana, but just a few
days later they started toexperience a number of bizarre
and unsettling incidents.
Gary Indiana police captainCharles Austin said that it was
the strangest story that he hadever heard.
Charles, who at the time was a36-year veteran of the Gary
Police Department, said that heinitially thought that
Indianapolis resident LatoyaAmmons and her family concocted
(02:43):
an elaborate tale as a way tojust make money, but after
several visits to their home andinterviews with witnesses, he
simply said I am now a believer.
Not everybody involved with thefamily was inclined to believe
its incredible story, and manyreaders will find that LaToya's
supernatural claims aresometimes impossible to accept,
(03:04):
but whatever the cause of thecreepy occurrences that befell
the family, whether they wereseized by a systematic delusion
or a demonic possession, it ledto one of the most unusual cases
ever handled by theIndianapolis Star and recounted
in more than a dozen interviewswith police, dcs personnel,
(03:33):
psychologists, family membersand a Catholic priest.
Latoya, who swears by her story, has been unusually open.
While she spoke on thecondition that her children
would not be interviewed ornamed, she signed releases
letting the star to reviewmedical, psychological and
official records that are notopen to the public and not
(03:55):
always flattering.
Furthermore, the family storyis made only more bizarre
because it involves a DCSintervention, a string of
psychological evaluations, apolice investigation and,
ultimately, a series ofexorcisms.
It's a tale, they say, thatstarted with flies.
In November of 2011, betoya'sfamily moved into a rental house
(04:19):
on Carolina Street in Gary,indianapolis, a quiet lane lined
with small one-story homes.
Big black flies had suddenlyswarmed their screened-in porch
in December, despite the winteroutside.
This is not normal.
Latoya's mother, rosa Campbell,remembers thinking we killed
them and we killed them and wekilled them, but they kept
(04:42):
coming back.
On top of this, there wereother strange happenings too.
After midnight, theyoccasionally heard the steady
clump of footsteps climbing thebasement stairs and the creak of
the door opening between thebasement and the kitchen, but
when investigated, nobody wouldbe there.
Even after they locked the door, the noises would continue.
(05:04):
Latoya's mother said that sheawoke one night and saw a
shadowy figure of a man pacingher living room.
She leaped out of bed toinvestigate and found large, wet
footprints.
On March 10th of 2012, rosa saidthat the family's unease
quickly turned to fear.
It was about 2am and normallyRosa, latoya and her children
(05:26):
would have been asleep, but theywere mourning the death of a
loved one with a group offriends.
At the time, latoya, who was inRosa's bedroom, startled
everybody by screaming Mama,mama, rosa said.
She then ran into her bedroomwhere her then 12-year-old
granddaughter and a friend werestaying.
Latoya and Rosa said the12-year-old was levitating above
(05:48):
the bed, completely unconscious.
According to their accounts ofthe events, latoya and several
others surrounded the girlpraying.
Rosa said she remembers beingcompletely terrified.
She went on to state I thoughtwhat was going on?
Why is this happening?
Eventually, rosa said, hergranddaughter descended back
onto the bed.
She woke up with no memory ofwhat happened.
(06:10):
Rosa and Latoya said the peoplewho were visiting that night
refused to ever return to thehouse.
Rosa goes on to state that sheremembers telling her daughter
we need help.
We need to talk to somebody whoknows how to deal with this.
Rosa and Latoya said theydidn't know exactly what it was,
but they believed it wassomething supernatural.
They called local churches butmost refused to listen to them.
(06:32):
Eventually, after listening toRosa and Latoya talk about the
house and after visiting it,officials at one church that
they went to told them that theCarolina Street house had
spirits in it.
They went on to recommend thatthe family clean the home with
bleach and ammonia and then useoil to draw crosses on every
door and every window.
(06:53):
Following the church'ssuggestion, latoya said that she
poured olive oil on her threechildren's hands and feet and
then smeared oil in the shape ofcrosses on their foreheads.
Rosa and LaToya also told thestar they reached out to two
clairvoyants who said thefamily's home was besieged by
more than 200 demons.
(07:15):
Their explanation made sense toLatoya and Rosa because it
meshed with their Christianfaith.
The best thing you can do ismove.
Latoya remembers theclairvoyants telling her, but
moving was not an option for thecash-strapped family.
Instead, latoya said she took aclairvoyance advice and made an
altar in the basement.
(07:35):
She covered an end table with awhite sheet and then placed a
white candle and a statue ofMary Joseph and Jesus on it.
She opened a Bible to Psalm 91.
She went on to state that sheand another person donned white
t-shirts and wound white scarvesaround their head.
Also on a clairvoyance advice,they burned sage and sulfur
(07:56):
throughout the entire house,starting upstairs and working
their way down.
The smoke was so thick theycould hardly breathe.
Latoya drew across with thesmoke.
The person she was with readPsalm 91 aloud as they moved
throughout the house.
You will not fear the terror ofthe night, nor the arrow that
flies by day, nor the pestilencethat stalks in the darkness,
(08:18):
nor the plague that destroys.
At midday, latoya said nothingodd happened for three days
after this, and then that's whenthings got worse.
The family said demons possessedLatoya and her children, who
were then ages 7, 9, and thenthat's when things got worse.
The family said demonspossessed Latoya and her
children, who were then ages 7,9, and 12.
The kids' eyes bulged, evilsmiles crossed their faces and
(08:38):
their voices deepened every timeit happened.
Rosa stated that the demonsdidn't affect her because she
was born with protection fromevil.
She said she and others likeher have a guardian who protects
them.
Latoya said she felt weak,lightheaded and warm.
When she was possessed, herbody shook and she said she felt
completely out of control.
(08:59):
You can tell it's different,like something supernatural.
She went on to state.
The youngest boy, who at thetime was seven, sat in a closet
talking to a boy that nobodyelse could see, and the other
boy was describing what it feltlike to be killed.
Rosa said the seven-year-oldonce flew out of the bathroom as
if he'd been thrown, and aheadboard once smacked into
(09:21):
Latoya's daughter, causing awound that needed stitches.
The 12-year-old would latertell mental health professionals
that she sometimes felt as ifshe was being choked or held
down so she couldn't speak ormove.
She said she heard a voice sayto her that she would never see
her family again and wouldn'tlive another 20 minutes.
Some nights were so bad thatthe family would sleep at a
(09:44):
hotel and finally, indesperation, they went to their
family physician on On April19th of 2012,.
Latoya said she told him whatthey were going through and
hoping he might understand.
He stated that it was justbizarre 20 years and I've never
heard anything like this in mylife.
He said I was scared myselfwhen I walked into the room.
He said he would not speak inmore detail unless Latoya had
(10:08):
psychiatric clearance for thewaiver of confidentiality that
she had signed.
In his medical notes about thevisit he wrote delusions of
ghosts at home andhallucinations.
He also wrote history of ghostsat home and delusional.
What LaToya and Rosa sayhappened next also was detailed
in a DCS report of a family casemanager's interviews with
(10:31):
medical staff.
Rosa said that Latoya's soncursed the doctor in demonic
voices raging at him.
Medical staff said the youngestboy was lifted and thrown into
the wall with nobody touchinghim.
According to a DCS report, hethen followed to abruptly pass
out and would not come to.
(10:51):
Rosa cradled him in her armswhile Latoya held her other son.
Someone from the doctor'soffice called 911 and the doctor
that they went to see saidseven or eight police officers
and multiple ambulances ended upshowing up.
Everybody was well.
They couldn't figure outexactly what was happening.
Police and emergency personneltook the boys to Methodist
(11:13):
Hospital's campus and GaryLatoya said hospital personnel
laughed at her desire to anointher sons in olive oil.
She went on to say I couldn'ttalk to them, so I had to talk
to God.
The boys woke up in the hospital.
The older boy, who at the timewas nine, acted rationally, but
the youngest screamed andthrashed.
Rosa said it took five men tohold him down.
(11:36):
Meanwhile somebody called DCSand asked the agency to
investigate Latoya for possiblechild abuse or neglect.
The caller, who was not namedin the DCS report, speculated
that LaToya might have a mentalillness.
The person believed thechildren were performing for
LaToya and she was encouragingtheir behavior.
Dcs family case manager at thetime was asked to handle the
(12:00):
initial investigation.
She gave the following accountto police and in her intake
officer's report.
Hospital personnel examinedLaToya and her children and
found them to be healthy andfree of marks or bruises.
A hospital psychiatristevaluated LaToya and determined
that she was of sound mind.
The case manager went on tointerview the family while they
(12:22):
were in the hospital.
While she spoke with LaToya, theseven-year-old boy started
growling, with his teeth showing.
His eyes rolled in the back ofhis head.
The boy locked his hands aroundhis older brother's throat and
refused to let go until adultspried his hands open.
Later that evening, the casemanager and the nurse working
with the family at the timebrought the two boys into a
(12:43):
small exam room for an interview, and Rosa, their grandmother,
was present for this interview.
The seven-year-old stared intohis brother's eyes and started
to growl again In a deep,unnatural voice.
He said it's time to die.
I will kill you.
While the youngest boy spoke,the older brother started
headbutting Rosa in the stomach.
(13:04):
Rosa grabbed her grandson'shands and started praying.
What happens next rattled allthe witnesses in this room, and
to some it would offer not onlyevidence but proof of paranormal
activity.
According to the DCS casemanager's report an account
corroborated by the nurseworking on the case the
nine-year-old had a weird grinand walked backward up a wall to
(13:28):
the ceiling.
He then flipped over Rosa,landing on his feet.
While doing this, he never letgo of his grandmother's hand,
the DCS caseworker wrote in herreport.
He walked up the wall, flippedover her and stood there.
There's no way he could havedone that.
Later on, police asked thiscaseworker whether the boy had
run up the wall as thoughperforming an acrobatic trick.
(13:51):
No, she told them.
She said the boy glidedbackward on the floor, wall and
ceiling.
She went on to tell the policethat she was scared when it
happened and ended up runningout of the room.
According to the case manager'sreport, they went on to tell
the doctor what had happened.
The doctor, who did not believethem, asked the boy to walk up
(14:12):
the wall again.
The case manager for DCS saidthat he told the doctor he
doubted the boy could repeat thefeat, stating this kid was not
himself.
When he did this, the boy saidthat he did not remember what
happened and couldn't do itagain.
According to the report, theDCS case manager, who said he
previously believed in demonsand spirits, thought the boy's
(14:33):
behavior had some demonic spiritattached to it, but also could
be the result of a mentalillness to it.
But also could be the result ofa mental illness.
A police report quoted the DCFcase manager saying that she
believed there could be an evilinfluence affecting this family.
Latoya said that she spent thenight at the hospital with her
7-year-old son, while Rosa, hermother, took her daughter and
(14:56):
older son to a relative's homein Gary.
The next day was LaToya'syoungest son's eighth birthday.
Latoya said that DCS officialsasked Rosa to bring the older
children back to the hospital,presumably to talk more about
what happened.
The family celebrated the boy'sbirthday by singing and eating
a miniature cake.
Then LaToya said that the casemanager for DCS told them the
(15:20):
children would not be going home.
Dcs ended up taking theemergency step of taking custody
of the children without a courtorder.
All of the children wereexperiencing spiritual and
emotional distress.
They wrote in the DCS form.
Latoya told the star.
She and her children criedbecause they didn't want to be
separated.
(15:40):
She went on to state we'dalready been through so much and
fought so hard for our lives.
It was obvious we were a teamand we were beating it.
Whatever we were fighting, wemade it through together as a
team, and they were separatingus.
There is a photo that will beattached and in our blog post on
our website.
It was taken by the police andwhen looking at it you can see a
(16:03):
figure that appears to showitself in the window at the
right of the house.
Reverend Michael Maginot wasleading Bible study in his
living room the morning of April20th of 2012 when he received a
call from a hospital chaplain.
He had been the priest inMaryville for more than 10 years
but had never received arequest like the one he just got
hospital chaplain.
He had been the priest inMaryville for more than 10 years
but had never received arequest like the one he just got
(16:24):
.
The chaplain asked him toperform an exorcism on LaToya's
9-year-old son.
He agreed to interview thefamily after Sunday Mass a few
days later.
The first step, he said, wasruling out natural causes for
what LaToya and her family saidthey were experiencing.
He visited LaToya and Rosa inthe Carolina Street home on
(16:45):
April 22nd of 2012.
For two hours, latoya and Rosadetailed the phenomena for him,
and then Rosa interrupted theinterview to point out a
flickering bathroom light.
The flickering stopped eachtime that Magonot walked over to
investigate it, which heattributed to a demonic presence
(17:05):
.
The interview was alsointerrupted again when Rosa
pointed out Venetian blinds inthe kitchen swinging, even
though there was no air current.
Magonot said he also saw wetfootprints throughout the living
room.
Latoya complained about havinga headache and Magonot said that
she convulsed when he placed acrucifix against her head.
(17:26):
After a four-hour interview,magonot said he was convinced
that this family was beingtormented by demons.
He said he also believed therewere ghosts in the house as well
.
He blessed the house before heleft, praying and reading from
the Bible and sprinkling holywater in every room.
He told Latoya and Rosa toleave because it was not safe
(17:47):
there, so they temporarily movedin with a relative.
But with all of this, less thana week later the two women were
back on Carolina Street to letthe case manager from DCS check
the condition of the home.
The case manager asked a LakeCounty police officer to come
with her.
Two other officers, one eachfrom Gary and Hammond police
(18:08):
departments, asked to join themout of professional curiosity.
Latoya refused to go inside,but Rosa agreed to accompany the
group.
Latoya's kids were still in DCScustody at this time.
The main floor had threebedrooms, a living room, one
bathroom, hardwood floors and asmall open-style kitchen.
A door in the kitchen wouldlead to the basement with
(18:30):
concrete floors.
Directly under the stairs goingdown into the basement was a
dirt floor.
The concrete around it wasjagged as though it had been
broken.
The makeshift altar that LaToyahad created was still in place,
along with rings of salt shehad poured against the basement
walls to dissuade the demons.
According to a Hayman PoliceDepartment report, rosa told
(18:52):
officers that demons seemed toemanate from beneath the stairs.
The Gary police captain at thetime was one of these officers,
and he later told the star thathe believed in ghosts and the
supernatural, but said he didnot believe in demons.
He went on to say, though, thatafter visiting this Carolina
street house, his mind had beenchanged.
During the interview with Rosa,one of the officer's audio
(19:14):
recorders malfunctioned.
According to the police captainat the time, and also police
records, the power light flashedto indicate the batteries were
dying, even though the officerhad placed fresh batteries in
the recorder earlier that day.
Another officer recorded audioand when he played it back later
heard an unknown voice whisperhey.
That officer also took photosof the house, and in one of
(19:37):
those photos of the basementstairs there was a cloudy white
image in the upper right handcorner.
When an officer enlarged thephoto, that cloud appeared to
resemble a face.
The enlargement also revealed asecond green image that police
say looked like a female.
The police captain at the timesaid that photos he snapped with
his iPhone also seemed to havestrange silhouettes in them.
(20:00):
The radio and his police-issuedFord malfunctioned on the way
home, and later he said, thegarage at his Gary home refused
to open, even though the powerwas on everywhere else.
The police captain said thedriver's seat in his personal
2005 Infiniti also startedmoving backward and forward on
its own.
He said he had the car checkedat a dealership and the mechanic
(20:22):
told him the motor on thedriver's seat was broken, which
the mechanic said could havecaused a distraction leading to
an accident.
The police chief said he foundhimself starting to believe that
LaToya's claims of paranormalactivity were real, but the
mental health professionalsevaluating LaToya and her
children remained skeptical.
In April of 2012, dcfpetitioned Lake Juvenile Court
(20:44):
for temporary wardship of thethree children and the request
was granted.
Dcf found that LaToya hadneglected her children's
education by not having them inschool regularly.
The agency made the samefinding in 2009.
La Latoya told Washington therewere times that she could not
send her kids to school becausethe spirits would make them sick
(21:07):
or they would be up all nightbecause of the spirits without
any sleep.
Dcs temporarily placed herdaughter and older son at St
Joseph's Carmelite Home in EastChicago.
Latoya's youngest son was sentto Christian Haven in Wheatfield
for a psychiatric evaluation.
Clinical psychologist StaceyWright, who evaluated LaToya's
(21:28):
youngest son, said that the boytended to act possessed when he
was challenged, redirected orasked questions he didn't want
to answer.
In her evaluation, she wrotethat he seemed coherent and
logical, except when he talkedabout demons.
Rosa, the grandmother, talkedabout the experiences with
demons that she and her daughterand grandchildren lived through
(21:50):
on August 23rd of 2013.
It was then that theeight-year-old's stories became
bizarre, fragmented andillogical.
His stories changed each timehe told them.
He also changed the subject,quizzing the psychologist on
math problems and asking herabout outer space.
He would ask can you die if yougo to space?
How do you get to space?
(22:11):
Do you have to wear a helmetand a suit?
The psychologist believed theeight-year-old did not suffer
from a true psychotic disorder.
She went on to state thisappears to be an unfortunate and
sad case of a child who hasbeen induced into a delusional
system caused by his mother andpotentially reinforced by other
relatives, which she wrote inher psychological evaluation.
(22:33):
Clinical psychologist JoelSchwartz, who evaluated LaToya's
daughter and older son, alsocame to a very similar
conclusion.
Latoya's daughter and older sonalso came to a very similar
conclusion.
There also appears to be a needto assess the extent to which
Latoya's daughter may have beenunduly influenced by her
mother's concerns that thefamily was exposed to paranormal
experiences.
Latoya's daughter told Schwartzthat she saw shadowy figures in
(22:55):
the Carolina street home.
She also said that she twicewent into trances.
Latoya's older son toldSchwartz that doors would slam
and stuff started moving around.
Latoya also was examinedseveral times by psychologists,
who said that she was guardedbut did not seem to be
experiencing any symptoms ofpsychosis or thought disorder.
(23:15):
One psychologist actuallyrecommended that LaToya be
assessed to determine whetherher religious beliefs may be
masking underlying delusionalideations or perceptual
disturbances.
Latoya and all three of herchildren continued to insist
that they were possessed bydemons.
Dcs set goals for this family.
(23:36):
One of them stipulated that thechildren not discuss demons or
being possessed and to takeresponsibility for their actions
.
They also needed to participatein therapy to address past
behavior.
While DCS officials creditedLatoya for sharing a close bond
with her children, the agencyalso said that she needed to use
(23:59):
alternate forms of disciplinenot directly related to religion
and demon possession.
According to the DCS's caseplan, appropriate discipline
included encouragement rules andwithholding privileges.
She could work on these goalsduring supervised visits with
her children.
Latoya also had to find a joband appropriate housing due to
(24:21):
the quote-unquote paranormalactivity at the house on
Carolina Street.
While LaToya worked on meetingthese objectives.
Police and DCS officialscontinued to investigate strange
happenings in her house.
Latoya, her mother Rosa, thepolice captain and two other
police officers from the initialvisit went back to the Carolina
(24:41):
Street home on the afternoon ofMay 10th of 2012.
The police officers visitedafter work hours.
They were joined by Maginot,two Lake County officers with a
police dog and DCF family casemanager.
A county officer took hispolice dog around the entire
house, but the dog did not showinterest in any particular area.
(25:01):
According to Lake County Policerecords, everyone else headed
into the basement.
The case manager touched somestrange liquid that she saw
dripping in the basement andsaid it felt slippery yet sticky
between her fingers.
Father Mike Maginot performed anexorcism in St Stephen Mattire
Church in Maryville.
Latoya sat in the chair.
(25:22):
Magonot told police he wantedto check the dirt under the
stairs for a pentagram orpersonal objects that might have
been cursed.
He said a pentagram mightindicate a demonic presence and
possible portal to hell.
He also wanted to check ifsomebody had died in the house
or was buried under the stairs,because this could explain
paranormal activity.
One of the police officers duga four-foot-by-three-foot hole
under the stairs because thiscould explain paranormal
(25:43):
activity.
One of the police officers duga 4 foot by 3 foot hole beneath
the stairs unearthing a pinkpress-on fingernail, a white
pair of panties, a politicalshirt pin, a lid for a small
cooking pan, socks with thebottoms cut off below the ankles
, candy wrappers and a heavymetal object that looked like a
weight.
Finding nothing else, theofficer replaced the dirt and
(26:04):
raked over it.
Maginot blessed some salt,which he said is a barrier to
evil, and spread it under thestairs and throughout the
basement.
The case manager said that shewas later standing in the living
room with the rest of the groupwhen her left pinky finger
started to tingle and to whiten.
She complained that it feltlike it was broken.
Less than 12 minutes later, shesaid that she felt as if she
(26:27):
was having a panic attack.
She couldn't breathe, so shewalked outside to wait for the
group.
When the priest startedquestioning Latoya inside the
house, she complained of aheadache and shoulder pain.
According to police records,she decided to join the case
manager outside.
Along with all this, a policecaptain said that he wanted to
leave the house at nightfall.
He had been shot at and hasinvestigated murders, rapes and
(26:50):
armed robberies during his morethan three decades on the force
and he said that he was notstaying in this house.
Past dark Father Mike Maginotused a crucifix to see if demons
were present in LaToya.
When he would place thiscrucifix on her, she would
convulse, showing their presence.
The other officers continued towalk through the home.
(27:12):
On the main floor they noticedan oil-like substance dripping
from Venetian blinds in abedroom but could not figure out
where it was coming from.
To make sure that Rosa andLaToya hadn't poured oil on the
blinds, two of the officers usedpaper towels to clean it off.
The officers sealed the roomoff for 25 minutes and stood
nearby so no one could walk in,and when they went back in, the
(27:35):
oil had reappeared of aparanormal or demonic presence.
He wrote a report detailing hisfindings and asked the bishop
permission to perform anexorcism on LaToya.
Magonot said that the bishophad never authorized an exorcism
in 21 years.
As the bishop of the Diocese ofGary, the bishop initially
(27:58):
denied Magonot's request to do achurch-sanctioned exorcism.
The bishop told Magnot tocontact other priests who have
performed exorcisms.
Magnot stated that he neededother priests to give him the
ritual for a minor exorcismwhich does not require church
approval.
When he consulted with theother priests.
They simply told him to look itup on the internet.
(28:22):
He said he did an intenseblessing on the Carolina street
home to expel all the badspirits.
That same day he performed aminor exorcism on Latoya.
The ritual consisted of prayers, statements and appeals to cast
out all demons.
Two police officers and the DCFcase manager attended this
(28:42):
ritual.
The case manager said that sheleft believing that something
was going on, although shewouldn't go as far as saying it
was demonic.
She said she got chills duringthe nearly two-hour rite.
She went on to state we feltlike somebody was in the room
with us, someone breathing downyour neck.
She said she had a string ofmedical problems after visiting
this house.
A week after visiting thishouse for the last time, she
(29:05):
said she got a third-degree burnfrom a motorcycle.
Within 30 days she also brokethree ribs.
Jet skiing broke a hand whenshe hit a table and then broke
an ankle.
Running in flip flops I hadfriends who wouldn't talk to me
because they believed thatsomething had attached itself to
me.
She stated.
After the minor ritual, magonottold Latoya to look up the names
(29:27):
of demons that were tormentingher.
Each demon has a name andpersonality.
He stated A name has a powerand he planned to use those
names to fight the demons duringthese exorcisms.
Latoya said she and a friendlooked up the demons' names
online by searching for demonsthat represented the problems
the family had been having.
The computer kept shutting down, though she said she felt sick
(29:50):
and lightheaded, but she saidthey found the names that fit.
Okay, I'm just going to warnyou guys ahead that I am going
to say the demons' name out loudin the recording.
If you do not want to hear itwithin the next 30 seconds, skip
ahead or just take yourearphones out.
One such name was Beelzebub,lord of the Flies.
She said they also found namesof demons that torture and hurt
(30:14):
children, which she feltexplained what happened in the
Carolina Street House with herchildren.
She said other high-rankingdemons also were assigned to her
, including lieutenants andsergeants.
After the minor rite, magonotsaid that the bishop gave him
permission to exercise Latoya.
The ritual is the same as theminor exorcism, but more
(30:34):
powerful because it has thebacking of the Catholic Church.
Magonot ultimately performedthree major exorcisms on her,
two in English and the last onein Latin in June of 2012 at his
Maryville church.
Okay, I'm going to put hereanother warning that I am going
to be reading a small statementfrom the exorcism, so if you
(30:54):
also don't want to hear that,fast forward a few clicks.
During each of these exorcisms,magonot said that he praised
God and condemned the devil.
He would press a crucifixagainst Latoya's head as he
spoke, saying I cast you out,unclean spirit, along with every
satanic power of the enemy,every specter from hell and all
your fell companions, in thename of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(31:18):
Father Mike Magnot used thiscrucifix on September 13th of
2013 to see if demons werepresent in Latoya Ammons.
When he placed the crucifix onher, she convulsed, showing
their presence.
He said that his voicecontinued to get louder and more
forceful until the demonweakened.
He stated that he could tellhow strong the demon was by how
(31:38):
much she would convulse.
Two police officers, who hadkept in touch with him since the
home investigation, stoodnearby in case LaToya needed to
be restrained.
Latoya said she prayed withMagana until it became too
painful.
She said that she felt as ifsomething inside of her was
trying to hold on and inflictpain at the same time.
She said it was different froma natural pain, but felt as
(32:01):
intense as giving birth.
She went on to state I washurting all over from the inside
out.
I'm trying to do my best and bestrong.
Eventually, magonot said thatLatoya fell asleep.
This was the demon's way oflessening the ritual's effect.
In between the second and thirdexorcism, magonot went on a
retreat.
A woman who assisted him withsome of the exorcisms helped set
(32:23):
up a backup plan in case LaToyahad problems.
While he was gone, the womanwrote a long demon name.
Magonot said he can't rememberwhich one it was, but it was on
a piece of paper and tucked intoan envelope, and then she
surrounded it with blessed salt.
The plan was that if LaToya hadproblems, she would burn the
envelope.
By this time, latoya and hermother had moved to Indianapolis
(32:46):
, but they drove back for theexorcisms and court hearings as
her children were still in DCScare.
Magonot said he blessed thefamily's new home to prevent any
more problems, but LaToyacalled while Magonot was on his
retreat, complaining of baddreams.
So the woman went and burnedthe envelope.
She saved the ashes to burnlater.
After this, latoya said hernightmares ended In the final
(33:08):
exorcism at the end of June of2012,.
Magonot said that he prayed andberated the demons in Latin
rather than English.
Police officers did not attendthis one, so Magonot said his
brother stood guard.
He said that LaToya convulsedwhile he condemned the demons,
but did not convulse duringprayer when she fell asleep.
This time he said words ofthanksgiving.
(33:29):
This would be the last timethat LaToya would see Maginot.
She and her mother drove backto Indianapolis where they say
they now live without any fear.
Latoya's old home on CarolinaStreet became an object of local
curiosity, of course, so muchso that the owner and landlord,
charles Reed, called the GaryPolice Department to ask
officers to stop driving by thehouse because it was scaring his
(33:52):
new tenant.
Charles Reed is the latestlandlord of the Carolina Street
home and Gary, where Rosa livedwith her daughter LaToya and
LaToya's children.
And to make this a happy ending, latoya regained custody of her
three children in November of2012,.
About six months after they hadbeen removed, dcs continued to
(34:13):
check in on these children andmake sure that they were going
to school until the case wasclosed.
Latoya went on to call herchildren's return to her the
happiest day of her life.
She said they screamed andjumped up and down when she
picked them up from the DCSoffice.
She said it was just awesome.
I hadn't been that happy in Godknows how long.
The children said they feltsafe after they left the house
(34:35):
on Carolina Street.
The three left their demonicvoices and complaints behind
them.
The DCF case manager wrote in afinal meetings note on January
10th of 2013 that there were nodemonic presences or spirits in
the home.
It was also stated by the casemanager the family is no longer
fixated solely on religion toexplain or cope with the
(34:57):
children's behavior issues.
For her part, latoya said itwas not the psychologists who
resolved her problems, it wasGod.
When you hear something likethis, she said, don't assume.
It's not real, because I havelived it and I know it is real.
(35:22):
Alrighty, so it's that time,guys, to say goodbye, but before
I do so, I just want to send athank you to all of my listeners
for your continued love andsupport and for sending in cases
that you want covered andstories that you want read on
the podcast.
We truly accept all stories,including scary, paranormal and
funny.
Any cases you want covered orstories that you want read on
(35:44):
the podcast, just please sendthem in to darkcrossroadspodcast
at gmailcom.
Thank you for hanging out againtoday, and if you want any more
information about the podcastor cases and stories that we
cover, then head on over to thewebsite at
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There you can find all of theinformation about the podcast, a
link to our merch and also ourblog covering all of the cases
(36:08):
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Thank you, welcome to Dark Crossroads Podcast, hosted
(01:39):
by Roxanne Fletcher.
This is your stop for allthings true crime and paranormal
.
From the infamous story of theNew Bedford Highway Killer to
the chilling tale of the BlackEyford Highway Killer, to the
chilling tell of the Black EyedChildren, dark Crossroads
Podcast is a truly deep diveinto the stories that frighten
and fascinate you.
All links to the show will beprovided in this episode's
(02:00):
description, and don't forget tolet us know what you think of
today's episode.
Episode.
In 2011, latoya Ammons, hermother and her three children
(02:20):
moved into a new rental home inGary, indiana, but just a few
days later they started toexperience a number of bizarre
and unsettling incidents.
Gary Indiana police captainCharles Austin said that it was
the strangest story that he hadever heard.
Charles, who at the time was a36-year veteran of the Gary
Police Department, said that heinitially thought that
Indianapolis resident LatoyaAmmons and her family concocted
(02:43):
an elaborate tale as a way tojust make money, but after
several visits to their home andinterviews with witnesses, he
simply said I am now a believer.
Not everybody involved with thefamily was inclined to believe
its incredible story, and manyreaders will find that LaToya's
supernatural claims aresometimes impossible to accept,
(03:04):
but whatever the cause of thecreepy occurrences that befell
the family, whether they wereseized by a systematic delusion
or a demonic possession, it ledto one of the most unusual cases
ever handled by theIndianapolis Star and recounted
in more than a dozen interviewswith police, dcs personnel,
(03:33):
psychologists, family membersand a Catholic priest.
Latoya, who swears by her story, has been unusually open.
While she spoke on thecondition that her children
would not be interviewed ornamed, she signed releases
letting the star to reviewmedical, psychological and
official records that are notopen to the public and not
(03:55):
always flattering.
Furthermore, the family storyis made only more bizarre
because it involves a DCSintervention, a string of
psychological evaluations, apolice investigation and,
ultimately, a series ofexorcisms.
It's a tale, they say, thatstarted with flies.
In November of 2011, betoya'sfamily moved into a rental house
(04:19):
on Carolina Street in Gary,indianapolis, a quiet lane lined
with small one-story homes.
Big black flies had suddenlyswarmed their screened-in porch
in December, despite the winteroutside.
This is not normal.
Latoya's mother, rosa Campbell,remembers thinking we killed
them and we killed them and wekilled them, but they kept
(04:42):
coming back.
On top of this, there wereother strange happenings too.
After midnight, theyoccasionally heard the steady
clump of footsteps climbing thebasement stairs and the creak of
the door opening between thebasement and the kitchen, but
when investigated, nobody wouldbe there.
Even after they locked the door, the noises would continue.
(05:04):
Latoya's mother said that sheawoke one night and saw a
shadowy figure of a man pacingher living room.
She leaped out of bed toinvestigate and found large, wet
footprints.
On March 10th of 2012, rosa saidthat the family's unease
quickly turned to fear.
It was about 2am and normallyRosa, latoya and her children
(05:26):
would have been asleep, but theywere mourning the death of a
loved one with a group offriends.
At the time, latoya, who was inRosa's bedroom, startled
everybody by screaming Mama,mama, rosa said.
She then ran into her bedroomwhere her then 12-year-old
granddaughter and a friend werestaying.
Latoya and Rosa said the12-year-old was levitating above
(05:48):
the bed, completely unconscious.
According to their accounts ofthe events, latoya and several
others surrounded the girlpraying.
Rosa said she remembers beingcompletely terrified.
She went on to state I thoughtwhat was going on?
Why is this happening?
Eventually, rosa said, hergranddaughter descended back
onto the bed.
She woke up with no memory ofwhat happened.
(06:10):
Rosa and Latoya said the peoplewho were visiting that night
refused to ever return to thehouse.
Rosa goes on to state that sheremembers telling her daughter
we need help.
We need to talk to somebody whoknows how to deal with this.
Rosa and Latoya said theydidn't know exactly what it was,
but they believed it wassomething supernatural.
They called local churches butmost refused to listen to them.
(06:32):
Eventually, after listening toRosa and Latoya talk about the
house and after visiting it,officials at one church that
they went to told them that theCarolina Street house had
spirits in it.
They went on to recommend thatthe family clean the home with
bleach and ammonia and then useoil to draw crosses on every
door and every window.
(06:53):
Following the church'ssuggestion, latoya said that she
poured olive oil on her threechildren's hands and feet and
then smeared oil in the shape ofcrosses on their foreheads.
Rosa and LaToya also told thestar they reached out to two
clairvoyants who said thefamily's home was besieged by
more than 200 demons.
(07:15):
Their explanation made sense toLatoya and Rosa because it
meshed with their Christianfaith.
The best thing you can do ismove.
Latoya remembers theclairvoyants telling her, but
moving was not an option for thecash-strapped family.
Instead, latoya said she took aclairvoyance advice and made an
altar in the basement.
(07:35):
She covered an end table with awhite sheet and then placed a
white candle and a statue ofMary Joseph and Jesus on it.
She opened a Bible to Psalm 91.
She went on to state that sheand another person donned white
t-shirts and wound white scarvesaround their head.
Also on a clairvoyance advice,they burned sage and sulfur
(07:56):
throughout the entire house,starting upstairs and working
their way down.
The smoke was so thick theycould hardly breathe.
Latoya drew across with thesmoke.
The person she was with readPsalm 91 aloud as they moved
throughout the house.
You will not fear the terror ofthe night, nor the arrow that
flies by day, nor the pestilencethat stalks in the darkness,
(08:18):
nor the plague that destroys.
At midday, latoya said nothingodd happened for three days
after this, and then that's whenthings got worse.
The family said demons possessedLatoya and her children, who
were then ages 7, 9, and thenthat's when things got worse.
The family said demonspossessed Latoya and her
children, who were then ages 7,9, and 12.
The kids' eyes bulged, evilsmiles crossed their faces and
(08:38):
their voices deepened every timeit happened.
Rosa stated that the demonsdidn't affect her because she
was born with protection fromevil.
She said she and others likeher have a guardian who protects
them.
Latoya said she felt weak,lightheaded and warm.
When she was possessed, herbody shook and she said she felt
completely out of control.
(08:59):
You can tell it's different,like something supernatural.
She went on to state.
The youngest boy, who at thetime was seven, sat in a closet
talking to a boy that nobodyelse could see, and the other
boy was describing what it feltlike to be killed.
Rosa said the seven-year-oldonce flew out of the bathroom as
if he'd been thrown, and aheadboard once smacked into
(09:21):
Latoya's daughter, causing awound that needed stitches.
The 12-year-old would latertell mental health professionals
that she sometimes felt as ifshe was being choked or held
down so she couldn't speak ormove.
She said she heard a voice sayto her that she would never see
her family again and wouldn'tlive another 20 minutes.
Some nights were so bad thatthe family would sleep at a
(09:44):
hotel and finally, indesperation, they went to their
family physician on On April19th of 2012,.
Latoya said she told him whatthey were going through and
hoping he might understand.
He stated that it was justbizarre 20 years and I've never
heard anything like this in mylife.
He said I was scared myselfwhen I walked into the room.
He said he would not speak inmore detail unless Latoya had
(10:08):
psychiatric clearance for thewaiver of confidentiality that
she had signed.
In his medical notes about thevisit he wrote delusions of
ghosts at home andhallucinations.
He also wrote history of ghostsat home and delusional.
What LaToya and Rosa sayhappened next also was detailed
in a DCS report of a family casemanager's interviews with
(10:31):
medical staff.
Rosa said that Latoya's soncursed the doctor in demonic
voices raging at him.
Medical staff said the youngestboy was lifted and thrown into
the wall with nobody touchinghim.
According to a DCS report, hethen followed to abruptly pass
out and would not come to.
(10:51):
Rosa cradled him in her armswhile Latoya held her other son.
Someone from the doctor'soffice called 911 and the doctor
that they went to see saidseven or eight police officers
and multiple ambulances ended upshowing up.
Everybody was well.
They couldn't figure outexactly what was happening.
Police and emergency personneltook the boys to Methodist
(11:13):
Hospital's campus and GaryLatoya said hospital personnel
laughed at her desire to anointher sons in olive oil.
She went on to say I couldn'ttalk to them, so I had to talk
to God.
The boys woke up in the hospital.
The older boy, who at the timewas nine, acted rationally, but
the youngest screamed andthrashed.
Rosa said it took five men tohold him down.
(11:36):
Meanwhile somebody called DCSand asked the agency to
investigate Latoya for possiblechild abuse or neglect.
The caller, who was not namedin the DCS report, speculated
that LaToya might have a mentalillness.
The person believed thechildren were performing for
LaToya and she was encouragingtheir behavior.
Dcs family case manager at thetime was asked to handle the
(12:00):
initial investigation.
She gave the following accountto police and in her intake
officer's report.
Hospital personnel examinedLaToya and her children and
found them to be healthy andfree of marks or bruises.
A hospital psychiatristevaluated LaToya and determined
that she was of sound mind.
The case manager went on tointerview the family while they
(12:22):
were in the hospital.
While she spoke with LaToya, theseven-year-old boy started
growling, with his teeth showing.
His eyes rolled in the back ofhis head.
The boy locked his hands aroundhis older brother's throat and
refused to let go until adultspried his hands open.
Later that evening, the casemanager and the nurse working
with the family at the timebrought the two boys into a
(12:43):
small exam room for an interview, and Rosa, their grandmother,
was present for this interview.
The seven-year-old stared intohis brother's eyes and started
to growl again In a deep,unnatural voice.
He said it's time to die.
I will kill you.
While the youngest boy spoke,the older brother started
headbutting Rosa in the stomach.
(13:04):
Rosa grabbed her grandson'shands and started praying.
What happens next rattled allthe witnesses in this room, and
to some it would offer not onlyevidence but proof of paranormal
activity.
According to the DCS casemanager's report an account
corroborated by the nurseworking on the case the
nine-year-old had a weird grinand walked backward up a wall to
(13:28):
the ceiling.
He then flipped over Rosa,landing on his feet.
While doing this, he never letgo of his grandmother's hand,
the DCS caseworker wrote in herreport.
He walked up the wall, flippedover her and stood there.
There's no way he could havedone that.
Later on, police asked thiscaseworker whether the boy had
run up the wall as thoughperforming an acrobatic trick.
(13:51):
No, she told them.
She said the boy glidedbackward on the floor, wall and
ceiling.
She went on to tell the policethat she was scared when it
happened and ended up runningout of the room.
According to the case manager'sreport, they went on to tell
the doctor what had happened.
The doctor, who did not believethem, asked the boy to walk up
(14:12):
the wall again.
The case manager for DCS saidthat he told the doctor he
doubted the boy could repeat thefeat, stating this kid was not
himself.
When he did this, the boy saidthat he did not remember what
happened and couldn't do itagain.
According to the report, theDCS case manager, who said he
previously believed in demonsand spirits, thought the boy's
(14:33):
behavior had some demonic spiritattached to it, but also could
be the result of a mentalillness to it.
But also could be the result ofa mental illness.
A police report quoted the DCFcase manager saying that she
believed there could be an evilinfluence affecting this family.
Latoya said that she spent thenight at the hospital with her
7-year-old son, while Rosa, hermother, took her daughter and
(14:56):
older son to a relative's homein Gary.
The next day was LaToya'syoungest son's eighth birthday.
Latoya said that DCS officialsasked Rosa to bring the older
children back to the hospital,presumably to talk more about
what happened.
The family celebrated the boy'sbirthday by singing and eating
a miniature cake.
Then LaToya said that the casemanager for DCS told them the
(15:20):
children would not be going home.
Dcs ended up taking theemergency step of taking custody
of the children without a courtorder.
All of the children wereexperiencing spiritual and
emotional distress.
They wrote in the DCS form.
Latoya told the star.
She and her children criedbecause they didn't want to be
separated.
(15:40):
She went on to state we'dalready been through so much and
fought so hard for our lives.
It was obvious we were a teamand we were beating it.
Whatever we were fighting, wemade it through together as a
team, and they were separatingus.
There is a photo that will beattached and in our blog post on
our website.
It was taken by the police andwhen looking at it you can see a
(16:03):
figure that appears to showitself in the window at the
right of the house.
Reverend Michael Maginot wasleading Bible study in his
living room the morning of April20th of 2012 when he received a
call from a hospital chaplain.
He had been the priest inMaryville for more than 10 years
but had never received arequest like the one he just got
hospital chaplain.
He had been the priest inMaryville for more than 10 years
but had never received arequest like the one he just got
(16:24):
.
The chaplain asked him toperform an exorcism on LaToya's
9-year-old son.
He agreed to interview thefamily after Sunday Mass a few
days later.
The first step, he said, wasruling out natural causes for
what LaToya and her family saidthey were experiencing.
He visited LaToya and Rosa inthe Carolina Street home on
(16:45):
April 22nd of 2012.
For two hours, latoya and Rosadetailed the phenomena for him,
and then Rosa interrupted theinterview to point out a
flickering bathroom light.
The flickering stopped eachtime that Magonot walked over to
investigate it, which heattributed to a demonic presence
(17:05):
.
The interview was alsointerrupted again when Rosa
pointed out Venetian blinds inthe kitchen swinging, even
though there was no air current.
Magonot said he also saw wetfootprints throughout the living
room.
Latoya complained about havinga headache and Magonot said that
she convulsed when he placed acrucifix against her head.
(17:26):
After a four-hour interview,magonot said he was convinced
that this family was beingtormented by demons.
He said he also believed therewere ghosts in the house as well
.
He blessed the house before heleft, praying and reading from
the Bible and sprinkling holywater in every room.
He told Latoya and Rosa toleave because it was not safe
(17:47):
there, so they temporarily movedin with a relative.
But with all of this, less thana week later the two women were
back on Carolina Street to letthe case manager from DCS check
the condition of the home.
The case manager asked a LakeCounty police officer to come
with her.
Two other officers, one eachfrom Gary and Hammond police
(18:08):
departments, asked to join themout of professional curiosity.
Latoya refused to go inside,but Rosa agreed to accompany the
group.
Latoya's kids were still in DCScustody at this time.
The main floor had threebedrooms, a living room, one
bathroom, hardwood floors and asmall open-style kitchen.
A door in the kitchen wouldlead to the basement with
(18:30):
concrete floors.
Directly under the stairs goingdown into the basement was a
dirt floor.
The concrete around it wasjagged as though it had been
broken.
The makeshift altar that LaToyahad created was still in place,
along with rings of salt shehad poured against the basement
walls to dissuade the demons.
According to a Hayman PoliceDepartment report, rosa told
(18:52):
officers that demons seemed toemanate from beneath the stairs.
The Gary police captain at thetime was one of these officers,
and he later told the star thathe believed in ghosts and the
supernatural, but said he didnot believe in demons.
He went on to say, though, thatafter visiting this Carolina
street house, his mind had beenchanged.
During the interview with Rosa,one of the officer's audio
(19:14):
recorders malfunctioned.
According to the police captainat the time, and also police
records, the power light flashedto indicate the batteries were
dying, even though the officerhad placed fresh batteries in
the recorder earlier that day.
Another officer recorded audioand when he played it back later
heard an unknown voice whisperhey.
That officer also took photosof the house, and in one of
(19:37):
those photos of the basementstairs there was a cloudy white
image in the upper right handcorner.
When an officer enlarged thephoto, that cloud appeared to
resemble a face.
The enlargement also revealed asecond green image that police
say looked like a female.
The police captain at the timesaid that photos he snapped with
his iPhone also seemed to havestrange silhouettes in them.
(20:00):
The radio and his police-issuedFord malfunctioned on the way
home, and later he said, thegarage at his Gary home refused
to open, even though the powerwas on everywhere else.
The police captain said thedriver's seat in his personal
2005 Infiniti also startedmoving backward and forward on
its own.
He said he had the car checkedat a dealership and the mechanic
(20:22):
told him the motor on thedriver's seat was broken, which
the mechanic said could havecaused a distraction leading to
an accident.
The police chief said he foundhimself starting to believe that
LaToya's claims of paranormalactivity were real, but the
mental health professionalsevaluating LaToya and her
children remained skeptical.
In April of 2012, dcfpetitioned Lake Juvenile Court
(20:44):
for temporary wardship of thethree children and the request
was granted.
Dcf found that LaToya hadneglected her children's
education by not having them inschool regularly.
The agency made the samefinding in 2009.
La Latoya told Washington therewere times that she could not
send her kids to school becausethe spirits would make them sick
(21:07):
or they would be up all nightbecause of the spirits without
any sleep.
Dcs temporarily placed herdaughter and older son at St
Joseph's Carmelite Home in EastChicago.
Latoya's youngest son was sentto Christian Haven in Wheatfield
for a psychiatric evaluation.
Clinical psychologist StaceyWright, who evaluated LaToya's
(21:28):
youngest son, said that the boytended to act possessed when he
was challenged, redirected orasked questions he didn't want
to answer.
In her evaluation, she wrotethat he seemed coherent and
logical, except when he talkedabout demons.
Rosa, the grandmother, talkedabout the experiences with
demons that she and her daughterand grandchildren lived through
(21:50):
on August 23rd of 2013.
It was then that theeight-year-old's stories became
bizarre, fragmented andillogical.
His stories changed each timehe told them.
He also changed the subject,quizzing the psychologist on
math problems and asking herabout outer space.
He would ask can you die if yougo to space?
How do you get to space?
(22:11):
Do you have to wear a helmetand a suit?
The psychologist believed theeight-year-old did not suffer
from a true psychotic disorder.
She went on to state thisappears to be an unfortunate and
sad case of a child who hasbeen induced into a delusional
system caused by his mother andpotentially reinforced by other
relatives, which she wrote inher psychological evaluation.
(22:33):
Clinical psychologist JoelSchwartz, who evaluated LaToya's
daughter and older son, alsocame to a very similar
conclusion.
Latoya's daughter and older sonalso came to a very similar
conclusion.
There also appears to be a needto assess the extent to which
Latoya's daughter may have beenunduly influenced by her
mother's concerns that thefamily was exposed to paranormal
experiences.
Latoya's daughter told Schwartzthat she saw shadowy figures in
(22:55):
the Carolina street home.
She also said that she twicewent into trances.
Latoya's older son toldSchwartz that doors would slam
and stuff started moving around.
Latoya also was examinedseveral times by psychologists,
who said that she was guardedbut did not seem to be
experiencing any symptoms ofpsychosis or thought disorder.
(23:15):
One psychologist actuallyrecommended that LaToya be
assessed to determine whetherher religious beliefs may be
masking underlying delusionalideations or perceptual
disturbances.
Latoya and all three of herchildren continued to insist
that they were possessed bydemons.
Dcs set goals for this family.
(23:36):
One of them stipulated that thechildren not discuss demons or
being possessed and to takeresponsibility for their actions
.
They also needed to participatein therapy to address past
behavior.
While DCS officials creditedLatoya for sharing a close bond
with her children, the agencyalso said that she needed to use
(23:59):
alternate forms of disciplinenot directly related to religion
and demon possession.
According to the DCS's caseplan, appropriate discipline
included encouragement rules andwithholding privileges.
She could work on these goalsduring supervised visits with
her children.
Latoya also had to find a joband appropriate housing due to
(24:21):
the quote-unquote paranormalactivity at the house on
Carolina Street.
While LaToya worked on meetingthese objectives.
Police and DCS officialscontinued to investigate strange
happenings in her house.
Latoya, her mother Rosa, thepolice captain and two other
police officers from the initialvisit went back to the Carolina
(24:41):
Street home on the afternoon ofMay 10th of 2012.
The police officers visitedafter work hours.
They were joined by Maginot,two Lake County officers with a
police dog and DCF family casemanager.
A county officer took hispolice dog around the entire
house, but the dog did not showinterest in any particular area.
(25:01):
According to Lake County Policerecords, everyone else headed
into the basement.
The case manager touched somestrange liquid that she saw
dripping in the basement andsaid it felt slippery yet sticky
between her fingers.
Father Mike Maginot performed anexorcism in St Stephen Mattire
Church in Maryville.
Latoya sat in the chair.
(25:22):
Magonot told police he wantedto check the dirt under the
stairs for a pentagram orpersonal objects that might have
been cursed.
He said a pentagram mightindicate a demonic presence and
possible portal to hell.
He also wanted to check ifsomebody had died in the house
or was buried under the stairs,because this could explain
paranormal activity.
One of the police officers duga four-foot-by-three-foot hole
under the stairs because thiscould explain paranormal
(25:43):
activity.
One of the police officers duga 4 foot by 3 foot hole beneath
the stairs unearthing a pinkpress-on fingernail, a white
pair of panties, a politicalshirt pin, a lid for a small
cooking pan, socks with thebottoms cut off below the ankles
, candy wrappers and a heavymetal object that looked like a
weight.
Finding nothing else, theofficer replaced the dirt and
(26:04):
raked over it.
Maginot blessed some salt,which he said is a barrier to
evil, and spread it under thestairs and throughout the
basement.
The case manager said that shewas later standing in the living
room with the rest of the groupwhen her left pinky finger
started to tingle and to whiten.
She complained that it feltlike it was broken.
Less than 12 minutes later, shesaid that she felt as if she
(26:27):
was having a panic attack.
She couldn't breathe, so shewalked outside to wait for the
group.
When the priest startedquestioning Latoya inside the
house, she complained of aheadache and shoulder pain.
According to police records,she decided to join the case
manager outside.
Along with all this, a policecaptain said that he wanted to
leave the house at nightfall.
He had been shot at and hasinvestigated murders, rapes and
(26:50):
armed robberies during his morethan three decades on the force
and he said that he was notstaying in this house.
Past dark Father Mike Maginotused a crucifix to see if demons
were present in LaToya.
When he would place thiscrucifix on her, she would
convulse, showing their presence.
The other officers continued towalk through the home.
(27:12):
On the main floor they noticedan oil-like substance dripping
from Venetian blinds in abedroom but could not figure out
where it was coming from.
To make sure that Rosa andLaToya hadn't poured oil on the
blinds, two of the officers usedpaper towels to clean it off.
The officers sealed the roomoff for 25 minutes and stood
nearby so no one could walk in,and when they went back in, the
(27:35):
oil had reappeared of aparanormal or demonic presence.
He wrote a report detailing hisfindings and asked the bishop
permission to perform anexorcism on LaToya.
Magonot said that the bishophad never authorized an exorcism
in 21 years.
As the bishop of the Diocese ofGary, the bishop initially
(27:58):
denied Magonot's request to do achurch-sanctioned exorcism.
The bishop told Magnot tocontact other priests who have
performed exorcisms.
Magnot stated that he neededother priests to give him the
ritual for a minor exorcismwhich does not require church
approval.
When he consulted with theother priests.
They simply told him to look itup on the internet.
(28:22):
He said he did an intenseblessing on the Carolina street
home to expel all the badspirits.
That same day he performed aminor exorcism on Latoya.
The ritual consisted of prayers, statements and appeals to cast
out all demons.
Two police officers and the DCFcase manager attended this
(28:42):
ritual.
The case manager said that sheleft believing that something
was going on, although shewouldn't go as far as saying it
was demonic.
She said she got chills duringthe nearly two-hour rite.
She went on to state we feltlike somebody was in the room
with us, someone breathing downyour neck.
She said she had a string ofmedical problems after visiting
this house.
A week after visiting thishouse for the last time, she
(29:05):
said she got a third-degree burnfrom a motorcycle.
Within 30 days she also brokethree ribs.
Jet skiing broke a hand whenshe hit a table and then broke
an ankle.
Running in flip flops I hadfriends who wouldn't talk to me
because they believed thatsomething had attached itself to
me.
She stated.
After the minor ritual, magonottold Latoya to look up the names
(29:27):
of demons that were tormentingher.
Each demon has a name andpersonality.
He stated A name has a powerand he planned to use those
names to fight the demons duringthese exorcisms.
Latoya said she and a friendlooked up the demons' names
online by searching for demonsthat represented the problems
the family had been having.
The computer kept shutting down, though she said she felt sick
(29:50):
and lightheaded, but she saidthey found the names that fit.
Okay, I'm just going to warnyou guys ahead that I am going
to say the demons' name out loudin the recording.
If you do not want to hear itwithin the next 30 seconds, skip
ahead or just take yourearphones out.
One such name was Beelzebub,lord of the Flies.
She said they also found namesof demons that torture and hurt
(30:14):
children, which she feltexplained what happened in the
Carolina Street House with herchildren.
She said other high-rankingdemons also were assigned to her
, including lieutenants andsergeants.
After the minor rite, magonotsaid that the bishop gave him
permission to exercise Latoya.
The ritual is the same as theminor exorcism, but more
(30:34):
powerful because it has thebacking of the Catholic Church.
Magonot ultimately performedthree major exorcisms on her,
two in English and the last onein Latin in June of 2012 at his
Maryville church.
Okay, I'm going to put hereanother warning that I am going
to be reading a small statementfrom the exorcism, so if you
(30:54):
also don't want to hear that,fast forward a few clicks.
During each of these exorcisms,magonot said that he praised
God and condemned the devil.
He would press a crucifixagainst Latoya's head as he
spoke, saying I cast you out,unclean spirit, along with every
satanic power of the enemy,every specter from hell and all
your fell companions, in thename of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(31:18):
Father Mike Magnot used thiscrucifix on September 13th of
2013 to see if demons werepresent in Latoya Ammons.
When he placed the crucifix onher, she convulsed, showing
their presence.
He said that his voicecontinued to get louder and more
forceful until the demonweakened.
He stated that he could tellhow strong the demon was by how
(31:38):
much she would convulse.
Two police officers, who hadkept in touch with him since the
home investigation, stoodnearby in case LaToya needed to
be restrained.
Latoya said she prayed withMagana until it became too
painful.
She said that she felt as ifsomething inside of her was
trying to hold on and inflictpain at the same time.
She said it was different froma natural pain, but felt as
(32:01):
intense as giving birth.
She went on to state I washurting all over from the inside
out.
I'm trying to do my best and bestrong.
Eventually, magonot said thatLatoya fell asleep.
This was the demon's way oflessening the ritual's effect.
In between the second and thirdexorcism, magonot went on a
retreat.
A woman who assisted him withsome of the exorcisms helped set
(32:23):
up a backup plan in case LaToyahad problems.
While he was gone, the womanwrote a long demon name.
Magonot said he can't rememberwhich one it was, but it was on
a piece of paper and tucked intoan envelope, and then she
surrounded it with blessed salt.
The plan was that if LaToya hadproblems, she would burn the
envelope.
By this time, latoya and hermother had moved to Indianapolis
(32:46):
, but they drove back for theexorcisms and court hearings as
her children were still in DCScare.
Magonot said he blessed thefamily's new home to prevent any
more problems, but LaToyacalled while Magonot was on his
retreat, complaining of baddreams.
So the woman went and burnedthe envelope.
She saved the ashes to burnlater.
After this, latoya said hernightmares ended In the final
(33:08):
exorcism at the end of June of2012,.
Magonot said that he prayed andberated the demons in Latin
rather than English.
Police officers did not attendthis one, so Magonot said his
brother stood guard.
He said that LaToya convulsedwhile he condemned the demons,
but did not convulse duringprayer when she fell asleep.
This time he said words ofthanksgiving.
(33:29):
This would be the last timethat LaToya would see Maginot.
She and her mother drove backto Indianapolis where they say
they now live without any fear.
Latoya's old home on CarolinaStreet became an object of local
curiosity, of course, so muchso that the owner and landlord,
charles Reed, called the GaryPolice Department to ask
officers to stop driving by thehouse because it was scaring his
(33:52):
new tenant.
Charles Reed is the latestlandlord of the Carolina Street
home and Gary, where Rosa livedwith her daughter LaToya and
LaToya's children.
And to make this a happy ending, latoya regained custody of her
three children in November of2012,.
About six months after they hadbeen removed, dcs continued to
(34:13):
check in on these children andmake sure that they were going
to school until the case wasclosed.
Latoya went on to call herchildren's return to her the
happiest day of her life.
She said they screamed andjumped up and down when she
picked them up from the DCSoffice.
She said it was just awesome.
I hadn't been that happy in Godknows how long.
The children said they feltsafe after they left the house
(34:35):
on Carolina Street.
The three left their demonicvoices and complaints behind
them.
The DCF case manager wrote in afinal meetings note on January
10th of 2013 that there were nodemonic presences or spirits in
the home.
It was also stated by the casemanager the family is no longer
fixated solely on religion toexplain or cope with the
(34:57):
children's behavior issues.
For her part, latoya said itwas not the psychologists who
resolved her problems, it wasGod.
When you hear something likethis, she said, don't assume.
It's not real, because I havelived it and I know it is real.
(35:22):
Alrighty, so it's that time,guys, to say goodbye, but before
I do so, I just want to send athank you to all of my listeners
for your continued love andsupport and for sending in cases
that you want covered andstories that you want read on
the podcast.
We truly accept all stories,including scary, paranormal and
funny.
Any cases you want covered orstories that you want read on
(35:44):
the podcast, just please sendthem in to darkcrossroadspodcast
at gmailcom.
Thank you for hanging out againtoday, and if you want any more
information about the podcastor cases and stories that we
cover, then head on over to thewebsite at
wwwdarkcrossroadspodcastcom.
There you can find all of theinformation about the podcast, a
link to our merch and also ourblog covering all of the cases
(36:08):
that we cover.
You can also find us on allsocial media platforms.
Don't forget to like share ratereview, subscribe.
Wherever you're listening to us.
You can subscribe to thepodcast for bonus information.
There is a link in all episodesin the notes that we'll send
you to our subscription page andwith that you will get bonus
content, discount on futuremerch and a lot of extra goodies
(36:29):
.
Every single dollar that comesthrough donations or through our
subscription goes straight intothe podcast, helping fund
research, and it really helps usout and keeps this podcast
going.
And with all of this said,please don't forget to be weird,
stay different and don't trustanyone.
(36:58):
Thank you.
(37:25):
Dark crossroads podcast isbrought to you by Problem
Wildlife.
Problem Wildlife serves all ofwestern Massachusetts and has
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