A Missouri mother accused of slitting the throat of her 9-month-old baby daughter reportedly tried to get help months before over what she thought was demonic possession.
Bradie Simpson of Camden County, Mo., has been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action and was jailed on $200,000 bond Tuesday for the Feb. 4 incident according to STLToday.com.
Camden County authorities said they answered a call from Simpson's adult son after he reportedly found blood and a bloodied knife in his mother’s bedroom. After a three-and-a-half-hour search, officers found Simpson and the 9-month-old covered in blood in the woods near her home, reported KMOX-TV.
Sheriff Dwight Franklin said that at first, deputies thought the child was dead.
"The baby raised its head, indicated it was still alive," Franklin told KY3.com. "A deputy immediately snatched it up, applied pressure to it, covered it up and ran back to the ambulance with it."
After emergency surgery, the child was later released from the hospital and is currently in the protective custody of the Juvenile Court Authority.
"It's a miracle it's alive," Franklin said. "I think God had something to do with that."
Simpson is still in the hospital recovering from a throat injury, but her condition has been upgraded to good.
The alleged throat-slitting was a shock to Simpson's family and friends, but it wasn't necessarily a surprise to her pastor, Bob AuBuchon of the First Baptist Church of Camdenton. Back in October, Simpson showed up at the church and ran through the front door, yelling, "Take my baby, take my baby!" AuBuchon told KY3.com.
"She more or less just tossed her baby into my arms and said, 'Tie me down! Tie me up!' and said, 'Possession! Possession!'" AuBuchon said.
Later that day, AuBuchon said Simpson stopped talking but wrote on a piece of paper, "Do not let me harm the baby."
AuBuchon added that he prayed with her, but when she grabbed the baby back and tried to leave, the church called 911.
Still, the recent events have him rethinking that encounter.
"It makes you wonder, 'Did I do enough?'" AuBuchon asked.
Simpson's baby was removed by the Missouri Children's Division that day but was eventually returned to her, according to STLToday.com.
In addition, authorities say that after finding Simpson and the child, they found heroin inside Simpson's home.
Her neighbor, David Doyle, said he believes Simpson's problems date back to September when the body of Simpson's ex-boyfriend -- the baby's father -- was also found in the same woods, according to KSPR.net.