A woman told police she shot another woman because she didn't believe in God and kept her body for three days as a shrine in her Phoenix apartment, according to arrest records.
Phoenix officers arrested Anitra Braxton, 39, on suspicion of first-degree murder Saturday after finding an unidentified body in her apartment in the 1500 block of West Missouri Avenue.
Police reported they were called to the scene and discovered the woman covered with a towel on Braxton's couch, dead of a gunshot wound to the head.
Braxton told investigators that the body was a "shrine from God" and that she had shot the woman in the eye for not believing in God, the records said. The murder weapon has not been recovered.
As you may already have gathered the woman suffers from a fairly debilitating mental illness, but somehow that did not keep her from getting her hands on a gun.
By the way I once read a paper which stated that schizophrenics were often drawn to very fundamentalist religious beliefs.
Which makes sense if you think about it. After all it so much more comforting to believe that the voices in your head are coming from God rather than to accept that you may be clinically insane.
I assume that anyone past the age of reason who believes in a god has some degree of broadly-defined mental illness.
ReplyDeleteI saw the video of her in court and she looked like a "tweaker" to me. Like she was coming down off meth. Course lots of schizophrenics mess with that, meth/coke/crack and who knows what came first the chicken or the egg?
DeleteOh and this good news out of Texas, open carry will be the law of the land in a few days....!?!
X TexAss off your vacay plans asap. Wow.
It's really out of control right now....
Clinically insane might be the description of many so-called religious prophets and why should we be surprised zealots are drawn to them? And then some are simply grifters and/or criminally inclined and willing to take the gullible for a ride. Just sayin’.
ReplyDeleteIt's obvious the woman is insane. God nor religion has anything to do with it.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous 3:17 PM
ReplyDeleteI assume that anyone past the age of reason who believes in a god has some degree of broadly-defined mental illness.
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How dare you insult us who believe in God. I don't go around calling atheists mentally ill. I don't insult atheists, if a person doesn't believe it God that is their right.
You have the right not to believe in God, and I respect that. AND I have the right TO believe in God, and us believers deserve the same respect from you.
Great post 4:17. Anon 3:17 is a jerk.
DeleteI see you're talking to yourself again- are you hearing voices again?
DeleteIf a 4 year-old person believes in Santa Claus, we think it's cute. If a 20 year-old person believes in Santa Claus, we know that there is something mentally wrong with them. Santa Claus doesn't exist. Neither does god. Go ahead and believe in god, but face up to your mental illness.
DeleteYou are quite correct 4:17 - up to a point. You DO have a right to believe as you wish. WE have that same right.
DeleteHowever, explain something to me if you will. How does it feel to be on the receiving end of the insanity accusation? We atheists have been labeled insane for thousands of years.
YOU may not make such claims or charges, but the majority of religious folks DO - up to and including execution for the "crime".
When you can prove you speak out against such things, I will apologize. Until then, I laud the idea of people accusing religious people of mild instability - especially since most religious people are brainwashed into belief from infancy.
I have been spit on and screamed at and in one case, fired simply because I did NOT believe. And it is getting worse with the rise of the extremist right wing fanatics. Next time you decide to rant over a statement that was mild - everyone has mental aberrations, after all - think of that before you speak. Please?
And which prez defunded mental health institutions? Ah, yes. I remember.
ReplyDeleteSt. Ronnie Raygun!
Delete@Anonymous 3:17 PM
ReplyDelete'''I assume that anyone past the age of reason who believes in a god has some degree of broadly-defined mental illness.'''
You know what, if I was nasty, I could say people who don't believe in God has some degree of broadly defined mental illness. BUT I am too intelligent to make such a statement. You need to have the same respect for those of us who do not think as you do, those of us who believe in God.
Sorry 4:23. Not to pile on but I think this is the wrong piece of news to make your stand.
DeleteBesides 4:23 "I think" just as 3:17 "assumes" so give yourself a break
4:17 Why should anyone believe there is a higher power named God? Show me proof?
ReplyDeleteA Catholic priest once warned me that if anyone ever claimed God spoke to them they were lying or schizophrenic.
ReplyDelete4:28, my grandfather was an Episcopal bishop. When he decided to become a minister, he went to the school and interviewed. One of the questions they asked him was why he wanted to become one. He was told later that had he said anything remotely like "god told me to" he would have been refused as a "nut".
Delete@Anonymous 3:17 PM
ReplyDeleteBTW, I'm a strong liberal Democrat, who loves Jesus and believes in God, lest you call me a conservative Repub.
There are more of us liberal Democrat believers in God than there are conservative Repub believers.
I am an Independent Atheist, but I do support your right to believe in whatever god you choose to but please don't try to insinuate your beliefs into our government or political institutions and please, don't feel the need to come to my door and share your very "special insights". As long as you follow the rules set forth by our Constitution you can just believe whatever you want without any guff from me.
DeleteShe kept the body for three days as a shrine? The woman apparently has some unresolved issues, drop the corpse and make the gun your shrine.
ReplyDeleteJust another day for you and me in paradise.
ReplyDeleteOkay, this woman looks special needs so who knows what voices she hears in her head. I feel very bad for her because she's obviously mentally ill and didn't have proper treatment. I also feel badly for anyone that would walk into this woman's door unarmed because, well, look at her, she looks crazy and just might kill you.
ReplyDeleteIt is more than likely this woman will be judged "not guilty by reason of insanity". I would like to see another plea added to our choices; something like "guilty, but insane". After all, there apparently is absolutely no doubt she did it.
ReplyDelete