Related articles:

Man arrested after gunfight with Phoenix policeMan arrested after gunfight with Phoenix policePhoenix Police: 3-year-old girl recovering from exorcism attempt

Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic

PHOENIX — A man died after what Phoenix police described Sunday as a struggle in a house where officers went in response to a report of an exorcism being conducted on a young child.

Officers arrived at the house on Saturday in response to a check-welfare call from a relative of the family that lived there, and police entered when they heard screaming from a bedroom, said Sgt. Joel Tranter, a police spokesman.

A bed was pushed against the bedroom door, but officers were able to push the door open a few inches, allowing one to peer inside and see that 49-year-old Ronald Marquez was clutching his bloodied 3-year-old granddaughter, who was crying in pain, screaming and gasping as Marquez choked her, Tranter said.

A bloody, naked 19-year-old woman who was determined to be Marquez's daughter and the girl's mother also was in the room, chanting "something that was religious in nature," Tranter said.

The officers then were able to force open the door enough for one to enter, leading to a struggle in which the officer used a Taser stun gun as he tried to free the girl, Tranter said.

After the initial stun had no visible effect on Marquez, a second officer also squeezed into the room and Marquez was stunned a second time, allowing one of the officers to free the girl and pass her out the door to the relative, Tranter said.

Marquez was placed in handcuffs after a struggle. He initially appeared normal but then was observed to be not breathing, Tranter said. Efforts by police and Fire Department personnel to revive him failed, and he was pronounced dead at a hospital.

His cause of death was not immediately known, and autopsy results probably won't be available for several weeks, Tranter said. He added that the relative who called police said there also had been an exorcism attempted on Thursday.

"The purpose was to release demons from this very young child," Tranter said.

He said the 3-year-old girl and her mother were hospitalized for various injuries. He declined to identify either by name but said they lived in the house with Marquez.

Tranter said the girl had bruises and other undisclosed injuries, while the woman had a cut lip and facial lacerations.

The mother was not immediately arrested, Tranter said, adding that criminal charges were possible.