Arizona Man Tries to Bring Woman Back to Life by Stabbing Her in Heart, as Part of "Ritual"
He failed to report the death.
There are many eccentric rituals around the world that people do in hopes of resurrecting someone from the dead. Some people believe that prayer can reverse death, while others have tried to replace a dead person's blood with cold salt water in hopes of turning things around. And according to a recent news story, one man believed he could bring a woman back from the dead by stabbing her in the heart. Unfortunately, the "ritual" didn't work and now a Mesa, Arizona man is behind bars.
34-year-old Stephen Joseph Anderson was arrested on Wednesday for an incident that took place in November. According to KPHO-TV, he stabbed a woman in the heart after her overdose death in hopes of bringing her back to life.
Court records state that Anderson met Rebecca Lynn Lambert, 33, at a park on November 12. The two then went back to his house. While they were in his bedroom, they took methamphetamine.
Anderson claims that after doing the drugs, he went into his bathroom to take a shower. When he got out and returned to his bedroom, he found her dead from an overdose.
Anderson told detectives that he hoped to revive her. So he decided to perform a "ritual" using a 5-inch silver knife and stab her through the heart. The knife went all the way into her body.
Instead of reporting the death, he was found in the middle of a road two days later, holding a knife and a hammer. According to neighbors, he jumped in front of a driver and looked like he was going to attack them.
By the time officers arrived, he was only holding a knife. Officers told him to drop it, and he was taken into custody. Per officers, the knife had blood on it. However, they were not aware that there was a body in the home.
Anderson was taken to a mental health facility. He called his mother on November 15 and told her to keep the kids away from the bedroom. She was worried that something was wrong, so she went to his home and found the body. She called 911.
Anderson was released from the facility and arrested at his home. He admitted to stabbing the body and confessed that he knew what he did was wrong. He was booked into jail on a felony count of disorderly conduct, one felony count of mutilation of a body, and a misdemeanor count of failure to report a death. Charges have also been recommended of being a prohibited possessor of weapons since he is a convicted felon and is not allowed to have a knife.
