Woman Survives Suicide Attempt, Says Demons Made Her Kill Son

A woman told police she was possessed by demons when she smothered her 9-year-old son inside their Brooklyn home on Monday.

Olivia Sadia Jnnoel subsequently tried to kill herself by jumping in front of a train, but survived, police said. In statements made to police, Ms. Jnnoel said she became aggravated Monday morning when her son appeared to be disappointed about his birthday celebration the night before.

She told police demons overtook her, and that she smothered the boy with a pillow, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said yesterday. “It’s a tragic story,” he said.

The body of Kanil Jnnoel was found at about 4:45 p.m. by the boy’s father inside the family’s third-floor apartment on Brooklyn Avenue in Crown Heights. The boy was lying face up on his parent’s bed, police said.

Yesterday, the Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide. The cause of death was asphyxiation by smothering, a spokeswoman for the M.E. said. Police said charges against Ms. Jnnoel were awaiting her psychiatric evaluation.

According to police, the boy’s father returned home to check on his son after a disturbing conversation with Ms. Jnnoel, in which she alluded to having harmed the child. The father called her to inquire about a birthday party for their son at the child’s school, Montgomery Academy, when police said Ms. Jnnoel told him there was no party, adding: “You are going to have to forgive me.”

Meanwhile, police said they believe Ms. Jnnoel left home around noon and took the subway to Manhattan, where she intended to jump off a bridge. However, police said they believe she changed her mind and returned to Brooklyn. She got off the subway in Coney Island, where witnesses watched her throw herself in front of an oncoming F train.

She survived the suicide attempt, and was taken to Lutheran Hospital with a broken leg and several severed fingers. Yesterday, police said Ms. Jnnoel was treated for depression, and that she previously took medicine for the illness.

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