Prosecutor: Defendant sought voodoo healer’s help with trial

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Prosecutors say a man has tried to enlist the power of voodoo against the judge in his North Carolina murder trial.

The Charlotte Observer reports Rayquan Borum is charged with killing a fellow protester during civil unrest that followed a 2016 police shooting in Charlotte.

His trial halted Wednesday after prosecutors said Borum appeared to threaten Superior Court Judge Gregory Hayes in a Feb. 20 call, saying, “I need him gone.”

But prosecutor Glenn Cole said Friday that Borum apparently had asked his mother to contact a Florida spiritualist to “pray against” Hayes and others. Cole also said Borum had tried to raise money to pay a voodoo healer in Raleigh.

Hayes said he will continue presiding over the trial, and defence lawyers dropped their motion to replace him Friday.

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Information from: The Charlotte Observer, http://www.charlotteobserver.com