State v. Cunningham

The State has petitioned for review of the Court of Appeals decision reported in 23 Wn. App. 826, 598 P.2d 756 (1979). We reverse and remand the cause to the Court of Appeals for disposition in accordance with this opinion.

Leon Cunningham, his wife Velma and daughter Carolyn shared their home with Lorraine Edwards, Debbie Weilbacher and her 3-year-old son David. In April of 1976, Leon, a self-ordained minister and head of the communal household, began to suspect David was possessed by the devil. Accordingly, from April until late July 1976 the entire household engaged in an almost daily…