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Mother convicted of killing daughter who she thought was possessed - Representational image Reuters

An Oklahoma woman's mother, who killed her by shoving a crucifix down her throat, has been convicted of murder.

Juanita Gomez had killed her daughter, Geneva, in August 2016 thinking she was possessed by the devil. She had first punched the 33-year-old victim and then forced a crucifix and a religious medallion down her throat until blood came out of her mouth. She apparently killed her to get rid of "Satan".

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On Thursday, 11 January, she was found guilty of first-degree murder of Geneva and a life sentence without parole has been recommended for her by the jurors. However, the woman has not pleaded guilty to the crime, the Daily Mail reported.

The gruesome crime came to light after the victim's boyfriend called police to Juanita's house in Oklahoma City in August 2016. Francisco Merlos was the one who first saw the bruised and bloodied body of Geneva lying on the floor.

During a trial hearing of the 51-year-old, Merlos told prosecutors that when he confronted Juanita asking why she did not call anyone to help Geneva, she "kept mumbling about 'devil and money'," and said that her daughter was "possessed".

Court documents filed against the woman state that she watched her daughter die. She had told investigators that "Satan" captured her daughter's body after which she had started speaking in a demonic voice. Juanita claimed that Geneva had even threatened to kill her the night before her death.

Police found bruises on her arms and hands, which the mother claimed she got while attempting to "rid Satan from her daughter's body", CBS News reported.

Assistant District Attorney Suzanne Lavenue has described the crime spot a still from a "horror film", where they found Geneva's body placed in a shape of a cross with the crucifix on her chest.

Earlier, Juanita's attorneys had tried to prove her mentally incompetent for the trial but the claim was scrapped after a court-appointed forensic psychologist found her well and claimed that she was faking mental illness.