Danielle Harkins, St. Petersburg, Florida (arrested June 2012) [exorcised demons from students]

TMP · Jun 14, 2012

Name: Danielle Harkins, St. Petersburg, Florida

Age: 35

School: Lealman and Asian Learning Center, St. Petersburg, Florida

Position: Literacy mentor

Victims: Seven teen, ages 14-17

10 News Tampa Bay (13 June 2012): Danielle Harkins is accused of burning, cutting teens to expel their demons

10 News Tampa Bay said:

A teacher at a neighborhood family center was arrested after police say she burned and cut teens during a bizarre ritual to remove their demons. Authorities say Danielle Harkins brought the group of teens to an area near the St. Pete Pier Saturday before dusk. They gathered around a small fire and that's when she told them to cut their skin to let the evil spirits out. After they cut their skin, she said they would need to burn the wounds to ensure they would not return. Police say all of the seven teens involved were of an Asian background and knew Harkins from their time at the center in years past. Harkins is a literary teacher at the Lealman and Asian Neighborhood Family Center and has been with the center for the past 4-and-a-half years. Police were alerted to the incident after one of the teens sent a text message to a friend, who showed it to their parents. During their investigation, detectives learned Harkins poured perfume on one teen's hand and lit it on fire. The teen suffered from second degree burns.
Click to expand...

10 News Tampa Bay (13 June 2012): Teacher tells students to cut and burn themselves to rid demons near St. Pete Pier

10 News Tampa Bay said:

In what St. Petersburg police are calling a weird religious ritual, they have arrested 35-year old Danielle Harkins for encouraging several teenagers to cut and burn themselves. The cutting was said to release evil spirits from their body, and the cauterizing of the wounds with fire was to prevent the spirits from getting back in. The event happened close to the St. petersburg Pier downtown. Police say only two of the teenagers were actually cut. According to authorities, she caused second-degree burns in an attempt to "brand" one of the students' hands with a cigarette lighter. Because of windy conditions next to the pier, the flame wouldn't stay, so she poured perfume on the wound and set it on fire. Harkins was arrested after one of the teenagers told his friend about the incident. The friend told the victim's father, who in turn, called police.
Click to expand...

Miami Herald (13 June 2012): Bizarre burning and cutting ritual on kids lands Florida woman in jail

Miami Herald said:

Danielle Harkins told the kids they needed to rid their bodies of demons as the group gathered before dusk Saturday around a small fire near the St. Petersburg Pier. They should cut their skin to let the evil spirits out, police said she told the children. Then, they needed to burn the wounds to ensure that those spirits would not return. Some kids got cut, police said. Some kids got burned. Harkins got arrested ... Police said the ritual was attended by seven teenagers, all of Asian ethnic background, whom Harkins had taught a few years ago in her job at the center. At least two were injured, police said. "Obviously, it's very strange," said St. Petersburg police spokesman Mike Puetz. "The motivations for the ritual are very unknown to us." None of the teens told their parents about the incident. Police investigated after one of the teens, a 16-year-old boy, sent a text message about the incident to a friend. The friend told the boy's parents, who notified police. In interviews with detectives, the teens were reluctant to talk about the ritual beyond the basic facts of what happened. They did reveal a few things. When Harkins held a lighter to one teen's hand, wind blew the flame out, police said. That prompted her to douse his hand in perfume before setting it on fire. The boy suffered second-degree burns, police said. Another teen was cut on the neck with a broken bottle, police said. Harkins used a flame to heat a small key, which she then used to cauterize the wound.
Click to expand...

__

TMP · Jun 14, 2012

Tampa Bay Times (13 June 2012): Woman arrested on child abuse charges after bizarre cutting and burning ritual

Tampa Bay Times said:

Danielle Harkins told the kids they needed to rid their bodies of demons as the group gathered before dusk Saturday around a small fire near the St. Petersburg Pier. They should cut their skin to let the evil spirits out, police said she told the children. Then, they needed to burn the wounds to ensure that those spirits would not return. Some kids got cut, police said. Some kids got burned. Harkins got arrested. Harkins, 35, a literacy teacher at Lealman and Asian Neighborhood Family Center, was booked in jail Tuesday morning on child abuse charges in connection with the bizarre ritual. She was held in jail Tuesday night on $55,000 bail.
Click to expand...

Broward/Palm Beach New Times (13 June 2012): Danielle Harkins Accused of Helping St. Petersburg Teens Exorcise Demons by Cutting Each Other

Broward/Palm Beach New Times said:

Danielle Harkins is accused of gathering seven kids around a campfire near the St. Petersburg Pier on Saturday evening, according to the St. Petersburg Times. Police say she then told a 17-year-old boy that "he needed to get rid of an evil tick," according to Bay News 9, and convinced another teen to help get rid of it by cutting the boy's back with a piece of broken glass. Police say she then oversaw the cauterizing of the wound with a heated-up house key. The TV station's report says Harkins has worked at Lealman for about five years, and "the executive director of the center says Harkins recently got into a religion but she's not sure what it's about." No kidding. Also part of the accusations: Harkins allegedly poured perfume on a 16-year-old's hand, then set it on fire.
Click to expand...

The Florida News Journal (13 June 2012): St Pete Woman Arrested After Leading Bizarre Ritual of Kids To Cut And Burn Themselves

The Florida News Journal said:

St Pete police have arrested 35-year-old Danielle Harkins on child endangerment and abuse charges following a bizarre ritual in which she lead seven kids to cut and burn themselves in order to get rid of evil demons. She reportedly had told the kids, all of them of Asian ethnicity, that they must cut themselves to bleed in order to get the demons out of them, then they must burn the wound so it is sealed so that the demons can't get back in. None of the kids ranging in age from 14 to 17 told their parent and police only learned about the incident after one of them told a friend who told his own parents who in turn called police. At one point during the ritual that was held near the St Pete Pier, the wind blew out the flame of the lighter, so Harkins poured perfume on the child and lit it, causing second degree burns. None of those involved had said very much other than that it happened. ... The Miami Herald reports that following a divorce, a neighbor stated that Harkins began to talk about demons and told her that she didn't have any in her.
Click to expand...

TMP · Jun 14, 2012

Tampa Tribune (13 June 2012): Police: Teacher had teens cut themselves in demon ritual

Tampa Tribune said:

Danielle Harkins, 35, told teenagers they had evil spirits in their bodies, and she wanted to get them out, police said. Harkins was able persuade two former students to follow through with a ritual ceremony, police said ... Investigators said Harkins was at The Pier on Saturday with seven former students when she told a 16- and 17-year-old to take part in a ritual based on her religious beliefs. "Apparently, there was some sort of ritual taking place where she was directing teenagers to cut themselves to release demons from their bodies," said Sgt. Mike Puetz of the St. Petersburg Police Department, "and at some point (she would cauterize) the wound by using a heated key or applying fire to the skin to close the wound to keep the evil spirits from getting back." Harkins was arrested after one of her former students told his father what happened Saturday, investigators said.
Click to expand...

WCSH 6 Portland (13 June 2012): Teacher tells students they have evil spirits

WCSH 6 Portland said:

Danielle Harkins, 35, allegedly told teenagers they had evil spirits in their bodies, and she wanted to get them out ... Investigators said Harkins was at The Pier on Saturday with seven former students when she told a 16- and 17-year-old to take part in a ritual based on her religious beliefs. "Apparently, there was some sort of ritual taking place where she was directing teenagers to cut themselves to release demons from their bodies," said Sgt. Mike Puetz of the St. Petersburg Police Department, "and at some point she would cauterize the wound by using a heated key or applying fire to the skin to close the wound to keep the evil spirits from getting back."
Click to expand...

TMP · Jun 14, 2012

My Fox Tampa Bay (13 June 2012): Teacher accused of drawing teens into ritual

My Fox Tampa Bay said:

- A teacher at a community center in Pinellas County is facing child abuse charges after police said she encouraged her students to cut each other. Investigators say it was all part of a bizarre cleansing ritual. According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, Danielle Harkins convinced a group of seven former students of hers to cut their skin to let the evil spirits out, and then burn the wounds so the spirits could not get back into their bodies. Saturday, police said Harkins gathered six boys and one girl in a park near the Pier and then built a small fire. "There was apparently some chanting and then dancing around this fire that was taking place," said Mike Puetz, with the St. Petersburg Police Department. Then police said she encouraged them to cut each other in some sort of ritual, to release the evil spirits from their body. "They would follow that up with some sort of cauterization of the wound to keep the evil spirits from getting back in to the body," Puetz said. Police said closing the wound was done by heating a small key and pressing it to their flesh. Harkins is also accused of using perfume to fuel the so-called "branding" of a 16-year-old boy. "They placed like a cologne or perfume on his hand, and this was the suspect herself doing this, and then ignited that. I think the term she was, was brand him," Puetz said. Police said they're having a tough time with the interviews of the young victims. "The kids that participated in this were rather loyal to her," Puetz said. "There was a lot of reluctance in discussing some of these issues with us."
Click to expand...

TMP · Jun 14, 2012

Danielle Harkins in the various mugshot sites:

mugshots.com

florida.arrests.org

mugshotsworld.com

TMP · Jun 14, 2012

WSMV-TV Nashville (14 June 2012): Teacher arrested for ridding students of 'demons'

WSMV-TV Nashville said:

A Florida teacher has been arrested in a case involving former students and a ritual involving cutting their bodies to release "evil spirits," according to police. Danielle Harkins, 35, allegedly told teenagers they had evil spirits in their bodies, and she wanted to get them out. Harkins was able persuade two former students to follow through with a ritual ceremony ... Investigators said Harkins was at The Pier on Saturday with seven former students when she told a 16- and 17-year-old to take part in a ritual based on her religious beliefs. "Apparently, there was some sort of ritual taking place where she was directing teenagers to cut themselves to release demons from their bodies," said Sgt. Mike Puetz of the St. Petersburg Police Department. "And at some point she would cauterize the wound by using a heated key or applying fire to the skin to close the wound to keep the evil spirits from getting back." Harkins was arrested after one of her former students told his father what happened Saturday, investigators said.
Click to expand...

Huffington Post (14 June 2012): Danielle Harkins, Teacher, Allegedly Told Students To Cut, Burn Themselves To Get Rid Of Demons

Huffington Post said:

Danielle Harkins, a 35-year-old teacher at Lealman and Asian Neighborhood Family Center in St. Petersburg, Fla., has been arrested for allegedly instructing students to cut and burn themselves to get rid of demons, NBC Miami reports. Harkins now faces charges of aggravated child abuse and child abuse, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, who spoke with the station. The Tampa Bay Times reports one student suffered second-degree burns after the teacher sprayed perfume on the teen's hand before lighting it on fire. Hawkins allegedly also cut another student with a broken bottle and cauterized the wound with a key she heated up with a flame.
Click to expand...

TMP · Jun 14, 2012

Fox News (14 June 2012): Florida teacher accused of drawing teens into bizarre ritual

Fox News said:

A Florida teacher at a community center near Tampa Bay is facing child abuse charges after police said she encouraged her students to cut each other. Investigators said it was all part of a bizarre cleansing ritual. Danielle Harkins convinced a group of seven former students to cut their skin to let the evil spirits out, and then burn the wounds so the spirits could not get back into their bodies, according to St. Petersburg police. She allegedly gathered six boys and a girl in a park and built a small fire. "There was apparently some chanting and then dancing around this fire that was taking place," said Mike Puetz, with the St. Petersburg Police Department. "They would follow that up with some sort of cauterization of the wound to keep the evil spirits from getting back in to the body,” he said. Police said closing the wound was done by heating a small key and pressing it to their flesh. Harkins is also accused of using perfume to fuel the so-called "branding" of a 16-year-old boy.
Click to expand...

New York Daily News (14 June 2012): Teacher tells students to cut and burn themselves to rid their bodies of demons in bizarre ritual: police

New York Daily News said:

A Florida teacher was arrested on child abuse charges after allegedly encouraging her students to cut and burn themselves in order to rid their bodies of evil spirits. Danielle Harkins, 35, allegedly brought seven teens to a spot by the pier in St. Petersburg on Saturday, and began the strange religious ritual by starting a small fire, police told WTSP News. The teacher then told the teens to cut themselves to cast out demons lurking in their bodies, and cauterize the wounds to prevent the spirits from returning, investigators said. "There was apparently some chanting and then dancing around this fire that was taking place," St. Petersburg Police Department spokesman Mike Puetz told Fox Tampa Bay. Two kids were cut, and one sustained second-degree burns after the teacher allegedly poured perfume on his wound and lit it with a cigarette lighter, investigators told WTSP. One of them was cut in the neck with a broken bottle and the wound was cauterized with a heated-up house key, authorities told Bay News 9.
Click to expand...

Log in or Sign up

Danielle Harkins, St. Petersburg, Florida (arrested June 2012) [exorcised demons from students]

TMP Himself

TMP Himself

TMP Himself

TMP Himself

TMP Himself

TMP Himself

TMP Himself

Log in or Sign up

Danielle Harkins, St. Petersburg, Florida (arrested June 2012) [exorcised demons from students]

TMP Himself

TMP Himself

TMP Himself

TMP Himself

TMP Himself

TMP Himself

TMP Himself

Useful Searches