The man accused of killing an Italian woman in East Harlem claims he was possessed by an evil spirit.

Bakaray Camara, 41, was arrested for allegedly strangling Rita Morelli, 36, to death in her East Harlem apartment on Wednesday. Morelli's live-in boyfriend discovered her body. Two days later, police received an emergency phone call talking about the killing and traced it Camara, according to the Associated Press. When police arrived at his apartment, they knocked in the door and found Camara with a knife to his chest and written note about the incident in his pocket.

He says it was an evil spell that was cast on him, said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly in a briefing on Thursday, according to the New York Post. They had apparently had a previous relationship. It was somewhat [of a] rambling note, but he says that it was some sort of spell placed over him and that's why he did it.

Kelly said Camara made other incriminating statements about Morelli's death, then began repeatedly stabbing himself in his chest. Camara was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital where he remains in stable condition. He has been charged with murder.

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