Richard Ham: Florida man shot dead after burning girlfriend's 9-year-old son claiming demon possession

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.

SEBRING, FLORIDA: 39-year-old Richard Ham was killed in a confrontation with the Florida police after he attempted to burn a 9-year-old boy who he thought was "possessed," on Tuesday, December 19, in Seabring.

Around 4 pm authorities received a report regarding several people who were burning a pile of debris on the side of Bay Blossom Drive, according to a news release from the Highlands County Sheriff's Office. 

'They believed he was possessed by a demon'

When the deputies got there, they saw that Ham had two metal rods with him. When Ham was instructed to drop the rods, he refused the deputies' commands, and a taser was used. But the taser did not seem to have any effect.

“Ham pulled the taser probes from his body and re-armed himself with one of the bars. He then swung the bar and struck a deputy in the head. At that point ... one of the deputies fired his agency-issued firearm,” Sacramento Bee reported.

Ham was transported to a hospital where he was declared dead. The deputy was treated in a different hospital for his injuries and released.

When the fire department arrived at the scene, detectives claimed that Ham and the boy's mother, Lakenya Lavonn Phillips, were setting the boy's belongings on fire.

The sheriff's office stated, "They believed he was possessed by a demon. At one point, witnesses said, Ham put the child into the fire and covered him with a blanket that was also on fire. The child was able to escape.” Details of the boy’s injuries were not released.

Authorities in Wichita, Kansas, reported the boy and his mother as "missing and endangered" on December 6, according to the sheriff's department.

What do officials say?

According to officials, Ham and Phillips, were in a romantic relationship and it is unknown "when or why they came to Highlands County". According to the sheriff's office, "Immediately after the shooting, Phillips began to push deputies as they tried to secure Ham and render aid."

"Phillips, 30, is in the Highlands County Jail on charges of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence and cruelty toward a child," officials said.

According to authorities, "multiple firearms and drugs" were discovered during a search of Ham's car. The officials stated that the 10th Judicial Circuit Officer Involved Deadly Incident Task Force will be in charge of the investigation into the shooting.

Throughout the investigation, the deputies who were involved in the incident will be placed on paid administrative leave.

The child alleged that he had not bathed or brushed his teeth in at least 10 days as they traveled to Florida and his mother and her boyfriend had not fed him for at least a day.

“He said that both Ham and Phillips had regularly been using drugs and that Ham had earlier threatened him with a large knife, as well as claiming he had used that knife to kill someone,” the sheriff’s office said. “Investigators are working with law enforcement in several states to follow up on that statement,” Law&Crime stated.