Fla. woman dies during weeks-long religious fast

[March 15, 2010]  BARTOW, Fla. (AP) -- Authorities say a 55-year-old woman died alone in a bedroom of her central Florida home after locking herself in the room for several weeks for a lengthy religious fast.

Evelyn Boyd told her husband, a preacher at a Pentecostal church in the city of Bartow, not to disturb her when she locked herself in the room Feb. 7 to fast and pray with only water to drink. Family members forced open the door March 5 and found her dead.

Sheriff Grady Judd told the St. Petersburg Times that deputies don't expect to file charges, though the investigation continues. A precise cause of death has not been determined.

The woman's husband, John Boyd, told the paper he didn't check on his wife because she felt she was doing what God called her to do and he wanted to respect her privacy.

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Information from: St. Petersburg Times, http://tampabay.com/

[Associated Press]

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