Authorities Say 6-Year-Old Ra’myl Pierre Was Dead in Bedroom for Over Two Weeks
FORT PIERCE – A Fort Pierce mother has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder after deputies discovered the decomposing body of her 6-year-old son, Ra’myl Pierre, in a bedroom of their home. The child, missing from school for more than two weeks, is believed to have died as the result of a disturbing and delusional attempt by his mother to “exorcise demons” from him, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.
School officials raised the alarm on Friday, May 30, when school resource deputies requested a welfare check due to Ra’myl’s unexplained two-week absence. A deputy responding to the family’s home in Fort Pierce was met by the boy’s mother, 31-year-old Rhonda Paulynice. Without protest, Paulynice led the deputy into a bedroom where her son’s lifeless body was found lying in bed.
Timeline Suggests Boy May Have Been Dead Since Mid-May
St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro said the initial discovery offered no immediate signs of how Ra’myl died. An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the cause and manner of death. However, interviews with Paulynice and surrounding circumstances have led investigators to believe the child was killed around May 18.
Ra’myl was last seen in school on May 14, just days before deputies responded to the same residence on May 17—one day before the suspected date of death—regarding an unrelated medical issue involving Paulynice. Authorities now believe the homicide occurred within that narrow window of time.
Sheriff: Mother Claimed God Instructed Her to Perform an Exorcism
In a chilling revelation, Paulynice reportedly told detectives that she believed God was speaking to her and instructing her to “exorcise demons” from her child. According to Sheriff Del Toro, the mother described spiritual visions and claimed that once Ra’myl stopped moving, she believed the demons had left his body and that he would soon “come back.”
“From what we did learn in speaking with the mother is she believes she was being told by God to basically exorcise demons out of the child’s body,” Del Toro said during a press briefing. “She waited for him to rise again.”
Paulynice has been charged with second-degree murder, failure to report a death, and altering or tampering with a body. Investigators say no one else was living in the home at the time of the incident.
Community Shocked by Tragedy Involving Well-Loved Child
The news of Ra’myl Pierre’s death has devastated educators and neighbors who described him as a joyful and beloved child. Sheriff Del Toro noted that deputies who responded to the scene were deeply shaken.
“From what I understand, this kid just lit the room up and was loved by everybody,” Del Toro said.
The case has reignited conversations around untreated mental illness, the lack of intervention in households with prior law enforcement contact, and the challenges schools face when children are suddenly pulled from attendance without explanation.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office says the investigation remains active and that further charges may be considered depending on the autopsy findings and forensic results.
