A woman has been charged with the murder of a religious counselor she met through a prayer network.
Anna Collum (below), a 54-year-old from California, was accused of killing Priscilla Lefevre, an Arizona native who was counseling her. Lefevre’s husband told authorities that a woman named “Anna” was the culprit due to her “Satanic problems.” He added that Anna had heard voices in her head urging her to harm his wife and that a gun was missing from their home.
Police say Anna was “in the religious-based counseling care of Priscilla having met through a prayer network at Church for the Nations in Phoenix.”
Collum’s husband also allegedly told police that two days before the murder he learned that Anna was angry with Priscilla for ‘taking the holy spirit from her’ and that Anna intended on “hurting Priscilla for what she had done.”
Police located the gun and Anna’s cell phone at a park near the murder scene.
While Collum turned herself in to police, her alleged murder could teach everyone an important lesson: Don’t treat medical issues with prayer and faith alone. If Collum was suffering from mental illness, it remains to be seen if she was ever told to seek professional help or take the appropriate medicine. All we know is that she got faith — and the counselor paid the ultimate price. It’s not that religion caused Collum’s behavior, but it certainly didn’t make things any better, and it may have prevented her from getting the help she actually needed.
As we said the other day, if voices in your head tell you to act violently, talk to a doctor, not a religious counselor.