A 41-year-old Bronx woman died yesterday when she caught fire during a Santeria cleansing ritual at a friend's apartment, police and neighbors said.
Cops on routine patrol in University Heights heard screams coming from an apartment at 51 North St. and hurried inside. They discovered one woman unconscious with burns on her body and a gash on her forehead and a second woman with burns on her hands, police said.
The second-floor apartment was filled with candles, oils and tarot cards, a law enforcement source said.
"This appears to be a spiritual ritual gone bad," a law enforcement source said.
Minerva Perez of Riverdale was pronounced dead at the scene about 7 p.m., sources said. The other woman, Mildred Sanchez, 62, who lives in the apartment, was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital for treatment of second-degree burns to her hands and arms, a law enforcement source said.
Sanchez apparently tried to put out the fire with her hands.
The source said Perez hit her head on a window while trying to extinguish the flames.
Sources said Perez had a serious disease and was at the apartment for a spiritual cleansing.
According to law enforcement sources, the two women had lit dozens of candles in the apartment's bathroom and then doused Perez with Florida water - a highly flammable liquid used in rituals. The candles apparently ignited the liquid.
"This was an accident," said Sanchez's friend Alex Jiminez. "There was no malice here. Things just got out of hand."
Jiminez said Sanchez had recently talked with him about Santeria, which originated in Cuba as a combination of the Western African Yoruba religion and Catholicism.
Sanchez's neighbor Ramona Serrano said the woman was known for adopting stray cats and dogs.
Another tenant, Carmen Melendez, said people believe Santeria rituals can purge the seven deadly sins.
"It can be beautiful but it can also be dangerous," said Melendez. "You've got to be careful."
Perez, who had an office job at a hospital, had lived alone in her Riverdale apartment for less than a year, building superintendent George Vera said.
"She was a very nice girl," Vera said. "She seemed really put together and kind."