Father sentenced for taking 5-year-old daughter to creek, placing tire on her, and setting her on fire

TULSA, Okla. (TCN) -- A 34-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for killing his young daughter and setting her on fire several years ago because he believed she was "controlled by witchcraft."

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma announced that a judge sentenced Adam Mason on June 20 to life in prison for second-degree murder in Indian Country. Mason remains in custody but will be transferred to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

According to authorities, on Aug. 26, 2020, the Creek County Sheriff's Office performed a welfare check on a 5-year-old child. The girl's mother reportedly said her daughter was staying with her father, Mason, but he "would not let her speak with the child."

Responding deputies found a burned body believed to be the 5-year-old girl.

Officials located Mason hiding in a wooded area nearby and took him into custody. According to prosecutors, Mason told officials "he believed the 5-year-old was controlled by witchcraft." The defendant reportedly "punched the child in the head multiple times" and took her to a creek, where "he placed a tire on top of her, set her on fire, and fled the scene."

U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson called Mason's crimes "inhumane," adding, "There will be no first dances for her. She will not have the opportunity to attend college or become a mother herself."

In a statement, FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Doug Goodwater said, "The suffering this innocent child endured at the hands of her own father is completely incomprehensible. The defendant deserves every second of the sentence imposed, and more."

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