Ionel Mihaila and his mother
© CEN
A deranged son who hacked off his mum's head and stuck it on a spike like Vlad the Impaler told police she had been possessed by a demon who kept demanding he do housework. Ionel Mihaila admitted decapitating his mum with a kitchen knife and running a fence post through her brain to "kill the demon inside".

Police in Movileni, central Romania, were called to the gruesome scene after the 37-year-old confessed the killing to a priest, according to reports. Mihaila - who had been working abroad before the bizarre killing - told the priest he had "restored the balance" with the slaying.

His mum's head had reportedly been impaled facing away from the church because she had "no right" to look towards god. Mihaila told investigators that his 71-year-old mother was possessed by a demon who ordered him to do household chores and diluted his wine with water.

Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Liliana Istrate stated: "Amid mystical-religious motivations and a manifestation of extreme violence, the defendant simply decapitated his mother with a kitchen knife. "Then he took her head and stuck it in on a fence post." Mihaila has been remanded in custody pending a murder trial.

His victim's sister Constantina Popa told local media: "My sister raised him, his sister and their brother, all by herself. "When he returned from Portugal, where he was working, he was changed. "After killing her, he said to the priest that he murdered a pig which had the devil inside. She chillingly added: "We are absolutely terrified."