Ayahuasca Attacker in Florida Escapes Prison Time
Police say that Stefan Leon – a 32-year-old artist and life coach who teaches emotional intelligence – stabbed Julio Rivera – a 68-year-old spiritual healer – five times with a knife as he was on the tail end of a third in a series of Ayahuasca ceremonies.
Security camera footage from a nearby neighbor apparently shows Julio covered in blood, pounding on the neighbor’s door, and begging for help. It then apparently also shows Stefan, also covered in blood, emerge behind him, and then drag him out of view of the camera while Julio screamed “No, no, no!”
Later, when police arrived on the scene, they say that Julio could be seen restraining Stefan who then kicked one of the responding officers who then tased him.
This nightmare scenario took place at an Airbnb in Boynton Beach, Florida in October of 2024, and Stefan has been sitting in the county jail ever since, awaiting trial on charges of attempted murder.
As things go, prosecutors in Boynton Beach couldn’t be bothered with a trial, and cut a deal to reduce the charge to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
And the judge credited Stefan with his 457 days served in county jail, who was then released on 5 years probation, substance abuse counseling (“and any recommended treatment”), and an order to not promote Ayahuasca on social media.
So here we have a (white) man who attacks someone with a deadly weapon 5 times, and this is all he gets. While at the same time, merely carrying Ayahuasca into Mexico and Peru landed these 2 people in prison.
For his part, Julio doesn’t actually blame Stefan, which may be due to the fact that he says a demon spoke through Stefan – which was apparently the whole purpose of their sessions – before grabbing the knife and stabbing him in head, hand, shoulders and chest.
Of course, the police blame the Ayahuasca, and at least one media outlet – The Palm Beach Post, linked below – said Ayahuasca is “known to induce intense pain, extreme vomiting and terrifying visions.”
Oh yes, it’s the boogie-man Ayahuasca’s fault! Never mind the fact that it’s been used as a sacred medicine by indigenous people for thousands of years – who somehow managed to not also stab people with a knife at the end of every ceremony. Wonders never cease.
Anyway, I don’t think I’ll be hiring Mr. Leon to be my life coach any time soon, and if you hold or sit in any Ayahuasca ceremonies in Florida or elsewhere, you might want to keep an eye out.
Sources:
- The Palm Beach Post: Man who stabbed ‘healer’ in Boynton ayahuasca attack avoids prison time
- The Palm Beach Post:: A healer and a life coach drank ayahuasca in a Boynton Airbnb. Then one tried to kill the other.
- Yahoo News: Man who stabbed ‘healer’ in Boynton ayahuasca attack avoids prison time
- ICEERS: Imprisoned for Ayahuasca: A Battle for Dignity and Justice
