BARTOW — Evelyn Boyd was on a mission to pray — for her husband, her church, her city, the nation and the president.
So on Feb. 7, she locked herself in a bedroom to pray and fast. She brought water and prayer requests and told her husband not to bother her.
“This is what I have to do,” she told him.
For more than three weeks, Boyd, 55, didn’t emerge. Her family could have come to her aid if she needed help, but her husband wanted to respect her wish to be alone. He figured she’d be okay, just like the last four times she fasted.
But on the 26th day, family members forced the door open. They found her dead.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says it appears she died because of the fast. Deputies don’t plan to file charges because they believe she fasted willingly and her family said she was mentally sound, Sheriff Grady Judd said.