Mushroom Tea Murder: Man Removes Friend's Still-Beating Heart

After taking psychedelic mushrooms, a California man gouged out his MMA training partner's heart, eyes and tongue, all while he was still alive. Witness testimonies detail the two men's increasing paranoia as it spiraled out of control.

On March 21, Jarrod Wyatt of Crescent City, Calif., killed his friend Taylor Powell after they had both drank mushroom tea. Powell was found without most of his face, and a large incision in his chest. Wyatt told arresting officers that he had cut out Powell's heart and burned it because he thought Powell was possessed by the Devil.

That much we know. The rest is a hazy collection of bizarre, disjointed remembrances, because all of the witnesses were hallucinating heavily. But it's possible to put together a coherent timeline.

•Wyatt, Powell, a third acquaintance, and Wyatt's ex-girlfriend all drank mushroom tea. Wyatt had been in a good mood before ingesting it, but the men's behavior changed almost immediately. Wyatt began complaining that his eyes were burning, and tried to prevent the third man from leaving, even jumping on top of his car as he drove away.

•Wyatt told police he didn't want the man to leave because he was convinced a tidal wave was coming. Powell held him down on the kitchen floor, saying none of them could be saved from the wave, and that the world was going to come to an end.

•At one point, Wyatt yelled at Powell to get his guitar. Powell responded angrily, asking "You wanna fucking die?" repeatedly.

•Wyatt told police that he had been tormented by spirits in the house, and that "Satan was in that dude [Powell]."

•Wyatt and Powell fought, at point using a rear chokehold familiar from their MMA training together.

•The ex-girlfriend testified that Wyatt and Powell started wrestling on the kitchen floor, though they were later talking about surfing. Later on she saw Powell standing over Wyatt, spitting on him, and "heard sounds she thought were sexual in nature."

•Wyatt removed Powell's heart while he was still alive, according to the coroner's report. He then cooked his body parts in the stove because he was fearful Powell was still alive and needed to "stop the Devil."

•When police arrived, they found Wyatt standing over Powell, naked and covered in his blood. "I killed him," Wyatt said, and asked if they were God coming to save him.

Wyatt's attorney argued that his client had a psychotic break and was incapable of understanding what he was doing. But a judge ruled yesterday that he must stand trial, and will be arraigned tomorrow.

Defense will try to thwart first-degree murder charge for Klamath murder suspect [Times-Standard] Klamath suspect Wyatt will answer to murder charges [Times-Standard]