August 6, 2026

DEBARY, Fla. — Shock at a Catholic church in Volusia County: deputies say 53-year-old John Mattern of DeBary ripped a Virgin Mary statue from its pedestal at St. Ann’s Catholic Church, hurled it into nearby woods, and left parishioners to discover the desecration after Sunday evening Mass. Mattern is charged with criminal mischief at a place of worship, a third-degree felony, in a case now hitting at the intersection of faith, fury and destruction.

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