A Virginia church is now seeking donations to replace their ministry van after it was stolen and totaled by Grace Pauline Kelley, the troubled 28-year-old daughter of country music superstar Wynonna Judd, who told police that she sold her soul to the devil.
Kent Hart, lead pastor of Ground Zero Church in Charlottesville, stated in a GoFundMe campaign seeking to raise $30,000 that Kelley stole his church’s $3,800 green ministry van and a trailer from in front of his house on Oct. 27.
He told The Daily Progress that he was in his kitchen in the afternoon when he suddenly saw the van leaving his driveway.
“I’m talking to my daughter, and I look out the window and I see the van leaving my house,” Hart recalled.
Once he quickly confirmed that no one from his family had borrowed the van, he said he gave chase and saw a woman behind the wheel after she stopped at the edge of a road.
“I’m like, ‘You stole my van, get out of my van,’ beating on the door,” Hart told the publication. “And at this point, I see her very clearly. I saw her buzz cut and face tattoo.”
Kelley has prior convictions in Tennessee for methamphetamine production, evading arrest and driving while intoxicated. She also has pending cases in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee, where she’s been charged with aggravated assault, trespassing, violation of a no-contact order, manufacturing methamphetamine, multiple allegations of failure to appear and allegations of probation violations, The Daily Progress reports. She now faces seven new charges in Albemarle, including three felony counts of grand larceny for allegedly stealing the church’s van and a trailer.
When he encountered Kelley, Hart said, “She didn’t seem like she was in her right mind at all.”
Albemarle police officer Corey Legg, who assisted in apprehending the suspect, wrote in his report that Kelley, who is currently in custody, claimed during the booking process that she sold her soul to the devil. Kelley asked to be committed to a mental institution, he added.
“She began stating she had sold her soul to the devil,” Legg wrote.
“I advised the jail staff that she may have taken something,” he continued. “I was later informed that the jail staff observed something inside of Ms. Kelley during her body scan.”
An evaluation by staff at the University of Virginia Medical Center determined that what jail staff saw “was just gas.” Legg noted that Kelley’s bloodwork tested positive for heroin.
“We want the community to know that on a personal level, we have forgiven Grace Kelley. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:44, ‘But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,’” Hart stated in his GoFundMe campaign.