San Diego man arrested for cemetery attack on 8-year-old son

(CBS/AP) SAN DIEGO - Police say they arrested a 30-year-old California man who allegedly tried to sacrifice his 8-year-old son at a cemetery Saturday because he heard "voices in his head."

Joseph Ramirez was arrested after the weekend attack at Mount Hope Cemetery in San Diego. He remains jailed Tuesday on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse.

Police say he took his three children to the cemetery on Saturday and cut the boy's arms with a broken candle holder he'd brought with him. Police say he then cut his own forearms. Police told local station KGTV that Ramirez claimed he had heard the voice of his dead grandmother telling him to sacrifice the boy.

Two women, who happened to be in the area, reportedly intervened and called 911.

One of the women, Corey Granberry, walked Ramirez' s two young daughters to a safe distance while the other, Jaymisha Pires, tried to get Ramirez to release the boy, KGTV reports.

"Yeah, I was talking to him," Pires reportedly said. "I was just asking him, 'Can you give me the kids?' He was like, 'No, these are my kids. We're going to Jesus."

Ramirez eventually released the boy and ran but was tackled by a security guard.

The father and son were treated at a hospital.