The Alex Malarkey case shocked the entire country. But the story that was told about his life defrauded millions of Christians around the world.
If that afternoon of November 14, 2004, Alex Malarkey, then 6 years old, had died in a terrible accident in Ohio, no one would have questioned an "encounter with God and with Jesus in Heaven". That would have (somewhat) comforted his parents, Beth and Kevin. The latter was the one who was driving the vehicle and also survived the crash.
Instead, Alex lived. Although his skull was severed from his spinal cord on impact, he remained in a coma for two months. After that time, he woke up. Naturally, as everyone foresaw, he became a quadriplegic.
Right away, when he was able to get his voice back, Alex began telling his family and friends that he had seen Jesus, but also the devil. Apparently, during his time in a coma, almost dead, the boy claimed that he had experienced a trip to Paradise that he had been told so much about in his house.
A little over five years passed when in July 2010 both Alex and his father Kevin decided they would write the story of their divine encounter. The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven was published by Tyndale House, a religious publisher.
It was an absolute success, one of the biggest of that house. More than one million sales placed it in the most important book sales rankings in the United States. Its pages told the story of Alex and how his journey to Heaven had been. The narrative was moving. The child's life, his overcoming, his death, and his return from the afterlife shook the readers to the core.
But five years later, it would all come crashing down. " I didn't die. I didn't go to Heaven. I said it because I thought it would attract attention ." She wrote it on her personal blog and left more than one speechless. Especially to those closest to him, who for ten years had heard about his meeting with Jesus, with the " angels who lifted him up"... and even with the devil himself.
Alex's confession was brief. But surprising. And this week he made a complaint against the publisher Tyndale House. In it, he claims that it was Kevin Malarkey who fabricated the whole story.
