Miss Alabama Zoe Sozo Bethel's Dark Family Past Tortured Her, May Have Prompted Her To Take Drugs, Run Full Speed Before Her Tragic Death
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Zoe Sozo Bethel was overheard praying in the moments leading up to her February 10 fall, and an eyewitness said she saw the 27-year-old jump. Bethel was overcoming a tortured past in a troubled family, which she tried to keep hidden, according to her family.

She was the daughter of two fire-and-brimstone preachers, Orlando and Glynis, who called themselves "The Apostle" and "The Prophetess," according to sources. They took their children all over the South, forcing them to engage in inflammatory homophobic rhetoric and wear T-shirts that read "God Hates Gays" or "God Hates Whores."

Zoe Sozo Bethel's Family Doubt Officials' Thorough Investigation

Kezia, her ex-husband, and her closest friend said this week that the beauty queen was not suicidal and that they believe Miami police have not conducted a thorough investigation into her death, which they believe was odd. The case had been closed, a Miami police spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

Kezia described Zoe Bethel's childhood as "horrible." She said that her mother, who can be seen preaching and "rebuking" others in YouTube videos, had a history of mental illness and frequently kept her children at home, lecturing them about the Bible and their "laziness" for up to 18 hours a day.

According to Kezia and several media stories at the period, their parents would sometimes take their children away for months at a time to regions like Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio, where they would preach, often forcefully. After seeing films from the Westboro Baptist Church, Kezia stated they were motivated.

Westboro Church has been protesting against LGBT people since 1989 and has been labeled a "hyper-Calvinist hate organization," according to the New York Post. As stated in a report after consuming an unknown cannabis chemical and having a "breakdown," a devout Christian beauty queen jumped to her death from an affluent Miami apartment building.

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Miss Alabama Takes Drugs Before Tragic Accident

Authorities said Zoe Sozo Bethel, Miss Alabama 2021 for America Strong, began acting strangely before running at full speed towards a third-floor balcony railing. Based on police report acquired by DailyMail.com, Zoe ingested an "unknown number of unknown suspected drugs" while out with her brother, Santiago Roman, at a restaurant.

A little amount of the chemical was consumed by the victim. Roman inquired about the substance, to which she answered that it was a type of cannabis that helped her relax and was provided to her by a friend,' according to the report.

The two returned to Roman's flat in the seven-story La Piazza Navona condo building in Miami's beachfront Edgewater area, where Zoe expressed her discomfort with the heat.

According to Roman, she was unaware of the balcony railing in front of her. The victim's lower torso collided with the railing, causing her to fall to the first-floor parking lot. The police reported that a female eyewitness witnessed the fall from the parking lot and called 911. Zoe Bethel's death was determined to be an accident rather than a suicide, Daily Mail reported.

Bethel was more than a beauty queen before her untimely death. She was a conservative broadcaster who collaborated with organizations including Project Veritas, Turning Point USA Students for Life of America, and the Falkirk Center at Liberty University.

Bethel posted messages of hope on her Instagram a few weeks before she died, encouraging people to "live life to the fullest." She accompanied a photo of herself wearing a red shirt with a phrase from Joan of Arc, which she claimed was her own.

As the year drew to a close in December, the current Miss Alabama for America wrote a statement saying she was reflecting on her life, as per The Sun.

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