the demons identified themselves as Lucifer, Cain, Judas Iscariot, Belial, Legion, Hitler and Nero, among others. They also stated that Michel was finally freed of demonic possession resulting from the exorcism just before her death. Bishop Stangl said that he was not aware of Michel's alarming health condition when he approved of the exorcism and did not testify in court. In April 1978, the Michels and the two priests were convicted of negligent homicide but were given suspended prison sentences, and they were ordered to share the costs of the legal proceedings. The sentences have been described as stiffer than those requested by the prosecutor, who had asked that the priests only be fined and that the parents be found guilty but not punished. By approving the ancient exorcism rite, the church drew public and media attention. According to author John M. Duffey, the case was a misidentification of mental illness. In a conference several years later, German bishops retracted the claim that she was possessed. Exhumation and aftermath After the trial, the Michels asked the authorities for permission to exhume the remains of their daughter because she had been buried in undue hurry in a cheap coffin. Almost two years after the burial, on 25 February 1978, her remains were replaced in a new oak coffin lined with tin. The official reports state that the body bore signs consistent with deterioration of a corpse of that age. The family and the priests were discouraged from viewing Michel's remains. Father Renz later stated that he had been prevented from entering the mortuary. Michel's gravesite remains a pilgrimage site. The number of officially sanctioned exorcisms decreased in Germany following the ordeal despite Pope Benedict XVI's support for wider use of the practice as compared to that of his predecessor Pope John Paul II, who in 1999 tightened the rules to permit only rare cases for exorcisms. On 6 June 2013, a fire engulfed the house where Michel had lived. Although the local police determined that it was a case of arson, some locals attributed the fire to the exorcism case. In popular culture Three films, The Exorcism of Emily Rose (which focuses on both the court case and the exorcism), Requiem and Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes, are loosely based on Michel's story. First Issue, the debut album by post-punk band Public Image Ltd, contains a song titled "Annalisa" that is based