It was during their relationship that Daniel Perez convinced K.L. Sara McGrath was brought into Perez's family by her mom, a real estate agent who first helped Lou Castro find the right property when he came to town. READ NEXT: Angels Landing Commune: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. The witnesses testified to the groups transient movements over a 15-year period that included a number of states (Texas, South Dakota, Missouri, Kansas, Tennessee, and Mexico). He was able to look at bank balances for the majority of the group members. The case of Kansas cult killer Daniel Perez, also known as Lou Castro, is being explored on Sunday. In fact, most of his other crimes also took place on Angels Landing. In August 2006, Sherri Cox and her 8-year-old daughter, C.C. Then, she saw Perez, wet and out of breath. Daniel Perez takes the stand in his trial. I dont think its a very common thing. Sedgwick County/Kansas Department of Corrections. Investigators would later learn Hughes was collecting millions of dollars in life insurance payouts, and that six deaths ruled as accidents were connected to the cult. He ran the Angel's Landing Commune back in the early 2000s where he would manipulate and murder to help finance his lavish lifestyle. Angels Landing Commune: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Their mother believed that he was an angel who could predict peoples death. His extreme spending didnt seem to stop with just the small group at Angels Landing. All the vehicles had vanity license plates with Angel 1, Angel 2, and so forth. By 2007, the acts of sexual violence increased with all three girls. According to Oxygen, police first began to be suspicious of Perez in 2003 when he was living with a small group of people on a 20-acre property called Angels Landing. Sara McGrath is thankful she has been able to move on with her life after surviving a cult. Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. When other 16-year-olds were experiencing the freedom of learning how to drive and planning parties with their friends, I was planning my own death every day when I drove to school., Tonight on #Dateline at 9/8c pic.twitter.com/Jogo66ufqj, Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) August 7, 2020. According to the reports, eye witness statements reported that there was no way Jennifer didnt see she was heading straight into the oncoming truck. Castro then came to Emily and told her to wait until he met up with Sarah at a local car dealership and then call 911. When she went to court to testify against her abuser, Sara was terrified. Investigators would later learn Hughes was collecting millions of dollars in life insurance payouts, and that six deaths ruled as accidents were connected to the cult. And the FBI contacted them back.. The group broke off from the Russian Orthodox church. He collected more than $1 million in life insurance payouts from Hughes death alone. In 2003, 26-year-old Patricia Hughes, a follower, drowned atthe compound. In Goodwyns mind, he believed that Lou Castro had influenced Jennifer to commit suicide. K.L. In the beginning, it was like a huge support system and everybody was close, she said. Many who go there want to experience untamed adventure and get a classic photograph. Actor Joaquin Phoenix was born into the Children of God. Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. Judge Joseph Bribiesca ordered that Perez would serve his sentences consecutively, making it so Perez will not be eligible for parole until he is 120 years old. Later, Jones had his followers kill themselves by drinking a cyanide-laced drink. I was 10 when my childhood was over, one witness said during his sentencing hearing. When Sara was in her mid-teens and Emily was around 11, their mother brought them into Perezs family. According to her interview with Oxygen, Sara did not like Perez at all, but her mom was convinced he was an angel and was able to predict death. Castro then told her that he would bend time so that she would not be there, but would be there as it happened. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Mike Hutmacher), OWNERS OF LATE CHILD STAR JUDITH BARSIS HOME SAY THEY FELT A DARK PRESENCE IN MURDER HOUSE FLIP'. I did not reach out and talk to anybody about it, she said. Aum Shinrikyo was a Japanese doomsday cult founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984. The outlet noted that the Kansas Bureau of Investigations sex offender registry showed Perezs victims range in age from 8 to 16. Daniel Perez Now: Where Is Cult Leader Lou Castro Today in 2022. In 1995, members carried out a sarin nerve gas attack in the Tokyo subway system, possibly in an attempt to bring about the apocalypse, and possibly to keep authorities from shutting down the group. In that time, Perez had one disciplinary violation, according to his prison record. He also claimed upon cross-examination by district attorney Marc Bennett, that he had no idea where the money had come from that paid for his lifestyle and that of the other group members. When Brian died in a freak accident atthe autobody shop where he worked in March2006, Goodwyndove into every bit of personal and financial information he could oneveryone living atAngels Landing. Lafferty claimed he committed the killing after a revelation from God. They believed that he was a reincarnation of Jesus, and he taught that a race war was coming. In 1993, the ATF and Texas National Guard raided the Waco compound. Actress Rose McGowan was also born into Children of God. For years, this place would serve as the home for the makeshift family that Perez had created. Four crime scenes, thirty-two gunshot wounds, eight members of the Rhoden family left dead in their homes. My mom had a journal and she had written how she felt she needed to protect Lou -- or Daniel, McGrath reflected. Sedgwick County District Judge Joseph Bribiesca on Tuesday. To establish his alibi, Perez drove out to a dealership and instructed the girl to go to the pool after 20 minutes and call 911. As the twos relationship deepened Sarah shared with Daniel about all of the group members deaths along with the group expectation that they serve Castro, but most importantly that the group was supported financially by the life insurance payouts they had received over the years. Who was Daniel Perez? On September 5, 2018, officials said he violated a published order, considered a class 3 offense, which is the least serious type of offense, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Though initially from Texas, Perez settled down here in Kansas with his followers. With the help of the district attorney and his assistant, I was able to do it. The 55-year-old is on trial on charges that include first-degree murder, rape, sodomy, sexual exploitation of a child, aggravated assault, criminal. There, he would murder at least one of his followers and repeatedly rape children on his commune. Among his victims was Patricia Hughes, 26. So it surprised many when he had been crushed to death under a vehicle when his jack slipped. By the time police tracked him down, they found Constanzo and another follower both fatally shot. (Photo courtesy of Oxygen), EX-JEHOVAHS WITNESS RECOUNTS SEXUAL ABUSE IN DOC, ORGANIZATION DENIES TRYING TO COVER IT UP. They led to millions of dollars in life insurance payouts. He claimed that he could make it rain, or see someones past, present, and future lives and could communicate with the other side.. Kidnapping Survivor Abby Hernandez Reveals How She Never Lost Hope. What is Angel's Landing? Jennifer would die in a car accident when she ran into a fully loaded hauling truck and was killed instantly. My mom just kind of accepted all of these whimsical things that he would tell her. In all, 924 died. Now they preach that they are in a war of good versus evil. They said they would commit suicide if authorities intervened. Through interviews with Sara, her younger sister and other members of the commune, they uncovered Perez's shocking methods of manipulation and abuse and he was charged with 28 felonies. Joaquin, age 9, is at center. He had become depressed and was talking to Perez more often, Sara told Oxygen. Insurance salesman Bill Hatton confirmed Daniel Perez collected $2 million from the death of Patricia Hughes alone. The Associated Press contributed to this report. (Photo courtesy of Oxygen. An addition to the small group was Jennifer Hutson. Perez told his followers that he needed to have sex with young girls to stay alive. Dateline explores those crimes that have taken the country by a storm. . Castro/Venegas was taken into custody that day. At first, Angels landing was like a kids dream More on #Dateline tonight at 9/8c with @Dateline_Dennis. For more on the shockingAngels Landing story, including Sara's firsthand account of living with Daniel Perez and the incredible lengths law enforcement went to catch him, watch Deadly Cults atOxygen.comand airingSundays at 7/6conOxygen. The cult was never banned in Japan, and lives on in offshoots including Aleph and Hikari no Wa, which have an estimated 1,500 followers today. The girl said in truth, she heard a splash and a scream. They are one count first-degree murder, eight counts of rape, seven counts of aggravated criminal sodomy, three of aggravated assault, one of sexual exploitation of a child, and eight of making false information. In the beginning, it was like a huge support system and everybody was close, McGrath said. He was very charismatic and quite the talker. Prosecutors said at Perezs trial that he aimed to use life insurance proceeds from the deaths of his followers to live a lavish lifestyle, The Wichita Eagle reported. In 2007, about 30 members of the group holed up in a cave in Russia's Penza region. Berg also encouraged sex with children. Having put the pedophile behind bars, the 35-year has somewhat moved on with her life, fortunately, and became Mrs. Sara McGrath. And more horrors occurred behind closed doors. Soon after, new more expensive vehicles showed up on the driveway. Emily would tell investigators about Trishs drowning and that would end up being enough to put Castro away. The commune leader is accused of killing Hughes, whose 2003 death was initially believed to be an. Daniel Perez was back in Corpus Christi, Texas, but had assumed the new identity of Lou Castro. Charges would be eventually filed against Perez for the rapes, but the case was dismissed when Perez was found dead in Mexico. There were also multiple houses built on the scene. He had prepared a fabricated story that had cleared his name since initially, the police thought that her death was an accident. Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Sarah would tell investigators about the abuse she suffered for years from Lou Castro. In court Friday, the 23-year-old woman who is the key witness told jurors that about a week before Hughes died, Perez foretold her death. I didnt realize I was in a cult until I had been out for a few years.. Sara found solace in the arms of the man who would become her husband, Daniel McGrath. The man, who led a commune known as Angel's Landing, collected millions of dollars in. She was also the first African American to attend the Oscars. Prosecutors said at his trial that he aimed to use life insurance proceeds from the deaths of his followers to live a lavish lifestyle. It turned out that he was collecting the payments from the life insurance policies of the deceased members, and this could explain how he was able to afford such an extravagant property as well. It earned the nickname cowtown as it was where cowboys would bring their livestock up from Texas to the railroads. Castro was never named as a beneficiary or named in any of the policies. ), GREEN RIVER KILLER GARY RIDGWAY IS STILL HIDING MANY 'DARK SECRETS' DESPITE CONFESSION, SAYS PROSECUTOR IN DOCUMENTARY. Live a lavish lifestyle he collected more than $ 1 million in life insurance proceeds from the of... 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