In 1997, Applewhite persuaded 38 followers to kill themselves, telling them that they wouldn't be dying, but leaving their earthly vessels behind. Tonight on NBCsDateline NBC,Dennis Murphy looks into the case of cult leader Daniel Perez, also known as Lou Castro, who told his followers at Angels Landing that he was a 1,000-year-old angel who could see the future and heal their injuries. (Photo courtesy of Oxygen. Wasco residents were frustrated by the cult members, known as Rajneeshees, to begin with, but tensions rose when the Rajneeshees attempted to take over the government of the nearby town of Antelope. In one letter to members, he said, "God created boys and girls able to have children by about 12 years of age.". Eventually, the wreckage would be found and death certificates were issued for Mona, Jim, and Lindsey. He was sentenced to life in prison. The deadly and devastating secrets of this traveling commune will come tumbling out, Friday on #Dateline at 9/8c. Daniel Perez led a commune which believed he could see into the future He was found guilty of killing a member in order to claim life insurance Jury also found Perez, 55, guilty of dozens of. (Photo courtesy of Oxygen. Emily was the 11-year old who witnessed the crime and would eventually reveal to authorities the truth behind the murder of Patricia Hughes. In all, 924 died. You can survive a traumatic event, she told Fox News. [Perez] was telling him, One day youll get your chance to go to the other side,' she said. Cults have made headlines around the world for many years and continue to fascinate in documentaries and popular podcasts. Afterward, she called her sister Sarah who was at the car dealership with Castro crying telling her that Trish fell in the pool. Castro told Sarah that he would meet up with her at a local car dealership and to go ahead without him. Daniel Perez, who used aliases including Lou Castro while he lived in Kansas and other states, is facing trial this week in Sedgwick County District Court on 37 charges, including first-degree. Emily waited 20 minutes and completed the plan. When the apocalypse didn't come, leaders proposed a new date: March 17, 2000. She told them how she was made to wait in an office nearby with her the infant daughter of the deceased. If it werent for them and my husband, I wouldnt have been able to do it.. After a death on the property, police found a pattern where he would take out life insurance policies on people in his circle that would later be cashed in by members. 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. Angel's Landing Cult Mar 6 2022 Length: 1 hr and 1 min Podcast Listen for free View show details Summary Lou Castro (aka Daniel Perez, master manipulator) was a man who seemed to have this ability to draw families to him and convince them of the seemingly impossible. The group referred to their collective as Angels Landing. The first house came with 10 acres of land was purchased by Trish. You can survive a traumatic event, McGrath told Fox News. Tonight on NBC's Dateline NBC, correspondent Dennis Murphy looks into the case of Angel's Landing and cult leader Daniel Perez, also known as Lou Castro, who told his followers he was a. Perez, also known by the name Lou Castro and many other names, convinced his followers he had magical powers. He asked Emily if she would like to be there when it happened. Lou Castro lived extravagantly inKansas with hiscult-likefamily and was found guilty of rape and the murder of Patricia Hughes. Friday on #Dateline at 9/8c, it's the saga of a traveling family involved in most of the seven deadly sins pic.twitter.com/nZd9ctWtTO, Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) August 6, 2020. Perez first attracted law enforcement's attention in 2003 when he was living with a small group of people from mixed backgrounds on a 20-acre property calledAngels Landing. In an interview with Oxygen, Sara McGrath said her mother, a real estate agent who helped Perez find and purchase the land, was one of the first members of his new cult. However, Daniel Perez was not dead. ", The Messed Up Truth About Cult Leader Daniel Perez. Days later, two Solar Temple buildings in Switzerland went up in flames. He allegedly collected over $1 million in insurance payouts following her death. Then they deported him to Mexico. Four crime scenes, thirty-two gunshot wounds, eight members of the Rhoden family left dead in their homes. For well over a decade, conman Daniel Perez convinced a small band of followers into thinking he was possessed by three mostly evil angels, or maybe was an angel, and that he had the keys. Emily tried to get her out but was unable to. You can move on and life can be good after a storm.. In the early 2000s, a man named Lou Castro set up camp in a sprawling area outside Wichita, Kansas. After three months the small group moved back to Wichita, Kansas where they lived in some townhomes while looking for permanent housing. It is also the place where he drowned Patricia Hughes to collect on her life insurance money. In 2015, Sara told Fox News what it was like to survive a cult, talking specifically about the types of trauma she endured. Daniel Perez Now: Where Is Cult Leader Lou Castro Today in 2022? It does not specify what type of job he is working. Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for May 1, Kansas Bureau of Investigations sex offender registry, Jay Leno shows off 'new face' after suffering third-degree burns, Kylie Jenners ex Travis Scott nightclub incident: New York police investigating alleged bar brawl, Ricou Browning, 'Creature from the Black Lagoon' star, dead at 93, 'Wheel of Fortune' contestant scolded by Pat Sajak, ripped apart by fans, Jillian Michaels suffered a spinal injury in secret that left her crawling due to pain, 'Friends' star Courteney Cox almost left Hollywood in the '80s, father told her it was 'time to pack it in'. 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. Daniel Perez, AKA Lou Castro. Thankfully, Perez was sent to jail for . The stories behind these cults' origins, leaders and demises are riveting and often disturbing. The episode ofDateline,titled Angels & Demons, features interviews with Daniel Perez, commune members Sara and Emily as well as with Detective Ron Goodwyn and more. Sara didn't like Perez at all, she told producers, but her mom felt a bond with him and was convinced he was anangel, who could tell you when you were going to die. He also had a camera placed in the bathroom to watch her change. For 15 years, Daniel Perez a self-described "seer" who claimed to be a 1,000-year-old angel led a traveling group of mostly women from state to state. Police identified the arrested members as Ryan Kramer, Christopher Royer, Sarah Rudolph, Karin Raymond, Jason Castillo, John Robertson and Obdulia Franco. Former cult member Sara McGrath, who lived with Angel's Landing leader Daniel Perez, recounts the untimely death of her mother By Alyssa Ray May 01, 2020 10:00 AM Tags Oxygen A series of. The fix her part of his plan was to have sex with her on an ongoing basis. On September 11, 2011, Perez/Castro/Venegas was charged in Sedgwick County District Court in Kansas with one count of first-degree murder for Tricia Hughess death, ten counts of rape, ten counts of aggravated criminal sodomy, three counts of aggravated assault, eleven counts of making false information, and one count of criminal threat. Manson's followers were mostly young women. When paramedics arrived they were surprised to see Trish floating in the shallow end of the pool, but believed the story that Emily told that Trish had rushed into the pool to save her daughter, but slipped hitting her head and drowned. READ NEXT: Daniel Perez Now: Where Is Cult Leader Lou Castro Today in 2022? Though Sara had a bad feeling after their first interaction, she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt due to her mother. Kidnapping Survivor Abby Hernandez Reveals How She Never Lost Hope. Sedgwick County/Kansas Department of Corrections In fact, he would also consistently manipulate her into doing his bidding, as is evident with her involuntary participation in Patricias murder. We begin in Texas in the mid-1990s. Sara and her younger sister Emily were barely teenagers when their mother, Jennifer Huston, packed their bags up and moved into Angels Landing in Kansas to be a part of Daniel Perezs cult. The girl said she actually heard a splash and a scream and then saw Perez wet and out of breath. Daniel Perezs cult was motivated by greed, investigators learned. The group moved from state to state, making it difficult to track Lou Castro and his crimes. Before Raniere's arrest, in 2017, a New York Times expos accused NXIVM of fronting a cult called "DOS" or "The Vow." The episode ofDateline,titled Angels & Demons, features interviews with Daniel Perez, commune members Sara and Emily as well as with Detective Ron Goodwyn and more. He also hosted parties at Angels Landing in which the local police were always welcome. The group didnt stay there long and within a few months moved to Wichita, Kansas. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. An addition to the small group was Jennifer Hutson. Manson was convicted of nine counts of first-degree murder. This "angel," however, wasactually namedDaniel Perez, and was found guilty in February 2015 of fraud, child exploitation, rape and first-degree murder. Angels Landing is one of the most popular destinations in Zion National Park. But it didnt take long for things to turn., HARVEY WEINSTEINS EX-ASSISTANT EXPLAINS IN DOC WHY IT TOOK HER OVER 20 YEARS TO REVEAL ALLEGED ATTEMPTED RAPE, Sara McGrath with her mother during happier times. The community attracted American and international followers, some of whom left families and high-paying jobs to meditate at the feet of Rajneesh. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. His followers were the ones that had taken on this responsibility. At his trial, she even said that she was made to tape an 8-year old undressing as well at least twice. The 55-year-old is on trial on charges that include first-degree murder, rape, sodomy, sexual exploitation of a child, aggravated assault, criminal. He somehow appeared wise.. Powered by. Through their investigation and Daniels tip, they found out that Castro had assumed a new identity Joe Venegas and was now residing in Columbia, Tennessee. Soon after, the compound erupted in a massive blaze. He eventually attracted several thousand followers. I didnt realize I was in a cult until I had been out for a few years.. My mom just kind of accepted all of these whimsical things that he would tell her. Sheela fled to Switzerland, where she served time for her crimes, and later opened nursing homes. named the co-beneficiary. However, on investigating the money trail, the police discovered that he himself had not signed the papers for the property or for the multitude of luxury cars that he owned. The girl said in truth, she heard a splash and a scream. Lafferty, a member of a renegade polygamist cult called the "School of Prophets," killed the woman because of her opposition to plural marriage. There was something about that Lou Castro guy #Dateline tonight at 9/8c. Megan and Castro were also dating at this time and Megan moved into Castros home. He had become depressed and was talking to Perez more often, one of the survivors, Sara, told Oxygen. Sedgwick County Sheriff's OfficesDetective Ron Goodwyn had his eye on Perez already, and when he heard of 26-year-old Hughes's death, he took an active interest in finding out just what was happening atAngels Landing. Daniel Perez, also known as Lou Castro, has been incarcerated at the Lansing County Department of Corrections since April 1, 2018. McGowan has said that when her father learnedBerg was advocating for child-adult sexual relations, he packed up his three daughters and escaped to the U.S. After Berg's death in 1984, the group tried to distance itself from his endorsement of pedophilia. On the stand, he said the beating he received in Mexico had caused him to have amnesia for years. Patricia Hughes had a $1.24 million dollar life insurance policy payout from her husband Brian. In this photo, the body of one of the victims, actress Sharon Tate, is taken from her house in California in 1969. Although the siblings have suffered humungously because of the criminal Daniel Perez, they feel that they should be the light that counters his darkness. The sisters are trying their hardest to move past the massive abuse they have faced at his hands. One such episode, 'Angels and Demons,' presented the heinous crimes committed by self-proclaimed psychic Daniel Perez, whose known alias is Lou Castro (amongst others.) With those certificated, Trish was paid the death benefits. | Heavy.com, Watch Dateline: Secrets Uncovered Episode: Angels and Demons NBC.com. PatriciaHughes,whowas like a second mother to the girls,had slipped and fallen in the pool. Their mother believed that he was an angel who could predict peoples death. Oxygen reports authorities could not find any information about the man who called himself "Lou Castro." Earlier this year, commune members Sara McGrath and her sister Emily opened up about what it was like to live in the cult and talked about Lou Perez, who was regularly raping Sara for years under the guise of fixing her. Commune members also report that he told the members that he needed to have sex with young girls to stay alive. Thirteen people died, and thousands were injured in the attack. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Angel's Landing. 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