Overview
- San Bernardino County prosecutors charged Shelley “Kat” Martin with two counts of murder and charged Darryl Martin, Andre Thomas and Rudy Moreno with one count each tied to the two cases.
- Investigators say ex-congregant Emilio Ghanem vanished in 2023 after leaving the group, and his rented truck was later found burned in the Mojave Desert with evidence consistent with homicide, though his body remains missing.
- Colton police allege the Martins and Andre Thomas kept 4-year-old Timothy Thomas from needed medical care, and the boy died in 2010 of a ruptured appendix while in the Martins’ care.
- Search warrants executed on Dec. 11 in Hemet and Colton followed prior raids that recovered weapons and digital evidence, and police reported an additional arrest related to firearms during the latest searches.
- Officials describe His Way Spirit Led Assemblies as a roughly 50-member, secretive group, and the multiagency investigation remains active after the missing-person case was reclassified as a homicide.