Religious Cult Members In IE Charged With Murder Of 4-Year-Old Boy, Missing Nashville Man

INLAND EMPIRE, CA — A joint investigation involving law enforcement from Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and the state of California has led to the arrests of members of an Inland Empire-based religious cult who are now charged with murdering a 4-year-old child in 2010 and a 40-year-old man who mysteriously disappeared more than two years ago.

The Dec. 11 arrests of four members of His Way Spirit Led Assemblies in Colton and Hemet were announced Monday in a joint news conference involving law enforcement agencies from across the Inland Empire.

The religious group’s leader, Shelley Bailey "Kat" Martin, 62, and member Rudy Moreno, 43, were each charged Monday in San Bernardino County with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of 40-year-old Emilio Salem Ghanem.

Martin was also charged Monday with murder in the death of 4-year-old Timothy Thomas. His Way Spirit Led Assemblies co-leader Darryl Muzic Martin, 58, and former group member Andre Thomas, 48, were also charged Monday with murder in connection with the boy's death in Colton.

Andre Thomas is the child's father, and Darryl Muzic Martin is the husband of Shelley Bailey "Kat" Martin. The boy's parents placed him in the Martins' care. He later died from a ruptured appendix after the Martins allegedly failed to seek medical care despite knowing the boy was sick, authorities said.

The His Way Spirit Led Assemblies members are also under investigation into the 2019 disappearance of Ruben Moreno, who was 43 when he vanished. Defendant Rudy Moreno is the victim's brother. There were no updates Tuesday on that case.

The investigation into Ghanem's disappearance began more than two years ago. The Nashville man was last seen May 25, 2023, at a Starbucks restaurant on Redlands Boulevard in Redlands. A rented Nissan Frontier pickup that Ghanem was driving was spotted on surveillance video later that day in the nearby city of Grand Terrace.

After Ghanem was reported missing by his family, the burned-out truck and evidence were later recovered in the Mojave Desert. There was no sign of Ghanem.

He had worked for Fullshield, Inc., a pest control business owned and operated by His Way Spirit Led Assemblies. The company later operated under the name “Maxguard," according to the Redlands Police Department.

After aligning with His Way Spirit Led Assemblies for two decades, Ghanem left California to be closer to family in Nashville, but he returned to the Inland Empire in May 2023.

Ghanem was no longer a member of the religious group, but His Way Spirit Led Assemblies allegedly accused him of trying to poach local pest control clients. On May 8, 2023, Ghanem was served with a cease-and-desist letter. He disappeared before the month was up. His body has not been found.

It's unclear what evidence prosecutors have in the killings. In August, Redlands police detectives and other law enforcement agencies served a search warrant on an Anza residence in connection with Ghanem's disappearance. The home was located in the 57000 block of Forestry Road, a desolate area about 37 miles directly east of downtown Temecula.

Eight people at the home were briefly detained and later released at the scene.

A few days prior, a search warrant was served in the 26000 block of Pleasant Street in Hemet in connection with the investigation into His Way Spirit Led Assemblies. Four people were detained but later released; two people were arrested on unrelated charges, Redlands police said.

Greed and control were motives in the death cases, San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson told reporters on Monday: Control over the secretive nature of a little boy's preventable death and greed in the Ghanem case.

"I think [His Way Spirit Led Assemblies] is a tightly controlled religious organization that is centered around their beliefs and also centered around being a business," Anderson said.

Redlands Police Chief Rachel Tolber extended condolences Monday to Ghanem’s family and friends.

"They have faced an incredibly difficult situation and the progression from hope to heartbreak over the past two years as this case has moved from a missing person to a homicide investigation," the chief said. "Our hearts are with them during this difficult time."

The Colton Police Department was the lead agency in the Timothy Thomas death investigation.

"The arrests and charges filed against the suspects responsible for the death of 4-year-old Timothy 'Timo' Thomas are the first steps toward long-awaited justice," Colton Police Chief Anthony Vega said Monday. "Although Timo's life was cut short 15 years ago, the circumstances of his death still weigh heavily on our officers who never gave up on his case. The Colton Police Department has never forgotten Timo."

Some other unnamed His Way Spirit Led Assemblies members were arrested Monday on suspicion of weapons violations, while other members have not been linked to any crime. At the time of the Dec. 11 arrests, victim advocates from the San Bernardino County District Attorney Bureau of Victim Services and DA crisis response K9 assisted those members with food, water, and contacts for additional resources, according to authorities.

In addition to the Redlands Police Department, Colton Police Department, San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, and the California Department of Justice, the Riverside Sheriff’s Office was involved in the investigations.