Former member of cult-like California religious group speaks out after man’s disappearance turns into possible murder case

A former member of a religious group in the alleged Rivside County, which resembles Riferside’s worship as the disappearance of a man seen last time alive in 2023, is being investigated now as a potential murder.

Emilio Ghanem, 40, was reported in May 2023. He was a former member of the Hemit -based religious group entitled “Associations led by the spirit of his way.”

According to his family, Ghanem spent the last two decades of his life as a religious member in the religious group, whose members worked for a pest control company called Fullshielle Inc. , Now known as “Maxguard”, according to the Ridlands Police Department.

In April 2023, Ghanem left both the religious group and Maxagard and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to reunite with his family and start a new chapter in his life. His sisters said that Ghanem began his pest control company in Nashville and returned to Sokal to open the satellite office with the intention of restoring some of his old customers.

His family said that this step caught the attention of Maxagard, who served him by stopping a speech and stopped on May 8, 2023, accusing him of competing with the company for business.

During his visit to the inner Empire, Ganim was staying in Airbnb in Mourino Valley. On May 25, 2023, he met with another former coffee member in Starbucks, Redlands. The former member of Mary Beth McDadi spoke from KTLA, but he did not want to get to know safety concerns.

After the Starbucks meeting, Ghanem had plans to meet a high -level member of the religious group, believing that the person wanted to help leave the organization as it was, but the former member who met him in Starbucks on that day believed he was a hoax.

“Emilio asked me about it on occasions, what I thought about,” he remembered. “When Emilio was telling me that he would help him escape and get out of there, I never felt this is true. I felt that it would end up badly and I think this is what happened.”

Ghanem was driving the rented Pick App, which later captured surveillance cameras in Grand Terras. However, this was the last time it was alive.

For years, the Ghanem case was considered the issue of missing persons. On August 1, 2025, the case turned into a possible murder after the Ridlands police found the Ghanem truck. Inside, evidence was found regarding the case, but the investigators have not revealed details about this discovery.

They are now focusing on their achievement on “Way Spirit Lader” and leaders, Reverend Daril Mozic Martin, 57, and his wife, Shelly Billy “Catherine” Martin, 62, who calls herself a prophet. The former member said that the group’s followers believe that the Prophet is God on earth.

He said: “It is God, one, I think you can say.” “So when the Spirit of God comes to it, everything changes in it, like its voice changes.”

He claims that the couple delivers the ministry like worship.

And he said about their orders: “If the Prophet or the priest said,” You are doing this, “then you are doing it.” “There was no choice.”

He also said they were constantly preparing for the end of the world.

“They have supplies, so if you have to be a fugitive or not to eat, or the monster mark, there was a lot of food for the main members,” I explained.

He said that many members live in large groups in various properties throughout the internal empire, but all children lived with Martins in their big home.

“At an early age, they were living there with the main priests and following any rules they had,” he said. “He was always young children.”

He said that any children disobey adults will be punished.

The former member decided to leave the group because he said that the priorities changed when they became largely focused on making money, and most of them came from Maxguard, pest control company. However, he claimed that the company initially started by Ghanem.

He said that the company has grown quickly and was winning approximately $ 2 million a year. According to what was reported, all money will be granted to priests.

He said: “Emilio was very happy because he started it because he was helping the ministry to go out.” “She was feeding the ministry and bringing good money to them. So although Emilio would do between 20 and 35,000 dollars per month in completing the road and selling things, according to what I understand, he told me that he would get $ 100 a week.”

Since the Ghanem truck was found, with the help of the FBI, the police have carried out the group’s Hemet’s inspection orders, which are believed to be based and the group’s AZA property.

The police said: “During Hemit and Anza inspections, investigators have regained many illegal firearms, including fully automatic rifles, advanced short rifles, and” unaccounted ghost rifles “with electronic devices and other digital evidence,” the police said.

On August 27, 2025, the police confirmed that Daril Mosic Martin was arrested on illegal weapons charges, and his wife, Chile Billy Cat, was arrested Martin, but she was later released because of what the police described as a “medical ring.”

Many others have also been arrested or arrested, although they were later released and no charges have yet been charged.

In two separate cases, investigators have relationships with the group of associations led by the spirit of his way.

In Colon’s police are watching new threads in the Timothy Thomas case, a 4 -year -old boy who died in January 2010 after his parents presented the child’s custody to the religious group.

The police said, “At the time of his death, a temporary nursery was signed … from his parents to” Way Spirit Ladblies “leaders. The San Bernardino Provincial Judge included the cause of the boy’s death as” naturally “.

In the second case, Ridlands investigators are working with Clairemont police to investigate the disappearance of Robin Moreno, 49, from Peres, who was one time member in the religious group. He disappeared in 2017 and the last time was seen at the residence of Clairemont, which is associated with his associations, which led her in the spirit of his way.

Anyone with information about Ghanem’s disappearance is urged to contact the Ridlands police interrogator office on 909-551-4424.

Anyone with information about Thomas’s death can call the Colon Police Department at 909-370-5140. Those who have information about the Moreno case can contact the Clairemont police department at 909-399-5411.