In January 2002, Castro had forced Emily to have oral, vaginal, and anal sex with him. He wrote them a letter saying that he believed there were financial crimes going on as well as lots of abuse, she recalled. Among his victims was Patricia Hughes, 26. Hernandez might need to play every day for Boston, and Fenway Park remains a soft landing. Sarah would tell investigators about the abuse she suffered for years from Lou Castro. [Perez] is either very unlucky, with close friends dying, or hes involved in some way in making it happen, Sedgwick County Sheriffs Offices Detective Ron Goodwyn told Oxygen. Goodwyn began working with federal agents and found the identity Perez was likely about to inhabit next, in Tennessee. Trish had also moved into a nearby apartment complex. They asked Lou if he could look at them and tell them if he had seen any of them around. The trial took place in February 2015 and several witnesses from the group testified for the prosecution including Daniel, K.L., Emily, Cody, Michelle, Marilynn, David, Megan, Sarah, C.C., and C.C. In 2015, Daniel Perez, who was also known as Lou Castro, was found guilty on dozens of criminal counts, including sex crimes and murder. His investigation was because Castro had drawn attention to himself with his parties and unexplained wealth. Life atAngels Landing took a dark turn after a few months, however. As reported by The Wichita Eagle, he was subsequently sentenced to two terms of life in prison. PRINCE ANDREW ACCUSER VIRGINIA ROBERTS GIUFFRE TO STAR IN NETFLIX DOC ABOUT JEFFREY EPSTEIN, Sara McGrath said that in the beginning, Angel's Landing offered a support system -- until things quickly turned. Castro was always present when these policies were taken out and had directed who would be taking policies, how much the policies would be for, and who would be named the beneficiaries. It was in Angel's Landing that Emily had moved into the master bedroom with Daniel Perez. At his trial, she even said that she was made to tape an 8-year old undressing as well at least twice. When the apocalypse didn't come, leaders proposed a new date: March 17, 2000. Angel's Landing is a 20-acre compound in Sedgwick County, Kansas. 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. He pleaded not guilty. (Photo courtesy of Oxygen. Daniel Perez sits in a Sedgwick County courtroom during the first day of his murder trial on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 in Wichita, Kan. Perez, 55, is charged with first-degree premeditated. Where Are Sara and Emily from Dateline's Angels and Demons Now? In his profession unexplained wealth usually meant drugs. They changed their surname from Bottom to Phoenix, signaling their new beginning, and moved from Venezuela to the United States. The group rented a mansion in Southern California, where members took phenobarbital mixed with applesauce and washed it down with vodka, then put plastic bags over their heads. NXIVM founder Keith Raniere was accused of running an abusive sex cult through his Albany-based seminar company. Several former members have alleged they were sexually assaulted and beaten as children. He claims that Trish had found him and had taken him to some people that cared for him until he recovered. 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. In interviews she granted for "Wild Wild Country," she largely spoke kindly of Rajneesh, who died in 1990. In all, 74 cult members and former cult members died. He. Sedgwick County/Kansas Department of Corrections The 55-year-old is on trial on charges that include first-degree murder, rape, sodomy, sexual exploitation of a child, aggravated assault, criminal. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Here, a soldier views the burned remains. Join us in the Ol' Dirty Basement as we cover cult killer Lou Castro. I wasnt sure that I was going to be able to do it. pic.twitter.com/aps7CzzYu8, Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) August 6, 2020. "I made choices I will forever regret," she said, telling the judge she was filled with "remorse and guilt.". (Photo courtesy of Oxygen. . The man, who led a commune known as Angel's Landing, collected millions of dollars in. Some were shot, some were found with bags over their heads and some had been injected with tranquilizers. On April 21, 2010, a search warrant was executed for Venegass Tennessee residence. From that search, investigators discovered 11 firearms, 2 wallets that contained identification for Lou Castro and Joe Venegas along with a social security card and birth certificate for Joe Venegas. David Koresh began leading the group in 1987, abandoning many of the original teachings and adopting the belief that the end of the world was near. Here, women prepare a communal meal in a Children of God mess hall in 1971. The rapes continued even after the family moved. Manson's followers were mostly young women. There was an autopsy conducted with the coroner finding that Trish had a blunt force injury to her head, but based upon witness statements of her being seen slipping and hitting her head then drowning her death was ruled accidental. Sheela fled to Switzerland, where she served time for her crimes, and later opened nursing homes. He had convinced the group that he needed someone "pure" to share his bed as he was a "seer" and needed a young female virgin to take care of him or he would die. Both Emily and Sarah being young and impressionable believed what the adults were telling them. Daniel Perezs cult was motivated by greed, officials learned through their nine-year investigation. Check out what's clicking today in entertainment. Emily waited 20 minutes and completed the plan. The charges include rape, aggravated criminal sodomy, sexual exploitation of a child, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and murder. Castro was never named as a beneficiary or named in any of the policies. With this new name investigators were able to see that Joe Venegas had opened a new bank account in Tennessee. Angel's Landing. K.L. Oxygen reports FBI agents discovered the man calling himself Lou Castro was actually David Perez. Charges would be eventually filed against Perez for the rapes, but the case was dismissed when Perez was found dead in Mexico. Castro immediately took an interest in the young girl and she posed provocatively in a swimsuit as he took pictures. Nettles died of liver cancer in 1985, but Applewhite (seen here) continued to lead the group. The cult collapsed after authorities deported Rajneesh and convicted some of his staff, including secretary Ma Anand Sheela (seen here), of orchestrating a food-poisoning scheme against locals. In addition to providing Perez with a steady income, his predictions of the deaths helped convince his followers that he was a prophet. pic.twitter.com/JBtWCvFObn. In June 2003, a woman named Patricia Hughes died in a freak accident. Five more members died in a burned Quebec house in 1997. Casto wasnt single for long as he had met a woman named Mona Griffith who happened to live in the same apartment complex as him at the time. Only Castro, Trish, Emily, Sarah, and Nicole were at Angels Landing that day. All the vehicles had vanity license plates with Angel 1, Angel 2, and so forth. or redistributed. Listen to the story of how one man conned his way to a lifestyle of leisure by convincing others that he alone had the power to bring them back to life. In 2007, about 30 members of the group holed up in a cave in Russia's Penza region. Kramer and Raymond were released from jail on personal recognizance bonds, with more hearings scheduled for later this month. Joseph Di Mambro's gun was found during the investigation. If it werent for them and my husband, I wouldnt have been able to do it., He was sentenced to two life sentences in prison. Dateline explores those crimes that have taken the country by a storm. Trish would tell others that when he was young Castro had died and when he came back he had these powers. Brian was a diesel mechanic and from those that knew him, he was always safety conscious when working under vehicles. He had prepared a fabricated story that had cleared his name since initially, the police thought that her death was an accident. The cult, based on New Age spiritualism, drew followers in Switzerland, France, and Canada. Then, in 1995, a Solar Temple building in the Swiss Alps was found burned down with 16 bodies inside. Tonight on NBC'sDateline NBC, correspondent Dennis Murphy looks into the case of Angel's Landing and cult leader Daniel Perez, also known as Lou Castro. She was just sucked into it. Daniel Perez was back in Corpus Christi, Texas, but had assumed the new identity of Lou Castro. As reported by Columbia Daily Herald, authorities linked Daniel Perez to a total of six accidental deaths, for which Perez collected an estimated $4.2 million. Emily was 10-years-old at the time. I guess he appeared innocent or as someone who cared too much. READ NEXT: Daniel Perez Now: Where Is Cult Leader Lou Castro Today in 2022? The case of Daniel U. Perez is explored on Oxygen's 'Deadly Cults' true-crime docuseries. The girl said she actually heard a splash and a scream and then saw Perez wet and out of breath. Here, attorneys representing Raniere prepare to hold a news conference after he was arrested on sex trafficking charges in March 2018. She, like her sister, had faced abuse at his hands. Was he clairvoyant? The girl told investigators that she was 11 years old when Perez told her to lie to police, saying Hughes had fallen and drowned in the pool. Sarah would later state on the show Deadly Cults that Lou Castro told her he had to fix her so that she would be able to get married and have babies someday. Days later, two Solar Temple buildings in Switzerland went up in flames. First published on June 15, 2018 / 2:32 PM. Daniel Perez, AKA Lou Castro. The Manson Family was a commune and cult created by Charles Manson in California in the 1960s. Columbia Daily Herald reports he was ultimately found guilty on one count of first-degree murder, one count of sexual exploitation of a child, three counts of aggravated assault, seven counts of aggravated sodomy, eight counts of rape, and eight counts of making false statements. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. In 2004, Brian, Jennifer, K.L., and another woman, Megan Harbert had taken life insurance policies out on their lives. Daniel U. Perez, who went by the name Lou Castro, was the leader of a commune living there. You can survive a traumatic event, she told Fox News. Jennifer would end up divorcing her husband and moving her and the girls to Wichita, Kansas in June 2001. moved to Lees Summit, Missouri. The group believed that the apocalypse would occur on Dec. 31, 1999, and to avoid damnation, members had to follow the Ten Commandments very strictly. Born Daniel Perez, the moniker was created only after he fled Texas. Here, locals and relatives of the cult victims wait in a Ugandan church compound during a mass burial in 2000. However, there was little information linking Perez to the deaths. Goodwyn called it the most bizarre story he'd everheard butsaid Perez's conviction was probably the most amazing feeling in my law enforcement career.. Although local authorities were again hampered by a lack of evidence, they strongly suspected Daniel Perez was involved. It was extremely scary, she said. Later Perez would state that he pled guilty to the charges and was given probation. Lou Castro was a man with a shadowy past who somehow convinceda number ofpeople that he was an angel,could heal the sick and see into the future. After that Castro started to get nervous telling Sarah that they were trying to get him. Lou took off to look at houses in Tennessee. Daniel Perez is currently incarcerated in Kansas'Lansing Correctional Facility. He collected more than $1 million in life insurance payouts from Hughes death alone. Who was Daniel Perez? In Columbia, he tried to pass himself off as Joe Venegas, an alias he used to open the bank account after using the name Lou Castro and living on a 20-acre spread in Kansas known as "Angel's. She eventually began dating a man named Daniel McGrath. More than 900 people died at Jonestown. Sara became even more concerned when some of Perez's more disturbing predictions came true. Case of Kansas cult killer and rapist Daniel Perez, AKA Lou Castro, to be featured on TV https://t.co/In25MdYhcb, kansasdotcom (@kansasdotcom) March 6, 2020. Five drug smugglers were arrested in connection with the murders. 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 Angel's Landing. Angel's Landing Commune was an innocuous plot of land in a rural area near Wichita, Kansas where a now-convicted rapist and murderer, Daniel Perez, also known as Lou Castro, held power over a cult. The 2003 drowning death of 26-year-old Patricia Hughes at the group's compound outside of Wichita, Kansas, was originally ruled an accident. He claimed that he was not home the day Trish Hughes drowned and he had no part in her death. The two would have a child, Angelica in December 2004. Carlson was known to her followers as "Mother God" and claimed to be able to cure cancer and communicate with angels. McGrath said she was terrified when she came face-to-face with Perez in court to testify. Market data provided by Factset. Mack was arrested and indicted on federal charges, including sex trafficking. He died in a freak accident at the autobody shop where he worked in March 2006. At one point, Castro would give the local police department $19,000 to go towards a new police vehicle. He allegedly collected over $1 million in insurance payouts following her death. It was after K.L. With the help of the district attorney and his assistant, I was able to do it. Two years later a local family of four, the Wagners, are arrested and charged with the crimes. When looking into the man who was calling himself Lou Castro, they couldnt find a paper trail or anything about his background. Perez was, horrifyingly, raping Sara under the guise of fixing her, and the abuse continued on for 7 years. One day he and another detective showed up at Angels Landing with glossy photographs of made-up suspects. began to visit Castro. 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. 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. Police initially suspected mass suicide but later determined that the deaths were the result of a mass murder. Jones taught a blend of Christianity, socialism and communism, with an emphasis on racial equality. In Goodwyns mind with the group of homes being referred to as Angels Landing and all the cars vanity plates with the angel designation he thought he might be dealing with a cult. . 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. McGrath was in her mid-teens and her younger sister, Emily, was around 11. The man had a clandestine past and had evaded law enforcement on multiple occasions before, and it was no wonder that suspicious activity would take place in the house. Before Raniere's arrest, in 2017, a New York Times expos accused NXIVM of fronting a cult called "DOS" or "The Vow." The Times reported that female cult memberswere branded, used as sex slaves, punished by their "masters" and blackmailed. He did not appear to have any employment records, and they had no proof of his existence before he appeared in Wichita looking to purchase property. They said they would commit suicide if authorities intervened. When she went to court to testify against her abuser, Sara was terrified. Not only did Perez tell followers that he could heal the sick, he also allegedly told them that he could tell them when they were going to die. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The outlet noted that the Kansas Bureau of Investigations sex offender registry showed Perezs victims range in age from 8 to 16. Daniel Perez, purported seer and leader of a former compound known as Angels Landing, will spend the rest of his life in prison. 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. The girl claimed she had actually heard a splash and scream before seeing Perez drenched and out of breath. So now Lou Castro has a connection to four other deaths. 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. According to affidavits taken by the Saguache County Sheriff's Office, the group was brainwashing people and stealing their money. Emily would tell investigators about Trishs drowning and that would end up being enough to put Castro away. They would later find three more. 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. It was in Angels Landing that Emily had moved into the master bedroom with Daniel Perez. Former cult member Sara McGrath, who lived with Angel's Landing leader Daniel Perez, recounts the untimely death of her mother However, there are no further updates on her present situation, and she could not be placed on social media either. Daniel Perezs cult was motivated by greed, investigators learned. She also said she was the reincarnation of both Jesus Christ and Marilyn Monroe. He collected more than $1 million in life insurance payouts from Hughes death alone. My mother was very thoughtful when it came to people so she felt like she somehow needed to protect Lou. Other members of the cult are still in prison. 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