Leaders and members of alleged cult-like California religious group charged with murder
KTLA News 5, California/December 16, 2025
By Vivian Chow
The leaders and two members of an alleged cult-like religious organization in Southern California were charged with murder in connection with the deaths of a 4-year-old boy and a missing 40-year-old man.
The Hemet-based religious group called “His Way Spirit Led Assemblies” has been at the center of an ongoing investigation after two former members, Emilio Ghanem, 40, and Ruben Moreno, 49, were reported missing in 2019 and 2023, respectively.
The group was also being probed in connection with Timothy Thomas, a 4-year-old boy who died in January 2010 after his parents gave custody of the child to the religious group.
On Dec. 11, Redlands police arrested six members of the group, including its leaders Darryl Muzic Martin, 58, his wife, Shelly Bailey “Kathryn” Martin, 62, and high-ranking member Rudy Moreno, 43, for murder and gun charges at the group’s headquarters.
The other three suspects, a 44-year-old woman and two 58-year-old men, were arrested on various weapons-related charges, according to booking records.
On Dec. 15, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office announced that murder charges were filed.
Shelly Kathryn Martin was charged with murder for her alleged involvement in the deaths of:
- Timothy Thomas, 4
- Emilio Ghanem, 40
Darryl Muzic Martin was charged with murder for the deaths of:
- Timothy Thomas, 4
- Emilio Ghanem, 40
He was also arrested in connection with Ruben Moreno’s case, but no charges were announced in that investigation yet
Rudy Moreno, whose brother is Ruben Moreno, was charged with murder in Emilio Ghanem’s case.
Andre Thomas, a former group member, was charged with murder in the death of Timothy Thomas.
In the case of 4-year-old Timothy Thomas, Colton police had been pursuing new leads after the boy died while reportedly under the care of the Martins.
“At the time of his death, temporary custody had been signed over from his birth parents to leaders of ‘His Way Spirit Led Assemblies,’” police said. According to reports, the boy died from septic shock due to a ruptured appendix. The San Bernardino County Coroner listed the boy’s cause of death as “natural.”
It’s been several years since either Emilio Ghanem or Ruben Moreno was seen alive. Ruben went missing in 2017 and was last seen at a Claremont residence associated with “His Way Spirit Led Assemblies.”
Ghanem was last seen alive at a Starbucks in Redlands in 2023.
According to his family, Ghanem spent the last two decades of his life as a devout member of the religious group, whose members worked at a pest control company called Fullshield Inc., now known as “Maxguard,” according to the Redlands Police Department.
In April 2023, Ghanem left both the religious group and MaxGuard behind and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to reunite with his family and begin a new chapter in his life. His sisters said Ghanem started his own pest control company in Nashville and went back to SoCal to open a satellite office with the intent of recapturing some of his old clients.
His family claimed the move drew the attention of Maxguard, which served him with a cease and desist letter on May 8, 2023, accusing him of competing with the company for business.
While visiting the Inland Empire, Ghanem was staying at an Airbnb in Moreno Valley. On May 25, 2023, he met with another former member for coffee at a Starbucks in Redlands. The former member spoke with KTLA’s Mary Beth McDade, but did not wish to be identified out of safety concerns.
After the Starbucks meeting, Ghanem had planned to meet with a high-ranking member of the religious group, believing that person wanted help to leave the organization as he had, but the former member he met at Starbucks believes it was all a ruse.
“Emilio asked me about him on a couple of occasions, what I thought,” he recalled. “When Emilio was telling me he was going to help him escape and get out of there, I never felt that to be true. I just felt it was going to end badly and I think that’s what happened.”
Ghanem was driving a rented Nissan Frontier pickup truck that surveillance cameras captured later that day in Grand Terrace. However, that was the last time he was seen alive.
For years, Ghanem’s disappearance was considered a missing persons case. On Aug. 1, 2025, the case turned into a possible homicide after Redlands police found Ghanem’s truck. Inside, evidence in connection with the case was found, but detectives did not reveal specifics on what was discovered.
They began focusing their investigation on “His Way Spirit Led Assemblies” and its leaders, Pastor Darryl and his wife, Shelly, who calls herself a prophetess. The former member said followers of the group reportedly believe the prophetess is God on Earth.
“Her and God are one, I guess you could say,” he said. “So when the spirit of God comes over her, everything changes in her, like her voice changes.” He claims the couple operates the ministry like a cult.
“If Prophetess or Pastor said, ‘You’re doing this,’ then you’re doing it,” he said of their orders. “There wasn’t an option.” He also said they were constantly preparing for the end of the world.
He said many members lived in large groups at various properties throughout the Inland Empire, but all the children reportedly lived with the Martins in their sizable home.
“At a young age, they would be living there with the main pastors and following whatever rules they have for them,” he said. “It was always young kids.”
Any children who disobeyed the adults would reportedly be punished, he said.
The former member decided to leave the group because he said priorities changed when they became too focused on earning money, most of which came from Maxguard, the pest control company. However, he claimed the company was initially started by Ghanem.
The company grew quickly and was earning almost $2 million a year, he said. All the funds would reportedly be given to the pastors.
“Emilio was very happy that he started it because it was helping the ministry out,” he said. “It was feeding the ministry and bringing in good money over to them. So even though Emilio would do $20,000 to $35,000 a month in route completions and sell stuff, according to my understanding, he told me he would get $100 a week for it.”
Since finding Ghanem’s truck, with help from the FBI, police have executed search warrants at the group’s Hemet headquarters and a property in Anza.
“During the Hemet and Anza searches, detectives recovered several illegal firearms, including converted fully automatic rifles, short-barreled rifles and unserialized ‘ghost guns’ along with electronic devices and other digital evidence,” police said.
On Aug. 27, 2025, Darryl and Shelly were previously arrested on suspicion of possessing illegal weapons, but were not charged. Shelly had been released due to what police called a “medical episode.”
Following the Dec. 11 arrest, Darryl, Shelly and Rudy Moreno remain in custody without bail.
“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,” said Colton Police Chief Anthony Vega. “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. Thanks to the relentless efforts of Colton detectives and strong relationships with our allied law enforcement partners, the final pieces of this long and complex investigation have finally come together. The Colton Police Department has never forgotten Timo.”
“The recent arrests connected to the disappearance of Mr. Emilio Ghanem represent the persistence and dedication of the Redlands Police Department’s investigators and our law enforcement partners,” said Redlands Police Chief Rachel Tolber. “I also wish to extend our sincere condolences to Mr. 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. Our hearts are with them during this difficult time.”
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