Friday, 17 July 2026, 7:02
A San Bernardino County Superior Court judge has ordered four members of a Colton religious order to stand trial on murder charges, stemming from the death of a 4-year-old boy and the disappearance of a former congregant. The group, led by self-proclaimed 'Prophetess' Shelley Martin, is accused of using religious doctrine to justify violence and murder.
Shelley 'Kat' Martin, 63, and her husband Darryl Muzik Martin, 58, face two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. They are accused of ordering congregants Rudy Moreno, 44, and Ramon Duran Jr., 44, to kill Emilio Ghanem, who left the order in 2023 and planned to take customers from the group's pest control business. Ghanem disappeared in May 2023; his rented pickup was later found burned in the Mojave Desert with a 9mm bullet inside.
Andre Thomas Sr., 49, faces a murder charge in the 2010 death of his 4-year-old son Timothy from untreated appendicitis. A judge will rule on July 7 whether he will stand trial.
During the preliminary hearing, Deputy District Attorney Justin Crocker presented evidence that Shelley Martin claimed her voice was the word of God and must be obeyed. Testimony showed that defying Martin resulted in physical punishment and loss of privileges. Former congregant Kelli Byrd testified that Martin beat her with a microphone and later gave her a bus ticket back to Nashville with $666—the sign of the devil.
Judge Bilash acknowledged the evidence was circumstantial but sufficient for trial, stating, 'A group can be doing some good things but gets lost. This group got lost.'
Prosecutor Justin Crocker detailed that Timothy Thomas died of appendicitis while living with the Martins in January 2010. The child showed clear signs of serious illness, including lethargy, trouble walking, vomiting, and crying out for help. Crocker argued that the Martins had accepted responsibility to care for him and failed that obligation. The Martins did not believe in modern medicine and instructed church members not to take him to a hospital, but instead to pray for him.
Defense attorney Eugene Carson argued that the Martins did not personally observe Thomas in pain and only learned about his condition from other church members, stating, 'Negligence is not murder. Poor judgment is not murder; a mistaken belief that a child has a stomach virus is not murder.' Judge Bilash rejected that argument, saying, 'This child died because your clients didn't do what they agreed to do.'
Moreno's attorney, Mustafa Abdul-Rahman, questioned how a church that 'came from Tennessee and was singing on the beach' could kill someone they grew up with. The Martins' attorney, Eugene Carson, argued that Moreno and Duran were the actual owners of the pest control company and that the Martins did not order the killing. However, Crocker countered that the pest control company funded the Martins' trips and houses, and that cell phone data placed Moreno and Duran near Ghanem in the days before his disappearance, with suspicious periods where phones were off.
Ghanem was last seen at a Starbucks in Redlands.
Prosecutors also characterized the group as a high-control operation that Duran himself described as cult-like. Crocker stated, 'This was a church group that at some point evolved into a high-control operation that Mr. Duran himself described as cult-like.'
The order, known as His Way Spirit Led Assemblies, has moved between Tennessee, Orange County, Rialto, Claremont, Hemet, and currently Anza. The crimes occurred in San Bernardino County, with the disappearance of Ghanem last seen in Redlands. The case underscores the vulnerability of congregants in isolated religious groups across Southern California.
The trial will proceed as the defendants face serious charges that could result in life imprisonment. The case serves as a stark reminder of the potential for religious authority to be exploited for criminal purposes. Authorities urge anyone with information about Emilio Ghanem's whereabouts to come forward.
