Leaders of cult-like SoCal group charged with murder

Leaders of a secretive Inland Empire religious group have been charged with murder in two separate cases — the disappearance of longtime member Emilio Ghanem in Redlands and the 2010 death of 10-year-old Timothy Thomas in Colton.

Ghanem vanished in May 2023, just weeks after he decided to part ways with His Way Spirit Led Assemblies, an organization authorities have described as “cult-like.” For more than two years, his family has sought answers to what happened to him.

Timothy died while in the care of the group’s leaders, Shelly Bailey “Kat” Martin and Darryl Muzic Martin, in Colton in 2010, according to Colton Police Sgt. Shawn McFarland.

On Monday, Shelly Martin, 62, and group member Rudy Moreno, 43, were charged with the murder of Ghanem and conspiracy to commit murder, according to the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office.

Shelly Martin, Darryl Martin, 58, and former group member Andre Thomas, 48, were charged with the murder of Timothy.

The group also has been named in connection with the 2019 disappearance of member Ruben Moreno in Claremont, according to the Claremont Police Department.

Redlands police and the FBI raided the Hemet property of His Way Spirit Led Assemblies in the middle of the night on Aug. 16, 2025.

(Daniel Flesher / Los Angeles Times)

Ruben is the brother of Rudy Moreno, who has been charged in Ghanem’s murder. Claremont Police Capt. Robert “Buzz” Ewing said the department had no updates on their investigation at this time.

The Martins, Moreno and Thomas were all arrested Thursday in a joint operation in Hemet and Colton involving the Redlands and Colton police departments, the California Department of Justice, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office and the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office.

During the raids on the group’s homes, four additional suspects were arrested on weapons-related charges, according to the district attorney’s office.

Other members found inside the properties of what authorities called the “religious high-control group” were provided with food, water and contacts for resources from victims advocates with the district attorney’s office

McFarland has described the group as “cult-like” and told The Times that the Martins imposed excessive control over members, who were required to hand over their income to the couple. The group has lived in various properties in Colton, Hemet and Anza since the late 1990s.

Redlands Police Chief Rachel Tolber said she extended her deepest condolences to Ghanem’s family.

Emilio Ghanem was reported missing in Redlands in 2023.

(Redlands Police Department)

“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,” she said in a statement. “Our hearts are with them during this difficult time.”

Ghanem joined His Way Spirit Led Assemblies around 2000 and helped launch a pest control business run by the group called Fullshield Inc., his sister Jennifer Ghanem said.

He parted ways with the group in April 2023, started his own pest control company and moved back to Nashville to be closer to family, she said.

In May 2023, she said, he visited the Inland Empire to try to reconnect with former clients. On May 8, 2023, he was served a cease-and-desist letter that accused him of stealing clients from the company.

Seventeen days later, he vanished.

Earlier this year, Redlands police found the truck Ghanem was last seen driving and, in August, served search warrants on the group’s Hemet and Anza properties, where they recovered ghost guns and automatic rifles, according to department spokesperson Carl Baker.

Thirteen years before Ghanem vanished, Colton police responded to a 911 call at the group’s home at 1521 Latham St.

Inside, they found Thomas going into septic shock due to a ruptured appendix, according to a report from the San Bernardino County coroner’s office.

At the time, detectives suspected neglect played a role in his death and recommended charges against the Martins. But the district attorney’s office declined to file any.

In 2010, group members were uncooperative with the investigation and gave conflicting testimony, making it challenging to prosecute the case, according to McFarland.

Several members have since parted ways with the group and recently revised their statements to Colton police, saying that their original testimony was made under duress from the group’s leaders, McFarland said.

In a statement Monday, Colton Police Chief Anthony Vega said he was grateful to everyone who worked tirelessly to gather new evidence so the people who should have protected Timothy would finally be held accountable.

“The arrests and charges filed against the suspects responsible for the death of four-year-old Timothy ‘Timo’ Thomas are the first steps toward long-awaited justice,” he said. “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.”