These stories are chilling. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at cult members who felt compelled to kill multiple times.
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00:00I was, I feel so far under satanic power and satanic control.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at cult members who felt compelled to kill multiple times.
00:11He believed that he couldn't be seen, that he was invisible. He was told he was invisible.
00:16Stephen Tari.
00:18Aspiring Lutheran minister turned cult leader Stephen Tari promised his followers good fortune and immortality.
00:26He was using the Bible verse to preach. They told him that he was the bridge to heaven.
00:30He held remarkable power over the estimated 6,000 devotees who believed he was their messiah.
00:36He prayed with all the people, and then a black cloud moved across to where the gathering was.
00:42And then it stayed there, and out of the black cloud, food was delivered.
00:47He even convinced several of them to hand over their own family members to serve as his flower girls.
00:53Many of these young women were assaulted, and it is thought that some were murdered.
00:57Tari evaded punishment for years before finally being found guilty of assault charges in 2010.
01:03In 2013, after escaping prison, Tari paid for his crimes when a mob of local men took matters into their own hands.
01:11A group of villagers armed themselves, then hunt down Stephen Tari and his disciples.
01:17Tari was killed and buried in a remote village in the Madang province of Papua New Guinea,
01:22ending his reign of terror.
01:24Glenn Helzer
01:26Self-proclaimed prophet Glenn Helzer founded a religious sect in the 1990s known as the Children of Thunder.
01:32Part of the group's mission involved a grand scheme to take over the Mormon Church.
01:37Taylor felt he would be a better leader of the Mormon Church.
01:40By doing so, Helzer convinced his followers they would bring about the second coming of Christ.
01:46Glenn Helzer came up with this idea that he was a prophet.
01:50To finance his plan, Helzer needed to acquire plenty of money,
01:54so he enlisted his followers to carry out a murderous extortion plot that resulted in the brutal slaying of five people.
02:01To reassure them, Taylor explains that there's no danger.
02:05It didn't take long for authorities to connect the killings to the group.
02:09In August 2000, Helzer was arrested and later sentenced to death.
02:13Jeffrey Lundgren
02:15Known for his controversial scripture interpretations,
02:18Jeffrey Lundgren led a small group of fervent followers in Kirtland, Ohio during the late 1980s.
02:24Members of that community referred to him as their prophet.
02:31The group's ultimate goal was to seize control of the historic Kirtland Temple,
02:35the first LDS temple constructed in the U.S.
02:38Lundgren required strict obedience from his followers,
02:41eventually insisting that they financially support him and live with him at his farmhouse.
02:46It seemed to be the best-kept secret in town.
02:48I still think it is, probably maybe in the nation.
02:51When the Avery family refused to make the move, Lundgren decided to punish them.
02:56He lured all five members of the family to the barn on his property, where they were killed one by one.
03:02And I said, if you will go in that barn and look where I told you to look, I said you will find bodies.
03:10Lundgren was later apprehended and sentenced to death.
03:13On October 24, 2006, he was executed by the state of Ohio for his crimes.
03:19Sylvia Meraz
03:21Born into poverty in Hermosillo, Samoa, Mexico, Sylvia Meraz lived an unremarkable life for many years.
03:28The Meraz family lived in makeshift shacks on the outskirts of town, without electricity or running water.
03:34But when she became convinced she could gain favor from Santa Muerte through human sacrifice,
03:40things took a sinister turn.
03:42Sylvia believed the bony lady could protect her family and bring them peace and prosperity.
03:47In 2009, with the support of a small clan of followers, mostly consisting of her family members,
03:52Meraz selected her first victim, Cleotilde Romero Pacheco.
03:56Once the deed was done and the dirt tamped down, Sylvia faced a profound question.
04:02Would Santa Muerte deliver on their requests?
04:05She then proceeded to make two more human sacrifices, both of them relatives.
04:10When a missing person report was filed for one of the victims, police narrowed in on Meraz.
04:15She was apprehended in 2012 and sentenced to 180 years in prison.
04:20Carl Drew
04:21A series of murders in Fall River, Massachusetts, rattled the community in 1979 and 1980.
04:27All of the killings appeared ritualistic and were particularly gruesome.
04:31We would speak to people who would tell us that Satan controls the street.
04:39And who is Satan?
04:40Hello, this is a prepaid collect call from...
04:43Wow, girl.
04:44The victims, Doreen Levesque, Barbara Raposa, and Karen Marsden, were sex workers
04:50who shared a common connection, a man named Carl Drew.
04:53Known for his sadistic and domineering personality, Drew allegedly led a small satanic cult
04:59and was feared by many on the streets of Fall River.
05:02She wanted to go to St. Mary's Church and talk to a priest.
05:07During their investigation, authorities determined that Drew likely orchestrated all three killings.
05:12Drew was convicted in 1981 for Marsden's murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
05:19However, creators of a 2021 docu-series about the murders questioned his guilt.
05:24Are you nervous, or how are you feeling?
05:26Kind of anxious to get this thing going, get it out there. It's been a long time.
05:31Valentina D'Andradi, the Superior Universal Lineage sect, was a doomsday cult founded by Valentina D'Andradi
05:40in Altimara, Brazil, during the late 1980s.
05:43The case of Valentina D'Andradi is dark.
05:46The group espoused some extremely unconventional beliefs and teachings involving black magic, UFOs, and Satanism.
05:53Followers were also taught to be wary of children, a particular emphasis placed on those born after 1981.
06:01Mainly the little boys, she said. They were the instruments of the nefarious one.
06:06When several local boys went missing and several others were found murdered or maimed,
06:11suspicion soon settled on the bizarre religious sect.
06:14Rumors of organs being sold on the black market began to circulate as well.
06:18Ultimately, four members of the group were prosecuted in connection with the crimes.
06:22Valentina was free to live her life for 11 years.
06:26But shockingly, D'Andradi was acquitted.
06:29There are lingering questions surrounding these killings.
06:32Magdalena Solis, known as the High Priestess of Blood, Magdalena Solis craved ultimate control over her followers.
06:40She could see the desperation and hope in their eyes as they looked upon her with reverence.
06:45Born into an impoverished and dysfunctional family, Solis left home early in life.
06:50Sometime during the 1960s, two brothers recruited her to help them trick their cult
06:56into believing they were the descendants of ancient gods.
06:59They wanted someone to pretend to be the reincarnation of the Aztec goddess Coatlicue.
07:04Solis embraced her new role and eventually usurped the brothers, taking control of the cult.
07:09By then, she was but a vessel, guiding the group blindly on warped faith alone.
07:15To maintain her power, she implemented blood rituals, claiming that as a goddess she needed to ingest blood.
07:22They cut flesh until it gave up its precious blood, filling her cup mixed with chicken blood for vile rituals.
07:29Anyone who went against Solis was subjected to the ritual.
07:33As many as 15 people faced Solis' wrath before the deadly carnage came to an end.
07:38Adolfo Costanzo
07:40During the 1980s, the Narco-Satanist cult terrorized Mexico City and the surrounding area.
07:46Adolfo Costanzo was looking for that huge opportunity for money.
07:51The group had ties to some of the city's most powerful drug cartels,
07:55and was led by the charismatic Adolfo Costanzo and his loyal second-in-command, Sara Eldrete.
08:02Dubbed the Godfather, Costanzo believed he was magic.
08:05Adolfo started talking to him about, you know, his religion,
08:09and that this could help their business, and told him how it could help their business.
08:14He grew up practicing the Palo Mayombe religion and performing animal sacrifices.
08:19As the leader of the Narco-Satanists, he's thought to be responsible for at least 20 ritualistic killings,
08:25as well as other atrocities.
08:26Unfortunately, Costanzo never faced justice.
08:29He took his own life to evade arrest in 1989.
08:32But 14 of his followers were charged for their crimes, including Eldrete.
08:37So they became believers, complete believers, without constraint or hesitation.
08:44Robin Gecht.
08:45During the 1980s, a cult of criminals known as the Ripper Crew haunted the Chicago area.
08:51But with robbery clearly not the goal, the motive remains a mystery.
08:55The group, which is likely responsible for at least 17 ritualistic murders,
09:00consisted of four members.
09:01Edward Spreitzer, brothers Andrew and Thomas Kokorelis, and ringleader Robin Gecht.
09:07They would go up into Robin Gecht's little attic.
09:10Police were eventually able to gather enough evidence against the members of the Ripper Crew to make arrests.
09:15All of them ultimately confessed to their involvement.
09:18All of them except Gecht, who maintained his innocence throughout the process.
09:23Although he avoided prosecution in the killings.
09:25In 1983, he was convicted on various other charges, including aggravated kidnapping and attempted murder.
09:36He was sentenced to 120 years in prison and will be eligible for parole in 2042.
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10:00The notorious serial killings committed by David Berkowitz during the late 1970s in New York City are still heavily discussed worldwide.
10:08You have to be careful. You have to watch where you go now.
10:11You know, how late you stay out and...
10:13Have you restricted your own movements?
10:16Yeah.
10:17The official story is that Berkowitz was the sole perpetrator of the crimes.
10:21However, there is some speculation that perhaps he was an active cult member at the time of the murders and may not have acted alone.
10:28While behind bars, Berkowitz himself stated that he was involved in a satanic cult before becoming an evangelical Christian following his arrest.
10:36I just see that my calling in life, what I feel is my calling, is to share the good news of Jesus Christ and to reach as many with that.
10:46Investigative journalist Maury Terry, who started his own investigation, developed the theory that Berkowitz may have been a member of a cult called The Children, with his neighbours John and Michael Carr.
10:56Did you do all of them?
10:58I was at all of them.
11:00Which of these cult killers would you be most afraid to cross paths with in the middle of the night? Let us know in the comments.
11:08He wouldn't understand what it was to walk in darkness.
11:16For more information visit www.fema.org