Two weeks after the leaders of a cult group in the inner empire were arrested, the police have reopened an investigation into the death of a 4 -year -old boy who had been put in his custody.
On Thursday, the Colton Police Department announced that it was reviewing new potential clients and actively investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Timothy Thomas in January 2010 by Timothy Thomas.
“At the time of his death, Timothy Thomas's temporary custody had been signed from his biological parents to the leaders of his way, Spirit led assemblies,” the department said in a press release.
On August 14, the authorities arrested a husband and a wife who directed the religious group based in Hemet as part of an ongoing investigation into the suspicious disappearance and the possible homicide, of one of the members of the group, authorities said.
Pastor Darryl Muzic Martin, 57, and his wife, the “prophete” Shelly Bailey Martin, 62, were arrested while an investigation continues in the disappearance of Emilio Ghanem, 40, according to the Redlands Police Department. Police are also looking for a man associated with the group that disappeared in 2017.
The couple was arrested under suspicion of possessing illegal weapons. Both are now out of custody and have not been accused.
Ghanem disappeared in May 2023 shortly after separating from the religious group and opening a pest control company that competed with a business operated by a group leader. Earlier this year, the Redlands police said they found the rental truck that was last seen driving “together with additional evidence.”
His disappearance is being investigated as a potential homicide, according to the spokesman of the city of Redlands, Carl Baker.
The Redlands police are helping Claremont police while investigating the disappearance of the Perris Ruben Moreno resident, who was also affiliated with his way Spirit led assemblies, according to the police. The Claremont police says that Moreno was last seen in December 2017 in a Claremont house where group members used to meet.
