Police reopen case into death of boy, 4, after arrests of religious sect leaders

Police in Colton, California are pursuing new leads in the case of a child who died after his parents relinquished custody to a religious sect that is currently under investigation for possible homicide involving a former member.

Timothy Thomas, 4, died in January 2010, police said in a news release on Thursday, without sharing the circumstances. The San Bernardino County Coroner listed the cause of death as “natural.”

“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.

On Tuesday, authorities in Redlands, a neighboring city in San Bernardino County, announced that the husband and wife who lead the group were arrested in connection with the 2023 disappearance of Emilio Ghanem.

Ghanem, 40, had been a member of “His Way Spirit Led Assemblies” for about 20 years but left the group shortly before he vanished, according to family. He was last seen at a Starbucks in Redlands on May 25, 2023.

A rented Nissan pickup truck he was driving was spotted on surveillance video later that day. Detectives have recovered the truck and found evidence that they said points to foul play.

“Those circumstances are such that we are investigating this as a possible homicide,” Redlands police spokesperson Carl Baker told KTLA this week.

The leaders of the group were arrested after police served search warrants in Laguna Hills on Aug. 14. Darryl Muzic Martin, 57, of Hemet, faces illegal weapons charges, while his wife, Shelly Bailey “Kat” Martin, 62, was taken into custody but later released due to a “medical episode.”

Two other individuals were also arrested on firearms charges.

A former member of the group, who did not want to be identified, told KTLA that Martin goes by the title “prophetess.” 

The couple has complete control over the group, which, according to the former member, is always preparing for the end of days, storing enough packaged food, water and other supplies to last for years.

Its members work at a pest control company once known as Fullshield Incorporated but now operates under the name, “Maxguard,” according to police.

In April 2023, family members say Ghanem left both the group and Fullshield and moved to Tennessee to reunite with family and start his own pest control business. He returned to California in May to establish a satellite office which, according to family, angered its leaders.

“He was in California to contact potential customers,” Baker told KTLA. “We do know that he had received a cease-and-desist letter from the group or from their pest control company warning him not to contact their customers.”  

Anyone with information about Ghanem’s disappearance is urged to contact the Redlands Police Detective Bureau at 909-551-4424. Anyone with information about Thomas’ death is asked to call the Colton Police Department at 909-370-5140.

In a related investigation, Redlands detectives are working with Claremont Police on the 2019 disappearance of a second man also connected to the group.