Құлт басшысының ұлының өлімі мен өзіне-өзі қол жұмсауы

Son of cult leader who committed murder suicide

Richard P. Rodriguez (born David Moses Zerby; January 25, 1975 – January 9, 2005) was an American member of a religious cult called The Family, formerly known as the Children of God (COG), who murdered one of his childhood sexual abusers, Angela M. Smith, and then died by suicide. During Rodriguez's childhood, he and his mother Karen Zerby and adoptive father David Berg, both of whom were leaders of The Family, traveled across the world to convert followers. Berg believed Rodriguez was called upon to become a prophet during biblical End Times. From a young age Rodriguez was brought up in a heavily sexually abusive environment and was sexually abused and raped by numerous people, including a cohort of adult "nannies", as described in the Family published document titled "The Davidito Book". Despite leaving The Family and finding marriage, Rodriguez struggled to adjust to life outside the cult and sought revenge for his abuse. He left his wife in Tacoma, Washington, and traveled across the U. S. in an attempt to find Zerby. After learning his former nanny Angela M. Smith was in Tucson, Arizona, he stayed with people he knew there until he settled in an apartment. On January 7, 2005, he recorded a video, saying he needed to take retribution for abuse in The Family—including his own—alluding to murder. The next day, Rodriguez invited Smith to his home for dinner, where he stabbed her to death before driving to Blythe, California, and killing himself. The Family urged its members to disregard media reports about Rodriguez and Smith, and a spokesperson for the group said reports neglected to show Smith as a victim. Another former member considered it, out of other suicides in the group, to be one of the worst moments in The Family's history, and noted that it corroborated other stories of abuse within the group. Experts on cults noted that while murder was unjustifiable, Rodriguez's anger towards members of The Family was understandable, and cult specialist Rick Alan Ross described his suicide as an outcome from one of many individuals who suffered in "one of the most horrifically abusive and destructive cults in American history". was born on January 25, 1975, in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, as David Moses Zerby. His mother was Karen Zerby, the spiritual leader of the religious cult Children of God (COG), and his father was a Spanish hotel waiter named Carlos whom Zerby had "Flirty Fished", a practice in which female cult members would have sex with men to draw in potential converts. Rodriguez was unofficially adopted by David Berg, the group's founder and Zerby's husband, and was given the nickname "Davidito" and often referred to as "the prince". On May 2, 1978, Berg declared in a publication that Rodriguez and Zerby would one day have the power to "call down fire from Heaven and devour their enemies". He also predicted they would both be killed and raised from the dead "3 days" later, and Rodriguez would go on to guide followers as a prophet during biblical End Times. The 762 page document included photos of Rodriguez with naked teenage girls and being present during the group's orgies. One of his nannies, Angela M. Smith, who was also Zerby's personal secretary, The material also contained captions and text written by Berg commenting on the situation in a sexual manner. A British court, headed by Lord Justice Ward, issued a verdict during an investigation related to a 1995 trial, stating that the Davidito book was an example of Berg's promotion of pedophilia within the group, and that the leadership considered it a guidebook for adult–child relationships. Amsterdam, as ordered by Ward, distanced The Family from Berg's writings on child upbringing.

In 1996, at 21 years old, Rodriguez moved to a Family owned home in Budapest, Hungary, where he met his girlfriend Elixcia Munumel, who returned with him to Zerby's home in Oporto, Portugal, and lived with him there. In 1999, the couple told Zerby they were going to The Family's compound in Mexico, but instead Munumel went to England and Rodriguez went to the United States. He sold a car Zerby had given him so Munumel could meet him in Tacoma, Washington. According to Munumel, however, when they first met in Budapest, Rodriguez began having reservations about Berg's teachings, which noticeably contradicted the Bible, and expressed his frustrations to her about the group as a whole. Rodriguez' friend Celeste Jones also said he felt angry because "there was no justice" to apprehend abusers in The Family and that he pretended that he was not angry around members of the group; according to the Tucson Citizen, however, Rodriguez became more vocal around the time he started talking to former members. He also mentioned his "teen training" in most of his posts on the site. Ex member Sarah Martin, who corresponded with Rodriguez through the site, said that he "carried this huge weight on his shoulders", never got over the Davidito prophecy and felt he had a need to "put an end" to Zerby's abuse. On January 7, of that year, Rodriguez recorded a videotape in which he discussed his thoughts of suicide and his desire for revenge, describing himself as a vigilante. called Munumel, told her he had killed Smith, and asked her to call the police. He also told Munumel he had killed Smith to avenge his sister Techi and those still in The Family rather than himself. He said Smith "didn't understand what she had done wrong" as she was dying.

At 8 a. m., a Palo Verde Irrigation District employee discovered Rodriguez' body in his car and contacted local police. The investigating detective thought Rodriguez had simply committed suicide, but answered Munumel's call to Rodriguez' cell phone and learned of the murder from her. Tucson police spokesman Sgt. Carlos Valdez said Smith died shortly before her body was recovered

Stephen A. Kent, a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta, said while Rodriguez was unjustifiable in the murder, one "can understand his frustration and rage" because "he and others from that generation" had never seen justice "from all the abuse they suffered". Rick Alan Ross, a cult researcher who had interviewed numerous former members of The Family, noted that Rodriguez reflected the many suicides of those who suffered "tremendous amount of pain" from being in "one of the most horrifically abusive and destructive cults in American history". Roselle was sad rather than angry the murder suicide took place. He said; "the only way anybody's listening" to the stories of abuse within the group "is that Rick and Angela died". but that he considered Rodriguez' abuse to be one of the worst cases from The Family. For example, Juliana Buhring, co author of the book Not Without My Sister (which details her family's experiences within the cult), mentioned that most of the children she and people like Rodriguez grew up with in the cult were sexually abused. She empathized with the rage he felt, especially when he had "no closure" and "no restitution" for it.

In an internal memo, Zerby told followers of The Family that reporters were trying to "make Ricky look like a hero and role model" rather than a perpetrator of a crime. Borowik also compared Rodriguez' upbringing to one in "a nudist colony" and cited scholars who argue sexual practices similar to those of The Family do not harm children. She criticized Lattin's book for "inaccuracies, misconceptions and erroneous conclusions", and "sketchy research". Lattin's book "Jesus Freaks: A True Story of Murder and Madness on the Evangelical Edge" recounts the events of Rodriguez' life in a story like setting. HBO's documentary "Children of God: Lost and Found", which is about The Family and was directed by former member Noah Thomson, includes footage from Rodriguez' video. "Sects", the 19th episode of Law & Orders 15th season, is loosely based on Ricky Rodriguez and The Children of God.