{"id":140781,"date":"2026-01-20T01:03:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T01:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/140781\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T01:03:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T01:03:08","slug":"third-suspect-arrested-in-cult-linked-southern-california-murder-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/140781\/","title":{"rendered":"Third suspect arrested in cult-linked Southern California murder case"},"content":{"rendered":"

Authorities have nabbed a third suspect in a chilling murder case<\/a> tied to a cult-like religious group in Southern California.<\/p>\n

Ramon Duiz Duran, 44, was arrested at his workplace in Nashville, Tennessee January 12 and extradited to San Bernardino County<\/a> in connection to the 2023 disappearance and death of Emilio Ghanem, according to police.<\/p>\n

Duran was booked on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, cops said.<\/p>\n

\"RamonRamon Duiz Duran was extradited to San Bernardino County from Nashville, Tennessee. Redlands Police Department<\/p>\n

Ghanem was a longtime member of \u201cHis Way Spirit Led Assemblies,\u201d a religious, \u201ccultish\u201d group based in Colton and Hemet in the Inland Empire that has allegedly been linked to multiple deaths and disappearances, according to the Los Angeles Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He joined the group over two decades ago and helped establish Fullshield Inc., a pest control business managed by the organization, his sister, Jennifer Ghanem, told The Times.<\/p>\n

Ghanem left the so-called cult in April 2023 and returned to Nashville, where he started his own pest control company, his sister said.<\/p>\n

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In May 2023, he visited the Redlands area to reconnect with former clients but received a cease-and-desist letter alleging he was taking business from the group\u2019s pest control company.<\/p>\n

Seventeen days later, Ghanem was reported missing after visiting a Starbucks in Redlands.<\/p>\n

Police later found his rental truck burned in the Mojave Desert.<\/p>\n

\"EmilioGhanem was reported missing from Redlands, California \u2014\u00a0his rental truck was later found burned in the Mojave Desert. Redlands Police Department<\/p>\n

Five members, including the group\u2019s two leaders, have been arrested by state and local authorities in connection with Ghanem\u2019s and another death. <\/p>\n

In December, Shelly Bailey \u201cKat\u201d Martin, 62, and Rudy Franco Moreno, 43, were arrested and charged with murder. Prosecutors identified Martin as a leader of His Way Spirit Led Assemblies and Moreno as a member.<\/p>\n

Shelly, along with husband, Dylan Martin, and former group member Andre Thomas, 48, were also charged with murder in the death of 4-year-old Timothy Thomas, who died from appendicitis in Colton 10 years ago.<\/p>\n

Authorities reportedly attempted to interview other members, but because of the extreme control the Martins allegedly held over their followers, they were uncooperative.<\/p>\n

His Way Spirit-Led Assemblies is recognized more for its high-control practices than its specific doctrine. The group has been identified as a \u201chigh-control religious group\u201d by law enforcement.<\/p>\n

The name indicates a strong focus on the Holy Spirit and a Pentecostal or Charismatic orientation, similar to other Assemblies of God or Gospel Assembly groups, though specific practices remain largely undisclosed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Authorities have nabbed a third suspect in a chilling murder case tied to a cult-like religious group in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140782,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,8946,7083,14906,3586],"class_list":["post-140781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-cults","tag-extradition","tag-nashville","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}