Episode 4: Evil Ever After

School of Humans. This show follows the investigation of serial murders and contains material that may be disturbing. Listener discretion advised.

On our third day in South Africa, the winter clouds parted and the sun warmed the earth. Producer Jennifer Zucchini and I hopped in a car with Detective Ben Boysen, who took us on a tour of krueger Storp.

And that's on the fifty meters from Cecila's flat.

Ben's wife Christelle and our fellow producer Jermaine joined us. There were high end suburbs with nice homes perched on hills that kind of reminded me of La Some areas looked more suburban, some more rural and far more flat, while other neighborhoods looked dilapidated, under resource forgotten.

This area now is the worst GRAM area in Kruger's Door.

We ended our tour at the home of epd's next victim. The housing complex stood on a single lane road with a field across the street. Not much was visible from outside the walls. Like most of the homes in kruger Stourre, it was protected by tall, imposing white walls, so then it's a gated community, yeah, which is wild because that gate is huge and this is a pretty privatized area, So I mean someone had to help Mirinda and Marcel

Well, and the ice.

Well, great garden track. Okay, the lady's staying in the outset, we can go inside.

And just like that, the security gates parted and we were welcomed in by Anna Marie, the woman who now lives there. We got a tour of the home. It looked just like many of the condos that I visited as a kid in the suburbs of Chicago.

It felt familiar, safe, But.

Then, knowing what had happened within those walls, gravity set in. I suddenly couldn't stop thinking about the blood that was shed right here in the room where I stood. Chills ran down my spine. As Ben described the crime scene.

The beating bought the wall and the roof was full of blood.

She mentioned there were scratch marks along.

The door in the kitchen. There were deep grooves in the corner of one of the old wooden doors leading to the backyard one that required a skeleton key. Anna Marie spoken Afrikaans, Christelle and Jermaine translated.

What she's saying is that the neighbors actually informed it.

It seems that those marks might be from when he locked it into the house.

So there's the little marks that were made from that time on the door.

From School of Humans and iHeart Podcasts, this is Queen Havoc and her murder Cult, I'm your host, Kurt Koupachak, Episode four Evil Ever After being in the house was eerie, but it was nothing compared to being in Miranda's presence. When I left the prison, I was relieved to find Jermaine waiting for me by the car. I was so shaken up. It was one of the most intense situations I've ever experienced.

We can call off the search.

Body could looking very very frazzile. So I'm really keen to see what is going to come from this.

We're heading back to the hotel.

Now, We'll see you soon.

Are you okay?

That was yeah?

Let's just stand outside. Okay. Wow.

Hearing that again brings you back to how rocked I was. I didn't even have words to articulate my thoughts. It's something I thought I was prepared for. I've been working on this story for a couple of years, and I knew I needed to be brave to walk into that prison. But actually the hardest part was walking out, sitting down with that kind of evil that stays with you. Here's the person we're calling Luke, who spent some time around

And if you look at the teacher, she didn't have a good life. She struggled the whole life. She's also got a lot of hurt, and she once belonging somewhere, and the children got raised without her father's It's the perfect evil set up to manipulating gains someone for your avantach.

Like Rhea, Mirinda was made vulnerable by her faith, by her upbringing, and I suppose she was the victim in her story. Here's journalist Maritzka Kotz there.

And Mirenda's she's got two sisters.

I got to know the adds I made the grandmother.

They you know what they are, these very conservative ladies, and they don't swear, and they don't have hair out of place, and they are.

So soft, maybe a bit too focused on propriety, and maybe why Mirinda often felt out of place. To her, it was slow death, and now she was trying to live for something greater than herself, acting in God's name, just like she'd been raised to. But in doing so she became a monster.

She'll kill Marcel, and she'll kill Lys. If they go against Cecilia, she will kill And that's the bloody, sad part of this old story.

That choice haunts me. Her betrayal of her own kids, the corruption of their innocence for what for her own satisfaction of her psychopathology. When I spoke to her, she actually brought this up totally imprompted.

I study psychology.

I studied psychology. My father was a psychologist. I know I'm not a psychopath. I still have a conscience about.

Things, you know. But then she said this in almost the same breath, if you turn off.

Do you kissing every time after I kill someone?

It's like.

A relief.

Psychologist.

Rosalind McNabb told producer Jennifer Tacchini what was happening in this case.

Psychopathology is a personality disorder cat grasped as antisocial. It's that manipulation, that calculating ability, the ability to do something that is antisocial.

What do you do if your mother or the mother you've been given to, actively goes against society with craven hostility. Journalist Jana Marx writes in her book that Marcel coped with her strange existence by working extremely hard at school, getting straight a's, and Mirinda was so compromised that she sent her high achieving daughter to live with Cecilia.

She was thirteen when she moved in with Cecilia. She was literally told to live with Cecilia, babysit for Cecilia's kids, clean up for Cecilia, do everything. So this was really an abandoned kid.

LaRue, on the other hand, used drugs as a way to escape. He tried running away a few times, but then he would quickly return. Didn't take him long to learn he had nowhere else to go, no one to help him, and out there on his own, his choices only became more grim. The Rue and Marcel were kept from their father by their mother, Mirinda.

They were told her dad does not want to see you.

But that's not to say her kids didn't have any male role models in their life. No for a father replacement. The kids had Zach Valentine talk about toxic LaRue looked up to him, while Marcel took to Mikayla. But Michaela was becoming desperate to get away from her husband, to get away from Cecilia, Mirinda, all of them, even the kids. The horror of the murders had not left her. She could not forget what they did.

When she realized that her husband was now killing people, she started writing poems from the Bible versus on this warrior.

Michaela had been so isolated by EPD she didn't know where else to turn. She felt like she was losing her grip. As her sanity started to unravel, she leaned harder into her faith. A personal favorite Bible quote of Michaela's fear not for I am with THEE. The God of Mikayla's faith would never condone census killing. A book she read on spirituality back that up.

She decided, no, I'm reading this book, Fruits of Life, and in that book she came to realize God will never ask you to murder anybody.

She knew she needed to flee from Cecilia and electus perdeis, even if escaping meant she'd have to leave the Colt without her husband. First, she had to muster the courage to confront Zach. Ever since he'd killed Pastor Reginald ben Dixon, things had been weird between them. Zach was changing into someone she didn't recognize. Michaela was also stressed about the couple's finances. Zach was spending heavily on Cecilia's medical bills and pulling big chunks from their savings to support her

Weeks past, Mikaela found a mother and she said, listen, this stuff that I did, and I'm going to the police, and I'm sorry for what's going to happen, and i cannot tell you what it is now, but you'll see I'm apologizing now.

For most of twenty twelve, Mikaela Valentine would lead work early every Thursday so she could stay by Cecilia's bedside. As the year wore on and her doubts about Cecilia and Zach became impossible to ignore. She started indirectly crying out for help. Once Michaela mentioned a one coworker that she needed to take some time off her reason so she could help her friends build car bombs. This person was later questioned by Susette about why she never reported that alarming information.

She said She's spoken to a Osmond and a husband said, this is just unbelievable. Just don't go to the police. That gonna think you crazy.

So often in stories like this, we wonder why didn't anyone say anything sound the alarm, ask for help. People feel like it's not their place, and who would believe them. Michayla's stories about Cecilia's prayer group were so outlandish, how could they possibly be true? Like many others in this story, Michayla's coworker chose to stay silent. Cut to October twenty twelve. By then, Cecilia had figured out that Michayla was a flight risk and posed a threat to all of them.

She has absolutely a mastermind. She knows how to manipulate people. She lied about Michaela to provoke soccagainst it.

It was about this time that Cecilia turned her manipulation full tilt to seduce Zach Here's journalist Jana Marx.

It came to light that he had understanding that he was married to the wrong woman, Mikayla, that Celia was actually tasting to be his wife.

She started playing a psychological game with him. So she's a very dangerous person.

On Wednesday, October three, twenty twelve, almost two months after Reginald ben Dixon was killed, Michaela mustered up the courage to confront her spiritual master and tell her that she was leaving EPD. When she arrived at Casana Flats, Michaela was escorted into Cecilia's bedroom. The door was closed behind her. Marcel waited out in the living room. One on ones with Cecilia were rare and unpredictable and could create tension within the group. Silence minutes past, but then the door

She was in a good place at that stage, chucking everybody away. You know, say, I don't want Marianell my life anymore. I don't want Cecilia on my life anymore. And she told her usband, you must it's Meo or Cecilia.

The next morning, October fourth, Michaela wakes up next to Zach. They open their eyes. It's a normal day, like any other. It's Thursday, the day she'd usually take care of Cecilia, but today she's her own woman.

She tends to herself instead.

She makes coffee for her and Zach before he leaves for his office at Discovery Life Insurance.

Cecilia told Zach they must give a sleeping tablets in a coffee.

While Mikayla's back is turned, Zach drops two sleeping pills into her morning coffee and watches them dissolve. Suddenly, drowsy, Michaela says she'll probably go back to bed. Zach says goodbye and leaves for work. Just a heads up, this next part is quite upsetting. If you, or someone with you is a sensitive listener, you might want to skip ahead by a minute or two. Mikayla isn't in bed long before Marenda comes through their front door, armed with

When Maranda came in, marandaita with a I'm on the eighth.

Marcel stands frozen in the doorway, watching as her mother is about to murder her only friend. When I spoke to Mirenda in prison, she chillingly described to me what happened next.

I have this thing in my hat that I have to eat it to incapacitate it because she's young. And then she opened her eyes and she was all dragged.

Mikayla wasn't fully asleep, she.

Awaked it actually, and then she looked at Maranda and de Marna told her, Mikaela, you now need to star to pray, because now I'm going.

To kill you.

And then and then she closed her eyes and she started prying out loud, and she pried, and I letter pray and until she finished, and then I stabbed it.

Marcel nearly faints. She catches herself and leans on the doorframe for support. Her mother seems to forget that she's even there. Mirinda uses a crude knife on Michayla, one made for skinning fish. Without looking back, Mirinda shouts where are you to her daughter. Marcella is still holding herself up with the doorframe frozen. She knows she'll be in trouble with Cecilia if she doesn't honor her instructions. Fear animates her limbs. Marcella approaches Michayla. Her friend's eyes are

Marcel only stabbed at once with.

Her knife stuck inside Michayla's body. Marcel lies. She tells her mother it won't go in. My knife is not sharp enough. That's okay, says Mirinda. Her mother reassures her, I'm almost through. Marcel pulls out the knife she's stuck in the side of her only ally, she looks at the blood on the blade. The praying stops. Michaela's lifts stop moving. Now she can hear her mother breathing heavily over Michaela's fatal silence. Marcel stares at the beads of

She stabbed her sixty four times. Unbelievable. So, but this is hows with you where they used.

To stay.

Before they leave. Marcel helps her mother pull the divey over Mikayla. Merinda adds an electric blanket.

She switches it on.

Cecilia had told her followers that the time of death is difficult to determine if a body is exposed to extreme heat. They take Michayla's phone, pocket her wedding ring, use the blood coated hammer to batter Mikayla's tablet to pieces so it can't be tracked. They aim to make it look like a home invasion and robbery. After they leave the scene, mother and daughter scatter all of these items and the murder weapons, dropping them from their car window.

Mikaila was always the example. You know, remember what happened to Michaela.

The threat of reprisal for defying Cecilia was now a promise to the group. Zach proved that he would sacrifice his wife to their queen, and Marinda seemed even more compelled to be the best, the favorite, the most committed, no matter what the cost. At three point thirty PM, Zach Valentine returns home.

He's not alone the buzando I was supposed to sell DoLS. He might shure that day before he met the guet.

He's with a real estate agent named Estelle. In order for his alibi to be air tight, someone has to be there when he discovers his wife's body. Zach had arranged to meet a Stelle at his house after work so she could take some photos. Estelle later testified that she waited at the front door with her colleague while Zack went in to greet his wife. The reel at her noticed an ashtray had been knocked under the ground. There was ash all over the carpet. The house smelled

It was doc in a room and he came out and he said to the woman, please come come look. I think my wife is date.

When Estelle gets to the bedroom, she can't tell what's happening, not until she switches on the light. When she does, she sees someone under the covers of the bed, and there's blood everywhere, like everywhere. Zach doesn't touch his wife's dead body. He just stands there. A Stelle yells to her assistant to call the police. She pulls Zack gently away from the side of his wife. Is she really dead?

Was a lot of blood. Everything was blood. She was mutilated.

Mikayla's gone, A Stelle says. Zach walks to the fridge. He chugs an entire cartner fruit juice. A Stelle watches him. Then she grabs two cups, thinking some water would be good for her and her colleague. But her hands are trembling so much she drops the glasses. They shatter against the tile floor, and.

Then the woman ask him, are you not going to find somebody?

Zach doesn't answer. Instead, he wonders aloud where the cats are?

She said, find your patents and find the police. Okay, you find these patents, and she found the police. Because he didn't find the police, he never touched his wife. Then you just ask, we must look for my cats. Where is my cats? And they found the cats in one of the rooms, opened the door and the cats ran out. And then you walked outside and went to stand next to this wall smoking. Does he get it?

His phone rings? It's his father.

A Stelle listens as Zach pleads with his father to come to the house. A Stelle is relieved that Zach has someone to talk to, someone who can be there with him. The three of them wait in the living room for what to Estelle feels like ours. Zack inquires if the potential buyers are still coming this afternoon, will you still be able to sell the house? He asks, No, I've canceled the appointment. A Stelle responds. His wife's body is lying lifeless in the next room, growing colder by

They were standing mixed to him at the wall, and they were laughing.

Zach and his parents are introduced to the grief and trauma counselor. The family makes it known that they are children of God and they don't need to speak with anybody. The grief counselor notes that Zach's eyes are dry. Zach complains aloud that all this is taking so long. The realtor, A Stelle, attempts to compassionately explain to him that the police have to photograph the house from every angle. Oh so you'll get some photos, just not the ones you wanted,

And he said, now he's going to sleep there. So he turned that mattress that was full of bloody, turned around and he sleeped in the same bed that this was killed.

Unbelievable, no waybelievable.

That night, after flipping the mattress, Zach puts a clean set of sheets on the bed. He lies down next to the spot where his wife was murdered, and he falls asleep. Captain Van Vick was stricken when he heard the news of Michaela's murder. He's the officer who brought in all the members of EPD but didn't have enough to convict them. But he did have ample evidence to apply for a search warrant that would have covered Zack and McKay's house.

We started to compile evidence. She admitted the statement to a prosecutor. We approached him, he told him of the application. He told us to give him the document and he needed a few days to apply his mind.

Those few days were a few too many.

Unfortunately, two days after we gave him the document, we received the call that Mikaela was Unfortunately, she was murdered.

Hearing this blew my mind. How devastating. This is one of the critical errors that may have cost the life of Michaela and the lives of seven others. Unfortunately, for reasons that defy explanation, the police remained distracted by the swirl of coincidence and fears of an occult connection. Enter detectives susc canose.

The fact was right in front of him, but their attention was drawn to sensation, and you can't investigate like that.

After the new use Michaela's murder broke, Ria Grunewald finally came to terms with the ugly truth she'd been trying to dodge. Cecilia was in fact capable of mass murder. She had to be behind it, all, the threats, the bombings, the murders, everything.

I interviewed Ria, but she at some stage, because obviously of being very scared of Celia, she ran off and didn't want to talk to the police anymore.

Meanwhile, with one less member, the walls of EPD came down just enough to let Luke our infiltrator in for real this time. But first he needed to be just as guilty as the rest of them.

We spoke about killing Ria Joshua.

Joshua will neven know how close he was to the so many times.

Fortunately for Joshua, Luke wasn't a killer.

But then one of the witnesses that was part of the group at some stage that brought him to me and he was asked to help with this conspiracy of murder, and that was with Rhea's son.

Detective Susette officially took over the murder investigations, which coincided perfectly with Luke's plans to turn EPD in. Things were heating up at Casana Flats and Luke's loyalty to Cecilia officially became a matter of life or death.

You know, we're natural time and that course my time.

On the next episode of Queen Havoc.

When we went to search the apartment we had Warren, I went into Cecilia's room. I started asking her some questions about the Occulton. She couldn't answer me.

I know if they're going to do something now. The spotlight is on there, and that's why they stopped with the killings and stuff.

Actually run from my life. I was almost managed Date nine.

Queen Havoc and Her Murder Cult is a production of Schooly Humans and iHeart Podcasts. Queen Havoc is hosted and created by me Kurt Kupachick, produced and written by Jennifer Tacchini, Julia Christgau, and Kurt Kupachick. Lead producer is Julia Chriskau. Story editor is Saren Burnett. Senior producer is Amelia Brock. Production manager is Daisy Church. Original music composed by Claire Campbell, editing, sound design and scoring by Jesse Niswanger. Associate producers are

We're incredibly grateful to you all.

We also want to acknowledge how traumatic these events are for the victims and their families. Please respect their privacy. If you or someone you know has been affected by cult behaviors, there are resources available, including Voices for Dignity, at Christine Murray dot com.