New leads developed from investigations into the disappearances of former church members in Redlands and Claremont have prompted the Colton Police Department to reopen the probe of a 4-year-old boy’s death in 2010 that happened after his parents “signed over” his custody to the leaders of that religious order, the His Way Spirit Led Assemblies.
Sgt. Mike Sandoval, a Colton police spokesman, said Thursday, Aug. 28, that the death of Timothy Thomas was not directly related to the search for Emilio Ghanem, 40 years old when last seen in Redlands in 2023, and Ruben Moreno, who vanished in Claremont in 2019. The men had left the congregation before they disappeared.
Then as now, Sandoval said, the leaders of the church are Shelly Bailey “Kat” Martin and her husband, Darryl “Muzic” Martin. The Martins also go by Prophetess/Pastor Kathryn Martin and Pastor Muzic.
Sandoval said he didn’t know why the parents, who he believes were church members, gave what a Colton news release said was “temporary” custody to church leaders or who exactly was responsible for the boy’s care. Sandoval said the church kept a low profile in Colton. Services are now apparently being held in Hemet and Anza in southwest Riverside County.
The congregation has an online presence on YouTube.
In January 2010, police responding to a report of an ill child at the church found Timothy not breathing, and he died at a hospital, Sandoval said. The coroner ruled that Timothy perished from natural causes, Sandoval said, but police believed “negligence” was involved and sent a report to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office.
The DA’s Office declined to charge anyone, Sandoval said, citing a lack of evidence. The sergeant said he did not know whose names, if any, were listed in the report as possibly being culpable.
So once again, Colton police are asking for the public’s assistance.
Anyone with information on Timothy’s case can contact Detective Sgt. Shawn McFarland at smcfarland@coltonca.gov or 909-370-5140. Leads may be left anonymously with WeTip at 800-782-7463 or on the website WeTip.com, referencing case No. 10-01963.
The church has been the focus of Redlands’ investigation into Ghanem’s whereabouts, spokesman Carl Baker has said.
On Aug. 14, Redlands detectives served a search warrant at a hotel in Laguna Hills, where they recovered electronic devices and arrested the Martins.
Darryl Martin, 57, was arrested on suspicion of firearms violations, the San Bernardino County jail booking log shows. He has not been charged. Shelly Martin, 62, was released after a medical episode with no charges.
Efforts by a reporter to reach officials at the His Way church were unsuccessful on Thursday.
The Martins, as well as other current and former congregants, have been difficult for the media to find since the investigation began. Addresses connected to the church and its members have turned out to be, among other locations, a store that rents post office boxes and another that sells boba drinks.
Also, a man who lives at a Hemet residence searched by Redlands police on Aug. 7 declined to comment. Neighbors said the large property periodically hosts activities with more than a dozen guests.
The person listed on the California Secretary of State’s website business license page for a pest control business owned by the church, MaxGuard, has not been reachable for comment.