Police tape blocks off the crime scene outside a church where a man shot dead four people, including three of his children, before turning the gun on himself, February 28, 2022 in Sacramento, California. A father shot dead three of his own children on February 28 before turning the gun on himself in a US church, police said. A fifth person also died in the shooting in Sacramento, California, though it was not clear if that person was related to what police said was a domestic incident. (Photo by Andri Tambunan / AFP) (Photo by ANDRI TAMBUNAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Inland Empire, California – Authorities in the Inland Empire say they’ve made arrests in a case that has hovered for two years like a ghost story in the desert—a missing man, a religious sect, and whispers of violence.
The Redlands Police Department announced this week that Darryl Muzic Martin, 57, of Hemet, was arrested on weapons charges after investigators uncovered an arsenal of illegal firearms connected to their ongoing probe into the disappearance of 40-year-old Emilio Ghanem. Martin’s wife, 62-year-old Shelly Bailey “Kat” Martin, who is described by followers as the “prophetess” of their group, His Way Spirit Led Assemblies, was also taken into custody but later released after what police called a “medical episode.”
The Martins lead the small religious organization that former members describe as cult-like. Ghanem, who vanished in May 2023, had once belonged to the group before moving to Nashville to start a pest-control business—one that directly competed with the Martins’ own. When he returned to Redlands that spring, he told friends he was meeting someone who also wanted to leave the sect. Former members later suggested it may have been a setup. He was last seen at a Starbucks.
This year, investigators found his rental truck, and inside it, evidence they now consider central to what may be a homicide. Authorities haven’t detailed exactly what was discovered, but they have said firearms were seized not only from Darryl Martin but also from properties linked to the group in Colton, Hemet, and Anza.
“During the Hemet and Anza searches, detectives recovered several illegal firearms, including converted fully automatic rifles, short-barreled rifles, and unserialized ‘ghost guns’ along with electronic devices and other digital evidence,” the department said in a statement.
It’s not the first time the sect has been under scrutiny. Police also noted that another member of His Way Spirit Led Assemblies has been missing since 2019, and detectives in Redlands are now working with their counterparts in Claremont to piece together that case as well.
For families left behind, there are no easy answers—just a growing sense of unease. Ghanem’s relatives have waited more than two years for news, watching as rumors and speculation filled the silence. Now, with arrests made and a possible homicide investigation underway, the story edges closer to resolution, though still shrouded in uncertainty.
Police are asking anyone with information about Ghanem’s disappearance to contact Redlands detectives at 909-551-4424 or email [email protected]
