But the court ordered an independent assessment, and that team, including Dr Rhal Huneault and Dr Martine Miljkovitch, recommended that the children be returned to Burnt River immediately. He would get a small woodstove, a case of twenty-four bottles of home-brewed beer, two hens, a rooster, and one meal a day. In February 1979, when the apocalypse did not occur, people started questioning Thriault's wisdom, but he defended himself saying that time on Earth and in God's world were not parallel, and that therefore it was a miscalculation. There were reports of chanting rituals and upside-down crosses; the children also were able to go into great detail about group sex rites which were held in the cabin, and which involved the whole "family." These are more like giant, professionally produced graphic novels. ", When their father drank, his sons knew he would pay them a "visit.". Roch was their most devoted follower; he began following Adventist nutritional strictures, and quit drinking. He also passed it over Nicole's tummy the day she gave birth for the first time. Nicole Boilard Obituary (1943 - 2021) - Chicopee, MA - The Republican At the age of six, the family of this boy who would later say he played with wild bears moved the family to the community of Thetford Mines, in the Eastern Townships. Montreal - Francois Theriault, son of former cult leader, Roch "Moses" Theriault, said he wasn't surprised when he heard his father was found dead in his jail cell earlier this year. Retrieved March 2013, from, Dimmock, G. (2011, November 14). Within minutes, 32-year-old Solange Boilard, who complained of stomach problems, lay naked on a wooden table in one of the commune's log cabins. Only Mose was permitted to express any warmth whatsoever towards the children. The next morning, Samuel was found dead. And as he became bored, he began to drink again. View our online Press Pack. At one point, Gabrielle's uterus prolapsed; after a hard day of working, the organ actually protruded three inches outside her vagina. He had stopped drinking, he told them all, and there wouldn't be any more violence; and after all, as God's emissary they were obliged to follow him. They were a doomsday cult whose beliefs were based on Seventh-day Adventist Church beliefs. [Francine Laflamme]. Roch Theriault, 63, was involved in an altercation early. Theriault also demanded sex from all of the women members in an attempt to increase the number of cult members through children. Then, Rock dislodged the hunting knife which was pinning Gabrielle's arm to the table, and took her over to a stump that was sticking out of the kitchen floor. The members of the group distributed themselves between four apartments in Qubec City, to be near their leader. Please note: This is pretty gruesome. He was able to persuade his followers to sell their belongings, sever ties with their families, and move to a commune near Burnt River, about 100 km northeast of Toronto. All the child's mother had wanted to do was to keep her baby away from Theriault's reach. 4 Cults You Might Not Know About - Mental Floss. solange boilard deathfeathered friend questions and answers. On November 11, 1967, he married Francine Grenier, a girl from the next town over. Berks Regional News. She was born on. A few nights later, Nicole Ruel (whom Roch had married to the uninterested Jacques Fiset) confided that she and Mose had had intercourse while everyone else was working. He shot a .22 at Claude. Wouldn't a hole in the skull and a missing rib be noticeable? Thriault abandoned the Adventist diet. Thriault's fear of the end of the world grew, claiming that God had warned him that it would come in February 1979, and used the commune to prepare for it. Part of this legal action involved testifying on the conditions under which the children of the compound lived. Roch Thriault: The Horrifying Savagery (& Home Surgery) Of Canada's They set up home in a hamlet in Burnt River, Ontario, and Theriault's drink problem worsened. He also claimed to be a reincarnation of the prophet Moses, and demanded the respect appropriate for such a figure. July 26, 1989, Rock became drunk. Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. After that, Gigure became "Mose's" main enforcer. Prisoner charged in cult leader's death | CTV News Thriault instructed Jacques Gigure, Maryse's husband in the eyes of the law (though not in the eyes of "Mose") to cut off one of her toes with an axe as punishment. They would go back into the bush and start all over again: this time on Lot 4, Concession 5, in Somerville Township, Burnt River near the town of Lindsay, in Victoria County, Ontario. Chantal Labrie (19) This was the first incident of what would become the ruling element in the lives of those people who had taken to following Thriault. Allegedly, baby Samuel's head was flopping around on his neck, and his penis had swelled up. Gisle told Thriault that Solange's wish had been to be cremated, and Rock agreed to have the group burn Solange's body. In 2009, they published a book about their experience. While Solange screamed in agony he then ripped her stomach open and pulled out part of her intestine with his hands. This was not unusual, and Gisle, Claude, Francine, and Marise all . Roch Thriault was born on May 16, 1947, in Saguenay, Quebec, Canada, into a French-Canadian family, and raised in Thetford Mines. He once used a meat cleaver to chop off the hand and part of the arm of Gabrielle Lavalle, one of his concubines. While others were told to cut off their toes to prove their loyalty to their master. All of these people, plus Roch, began hanging around at Gisle's apartment. Thriault converted from Catholicism to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and began practising the denomination's regular holistic beliefs which encouraged a healthy lifestyle free of unhealthy foods and tobacco[citation needed]. One of Theriault's followers, Solange Boilard, was suffering from excrutiating stomach problems in 1989. This massive 8.5 x 11 perfect bound book contains over 150 pages of rare interviews, letters, documents, transcripts, art and articles about serial killer, Richard Ramirez (aka the Nightstalker). They were forbidden to go to the hospital. Though, it's strange that Solanges death circumstances only came to light one year later after Gabrielles escape. Even while he was in prison, three of his wives continued conjugal visits and two of the three bore him more children. Ant Hill Kids - The Cult of Roch Theriault Hill Explorer Thats right. There was to be no parental access, as the Court believed Thriault to be a manipulative despot who posed a significant risk of molestation and exploitation. The lowest of them all was Maryse Grenier; Thriault forbade Jacques and Maryse from sleeping together, and encouraged Jacques to beat her if she talked back to him or to Rock even though she was pregnant. During this time, Rock was also charged with obstruction of justice that occurred in connection with an incident in which he and his followers were harassing the daughter of one of Rock's children's foster parents. The whole thing seemed to be over. The prophecied day, February 17, came and went without any Second Coming. He was using his amateur wood sculpting sales as an excuse to go out of Thetford Mines for Qubec City on the weekends to carry on trysts with women he met there. It took the police six weeks to find Thriault. Sometimes Gisle would become jealous of the attention the girls lavished on Roch; but as he had expressed interest in becoming a priest, and had committed to total sobriety, she came to regard this as absurd even if she realized it wouldn't take much for Thriault to seduce any one of them. Join Facebook to connect with Solange Boilard and others you may know. In April of 1978, Thriault was voted out of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, on Zita's initiative. The group buried her then disinterred her a few days later. But Thriault was not to be satisfied with this decision, and a couple of hours later he took Jacques aside and suggested that they castrate Veer. 13 of the Creepiest Cults Throughout History - Dread Central [11][12], On February 26, 2011, at age 63, Thriault was found dead near his cell at Dorchester Penitentiary. One afternoon, he got exceedingly drunk. He had previously killed an infant named Samuel Gigure, while two of his disciples, Geraldine Gagn Auclair and Gabrielle Nadeau, died following homeopathic treatments administered to them by Thriault. Each was forced to wear an identical tunic, which was supposed to symbolise equality, but merely tightened Theriault's grip on his followers. All of the accused pleaded not guilty. The group was refused funding on the basis that the group constituted an institution, rather than a family. This huge, perfect bound copy of SERIAL KILLER MAGAZINE is chock full of artwork, rare documents, trivia and in depth articles regarding serial murder. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Monday Messiah: Roch Thriault, Lord of the Ant Hill get yours now before they are gone forever. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. On another occasion, he shot a .303-calibre bullet through her shoulder. Sect of roch Thriault - Cults. If you're sensitive to graphic accounts of gross domestic violence, don't read this. Eventually, Thriault's finances gave way, and the local credit union repossessed his Thetford Mines residence; Francine washed her hands of Roch, and Roch took up with Gisle. He claimed it would cure Veer's headaches, as well as the excessive masturbation that was "causing" Veer's respiratory difficulties. He conveniently left out the parts about food rationing, abuse, or his polygamous harem. His first swing missed. His death is believed to be the result of an altercation with his cellmate, Matthew Gerrard MacDonald, a 60-year-old convicted murderer from Port au Port, Newfoundland and Labrador, who was charged with the killing. Even when the police came, at the behest of the families of some of the girls, they refused to speak. This massive 8.5 x 11 perfect bound book contains over 150 pages of rare interviews, letters, documents, transcripts, art and articles about serial killer, John Wayne Gacy. And I don't speak lightly. The story of Theriault and Lavallee is told in Savage Messiah, a new TV movie airing on The Movie Network and Movie Central. They arrested Thriault for obstruction of justice, and he was ordered by the court to undergo psychological evaluation at Qubec City's l'Hpitale Robert Giffard. The charismatic cult leader had 22 children with women he held under his sway. He was arrested for assault in 1989, and convicted of murder in 1993. In 2002, Thriault was rejected for parole as he was considered too high a risk to re-offend, and he never applied again. Solange Boilard, who was killed with a kitchen knife as part of a cult ritual. Between Mass and his father's forced door-to-door White Beret literature distribution campaigns, Roch developed an abiding hatred for Catholicism in particular and organized religion in general. Theriault founded and led a notorious sect in the 1980s and was sentenced to life in prison in 1993 for the murder of Solange Boilard. Pierre Zita tried approaching the parents of many of the girls, and tried to convince Gisle to leave Roch. Gabrielle Nadeau went into a coma and died shortly thereafter. Jacques Fiset and Claude hacked at the ground with a shovel and pickaxe where the center of the cabin would be, working all summer to dig a well; when they finally reached the water-table, Roch declared it a miracle. However, Thriault faced no repercussions for his abusive acts. And it was not until October 6, 1989 that Gisle decided to tell anyone about Solange's death unbeknownst to Gisle, the very day Rock was apprehended by the police at last. He began to deliver long, rambling, drunken sermons. . Thriault was charming to young women and was a good speaker. For my part, I really believe that you were possessed by a very powerful spirit. But he also had a maniacal streak that triggered brutal punishment and even torture. Veer signed it. He squeezed Gabrielle's hand in a vice. 1988 (September 29): One of Theriault's plural wives, Solange Boilard, complained of a stomach ache and was subjected to brutal and botched surgical operation by an inebriated "Moise." She died and was buried by his followers. Claude Ouellette (who burned the body) was charged with obstruction of justice. He punched his first-born son, Roch jr, in the face when he refused to wrestle his brother Franois. Allyson Ruby Boilard Obituary (2004 - 2019) | Sabattus, Maine In 1978, Thriault was removed from Seventh-day Adventist Church. Thriault began networking. He was sentenced to life in prison for her murder in 1993. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. Theriault's drinking and increasing paranoia made him convinced believers were spying on him and were considering leaving what he believed was his perfect cult. To the outside world, the Ant Hill Kids were just another commune of hippies who supported themselves through self-sufficiency and baking in the idyllic Canadian wilderness. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. A couple of days later, Thriault decided that Gabrielle's stump was gangrenous, and used a pair of scissors to cut out the infection. He had previously killed an infant named Samuel Gigure, while two of his disciples, Geraldine Gagn Auclair and Gabrielle Nadeau, died following homeopathic treatments administered to them by Thriault. At the end of the nine-month trial, during which the commune members moved to the town of New Carlisle, where the trial was held, all parties were found guilty of all charges. On January 31, 1985, a police officer caught Jacques Gigure shoplifting. He started pressing and punching Solange's stomach; when she put her hands up to fend him off, Rock simply told her to move her hands, and she did. My body is very afraid of all these things. He methodically sprained Claude's toes; another time he used a piece of broken glass to slice Claude's arm open. Nearby, he tracked down Gabrielle, Claude, Nicole Ruel, and Roch jr (who had fifty feet of rope coiled around his waist).