by John Glatt
First published 1998
John Glatt examines eleven cases of religious leaders who became killers. The author documents clergy members who violated the commandment against murder while serving their congregations. Pastor Edmund Lopes murdered his wife and stabbed his girlfriend, then found religion in prison and escaped to become a Baptist minister before police caught him ten years later. Sister Sheila Ryan De Luca left her Franciscan convent after allegations of a lesbian relationship and was accused of brutally killing a man she claimed raped her. She served ten years before her conviction was overturned. Reverend Freddie Armstrong, a schizophrenic ordained priest, believed God told him to kill the Antichrist and used a butcher knife to stab and decapitate 81-year-old minister Fred Neal. Glatt reveals how these trusted spiritual leaders betrayed the faith placed in them by their communities. The book includes eight pages of photographs documenting these shocking crimes.
Genres: crime, religion, non-fiction, true-crime
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: betrayal, true-crime
256 pages · Mass Market Paperback · St. Martin's True Crime
Content warnings: murder, violence