Ricky Rodriguez
Contents
Richard Peter Rodriguez 1975-2005
Ricky came into the world on January 25, 1975 on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands of Spain. His mother, Karen Zerby, was the companion of David Berg (1919-1994), founder and leader of The Children of God / The Family, a high-demand, highly sexualised, apocalyptic religious movement. Nicknamed Davidito (his birth name was David Moses Zerby, later legally changed to Richard Peter Smith), Rick spent his childhood and early adult years living and travelling with his mother and Berg in Europe, Asia, and Canada. He was considered to be the adopted son of David Berg although no official adoption ever took place.
From his birth, David Berg and Karen Zerby determined to make Ricky a poster boy for their followers. He was, according to them, a divine prince, destined to lead the Children of God through the biblical end-time. As such, they felt that Ricky must be moulded into an ideal follower, an incarnation of their beliefs and practices. His upbringing was exhaustively documented and highly publicized as a model for all parents in The Family to follow. As a result, Ricky's childhood and youth was spent in a highly controlled environment characterized by intense indoctrination, stringent discipline, and sexual initiation by adults.
As Ricky grew up he developed a deep seated resentment towards Berg and Zerby because of the sexual abuse he had suffered as a child due to their policies and because of the unnatural way in which he was raised. He would later state that he and his sister were never allowed to be "just children". They always had to perform and demonstrate their supposed natural superiority to other children in the group.
In his late teens, Ricky began rebelling against his mother's beliefs and practices. In early 2001, he and his fiancée Elixcia Munumel made a final break with his mother (who had become the leader after Berg's death) and The Family, declaring to her that "we cannot continue to condone or be party to what we feel is an abusive, manipulative organization that teaches false doctrine. . . . You have devoured God's sheep, ruining people's lives by propagating false doctrines and advocating harmful practices in the name of God, and as far as I can see, show no regret or remorse."
Ricky and Elixcia, now married, settled in Washington State, hoping to put the past behind them. However, Ricky became increasingly consumed by rage over the abuse that he and many hundreds of other children raised in The Family had suffered. Deeply depressed, he felt that his mission was to find his mother and bring her to justice.
In October 2004, he moved to Tucson, Arizona and worked as an electrician for a business owned by a former member. According to accounts by his friends and relatives, he moved there because he heard his mother had visited and he wanted to find her. In January 2005, he arranged a meeting with a long time Family Member and close associate of his mother, Angela Smith (formerly Susan Joy Kauten) and stabbed her to death in his apartment. He then drove to Blythe, California where he shot himself in the head. He released a videotape to be distributed to friends, family and former members explaining his actions. In this video, Ricky says he saw himself as a vigilante avenging children like him and his sisters who had been subject to rapes and beatings. "There's this need that I have," he said. "It's not a want. It's a need for revenge. It's a need for justice, because I can't go on like this."
Timeline of Events
| Year | Place | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 January 25 | Canary Islands | Ricky is born on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands of Spain |
| 1977 March | Portugal and Spain | Leaves Tenerife with his mother and David Berg. Berg fleeing possible legal charges for scandalous conduct related to FFing. Spends the next several months in Madeira and Estoril, Portugal, and Madrid, Spain. |
| 1978 | Switzerland and Malta | Lives for short periods in Switzerland and Malta. |
| 1979 | France | Berg and Zerby move to the French Riviera, near Nice. Rick lives in southern France in several different locales until mid-1980. |
| 1980 June | South Africa | Zerby and Berg move to Cape Town South Africa for six months. |
| 1981 | Portugal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Phillipines | Rick spends a few months in Estoril, Portugal, Sri Lanka, and Singapore before Berg and Zerby settle in Metro Manila, Phillipines. |
| 1981 June – 1987 November | Phillipines | Berg and Zerby live in the Metro Manila area — five different locations. |
| 1987 November – late 1988 | Japan and Korea | Zerby and Berg live in the Tokyo Japan area, as well as Tateyama, Chiba prefecture. (HCS. Rick attends HCS.) Short visit to Korea. |
| 1988 September – 1993 | Canada, USA, and Australia | Zerby and Berg move to the Vancouver area on Canada's west coast. They remain there until mid 1993, when they are forced to flee due to a revived police investigation about their illegal attempts to obtain Canadian passports. During this time Rick visits Family communities in the U.S. and Australia with Steve Kelly.
Undergoes a psychological evaluation with Dr. Lawrence Lilliston to "prove" that childhood abuse had no negative effect on him which is used extensively by The Family. |
| 1993 May – mid 1994 | Portugal | Travels with Berg and Zerby in Europe. Settles in Portugal, near Lisboa. |
| 1995 - 1996 | Hungary and Russia | Spent some time in Russia. Lives and works at "MM Home" in Hungary. |
| 1997 - 1999 | Portugal | Spends three years at his mothers secret leadership compound in Portugal. |
| 2000 | California, Venezuala, and England | Decides to leave mother and exit the group. Spends some time in California, Venezuala, England. Decides to temporarily remain in The Family. |
| 2001 January | USA | Officially leaves The Family. Works on fishing boats from Seattle for three months. Marries Elixcia, settles in Tacoma. Works as an electrician. |
| 2004 | USA | Early 2004 — moves to southern California — works as electrician. |
| 2004 September | USA | Moves to Tucson, AZ. Works as electrician. |
| 2005 January 9 | USA | Ricky kills Angela Smith, a close associate of his mother. Hours later, he takes his own life. |
Writings by Ricky Rodriguez
- Correspondence Between Ricky and Karen Zerby — 29 May 2000 (PDF, 160 Kb)
- From Ricky to Gabe — 26 November 2000 (PDF, 114 Kb)
- From Ricky to James Penn — 22 December 2000 (PDF, 75 Kb)
- Letter from Ricky to Karen Zerby — 16 January 2001 (PDF, 55 Kb)
- From Ricky to Johnny — May 2002 (PDF, 126 Kb)
Legal Name Changes
- From David Moses Zerby to Richard Peter Smith — 15 March 1993 (PDF, 26 kb)
- From Richard Peter Smith to Richard Peter Rodriguez — 13 July 1994 (PDF, 32 kb)
