Angela Smith's death
On January 8th, 2005, Ricky Rodriguez murdered Angela Smith, a close associate of his mother. Hours later, he took his own life.
Ricky had been contemplating revenge for some time due to the abuses he endured and witnessed as evidenced from this excerpt from an Internet posting in August, 2004, below. Angela Smith had played a limited role in sexual abuse he suffered in his childhood.
"If I could go back and do it over again, the Family as we know it would basically not exist, but at that time I was not prepared to do what I know now is necessary. Something has to be done to stop these child molesters, and it would be nice to find some people who think the same way. Every day these people are alive and free is a slap in the face to the thousands of us who have been methodically molested, tortured, raped, and the many who they have as good as murdered by driving them to suicide.
"It would probably involve a great deal of sacrifice, and would best be accomplished, I think, by people who have nothing to lose, such as myself. I think of that Aesop’s fable about who will bell the cat. If someone doesn’t “bell” this cat for good, it will keep devouring people. I think someone needs to put an end to it because only then can we feel some semblance of justice, and maybe be able to start putting it behind us. I think there are others who feel this way, and I would really like to get in touch with them and exchange ideas."
Prior to his act, Ricky taped a suicide video.
See also: Ricky Rodriguez's death, Jeannie Zerby Deyo Speaks Out!
Documents
Pima County Forensic Science Center - Autopsy Report ML 05-0040 (9 pages, 896k) — 2005-01-10
The Family International's response
- Truth about Angela's Death and Ricky's Suicide, The--Part 1 — by Steven Kelly and Karen Zerby; ML#3529 GN#1119 FD/MM/FM; 2005-01
- Truth about Angela's Death and Ricky's Suicide, The--Part 2 — by Karen Zerby; ML#3530 GN#1120 FD/MM/FM; 2005-01
- Questions & Answers--On Angela and Ricky's deaths, persecution, and other issues — by Karen Zerby; ML#3545 GN#1137 FD/MM/FM; 2005-04
