THE BODY (A Tragic Lesson @ Cult Dynamics)

[Anonymous]

Mass. v. Karin Robidoux: Cult couple accused of starving baby to death
 
Karin and Jacques Robidoux claimed they were following the word of God when they took their 10-month-old son off of solid food and placed him on rigid diet consisting of only the pregnant defendant's breast milk.

For 51 days, the Massachusetts couple allowed their son, Samuel, to slowly and painfully starve to death right in front of their eyes. The Robidoux's were part of a small religious sect called "The Body" that believed group members would receive direct messages or "leadings" from God.

It was a leading of one member ? Karin Robidoux's sister-in-law ? that led to the victim's death by starvation. Karin was also placed on an almost equally debilitating diet, required to drink a gallon of "almond milk" a day.

In 2002, a jury heard these claims and convicted Jacques Robidoux of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Karin Robidoux was initially deemed incompetent to stand trial, but ultimately faced a Bristol County jury in January 2004.

While the prosecution maintained Karin Robidoux starved the infant to death, the defense insisted that the 28-year-old was a victim of a cult that mentally abused her. If convicted of the top count of second-degree murder, she faced life in prison.

The Story

Prosecutors allege Karin and Jacques Robidoux began depriving their son, Samuel, of solid foods in March 1999 after Jacques' sister reported having a vision.

Michelle Mingo said she had a "leading" that Karen was vain because she was slim, and needed to eliminate such a vice. To do so, Mingo instructed Karin to drink a gallon of almond milk a day and only feed Samuel water and breast milk 20 minutes every hour.
On April 26, 1999, Samuel was dead.

Three months after Samuel's death, Rebecca Corneau, another sister of Jacques Robidoux, sister, and her husband David, both cult members, say she gave birth to a baby that was stillborn.

The group reported neither death to authorities. Prosecutors say that in October the cult took a trip to Baxter State Park in Maine for a religious celebration called the "Feast of Tabernacles," and that while there they buried the tiny bodies of Samuel Robidoux and Jeremiah Corneau.

Meanwhile, Robidoux's former brother-in-law, Dennis Mingo, who left the cult long before Samuel's death, turned over a 10-page handwritten account he found in his home detailing Samuel's deteriorating condition.

After meeting with Dennis Mingo, police began to investigate. The adults in The Body refused to talk. But police interviewed children of the cult members, who confirmed Samuel died. The children also told police of the camping trip to Maine, which was when Samuel and his cousin Jeremiah were buried.

With their evidence stacking up, police leaned on baby Jeremiah's father, David Corneau, who was an active cult member and Robidoux's brother-in-law. Police arrested Corneau and other members for contempt of court for refusing to cooperate with investigators. Corneau reluctantly agreed to help state police by leading them to the babies' remains after prosecutors granted him immunity.

The medical evidence could not confirm what exactly killed little Samuel Robidoux, but it was definitely linked his malnourishment.

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 :scared:

[Anonymous]

Background on THE BODY cult

The Body

The cult, which has no official name but has been referred to as "The Body," began in 1978 after Jacques Robidoux's father, Roland Robidoux, decided to leave the World Wide Church of God (WWCG), which he originally joined in the early 1970s because of its strict Christian beliefs.

After leaving the WWCG, Roland Robidoux and his family formed weekly Bible study groups out of their home. Roland believed God was beckoning him to abandon the church and form his own. At its peak, the cult had 70 followers, mostly disgruntled members of the WWCG. Roland said they were God's chosen people.

In 1986, Roland Robidoux met up with longtime friend, Roger Daneau, with whom he had attended Catholic school with as a child. Daneau's family ?including his daughter, Karin ?joined Roland's study groups.

Throughout, Roland became the leader of the cult, controlling their lives, right down to their diets. He also urged the members to cut off ties with anyone who was not a believer, including family members. Roland also rejected traditional religious music, so the group composed its own.

Eventually, Roland came across a book, "Born in Zion," that was written by Carol Balizet, a former nurse who became a spiritual midwife. She urged a complete withdrawal from society because it was dominated by what she termed "Satan's seven counterfeit systems" ?education, medicine, commerce, banking, entertainment, schools, and government.

Balizet proposed living life according to God's directions, to obey God without objections or concerns with the outcome.

The book also says that women should shy away from the established medical system when giving birth. Instead, she endorses women giving birth at home with the help of a spiritual midwife.

In the late 1990s, members began what they called "leadings," or direct communications with God, which became the framework of the sect's theology. Among the "leadings" members say they received from God were orders to stop using eyeglasses, throw out photographs, books and forms of entertainment.

Another "leading" stated that women should wear only dresses. The group preached that the man is the head of the household and makes all the decisions on behalf of the family.

The sect members lived in several homes in communal arrangements. They met every Saturday, their Sabbath, for Bible study and "sharing," where members would discuss their lives among themselves. They owned several businesses where the members worked.

Several cult members, including Roland Robidoux's own children, quit the church because of its strict rules and increasing withdrawal from society.

Jacques supported his family through his window cleaning business until, as his brother-in-law puts it, God "called upon him to drop his Squeegee." He quit working, and he and his family moved into the home of fellow cult members.

He and Karen married in 1996 and had three children together. At the time of their marriage, a 21-year-old Karin was already the mother of two children by different fathers.

Shortly before Samuel's death, Jacques became an "elder" of the cult, making him a leader alongside his father Roland, who founded the religious sect.