Lex de Man: It's incredible, absolutely incredible that I'm standing here … unbelievable feeling. He is here to retrace the steps of the biggest case of his career - hunting down a dangerous fugitive cult leader. In the Catskills region of New York State, Lex de Man is far from home. He tells "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant, "She is the most evil person that I've ever met." "My whole life was wrapped up in this investigation," says Lex de Man, a former detective with the Victoria Police Department in Melbourne, Australia. "The Family" is also the story of the incredible determination of a detective in Australia and an agent at the FBI who joined forces to bring the Hamilton-Byrnes before a judge. The children believed they were brothers and sisters and thought Anne and Bill Hamilton-Byrne were their parents until they were rescued by police and the cult was broken up. The harsh treatment was carried out by some of the women known as "Aunties," loyal cult members who lived with and taught the children. Now, some of those children are speaking out about Hamilton-Byrne's attempt to build a perfect race through a collection of children - some of whom were forced to have their hair bleached blonde, were home-schooled on an isolated property, and were injected with LSD as part of an initiation ritual. Some were the children of cult members, others were newborns that came from unwed mother tricked into thinking their babies were going to good homes, a few were out and out stolen, investigators say. To others, she was the evil leader of The Family - an apocalyptic cult with about 500 followers and more than 28 children. To some, Anne Hamilton-Byrne was a yoga teacher with a penchant for plastic surgery.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |