Editing Roch Thériault

{{short description|Canadian cult leader and murderer (1947–2011)}}
{{multiple issues|
{{original research|date=January 2014}}
{{unreliable sources|date=January 2014}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name              = Roch Thériault
| image             = 
| image_size        = 
| caption           = 
| birth_name        = 
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1947|5|16}}
| birth_place       = [[Saint-Épiphane]], [[Quebec, Canada]]
| death_cause       = Stabbed in neck with a [[Shiv (weapon)|shiv]] in [[Dorchester Penitentiary]] by his cellmate, Matthew Gerrard MacDonald
| death_date        = {{death date and age|2011|02|26|1947|5|16}}
| death_place       = [[Dorchester Penitentiary]], [[New Brunswick, Canada]]
| occupation        = [[Cult]] leader
| spouse            = 
| children          = 26
| conviction        = [[Second degree murder]]
| criminal_penalty  = [[Life imprisonment]]
}}

'''Roch Thériault''' ({{IPA|fr|ʁɔk te.ʁjo|}}; May 16, 1947 – February 26, 2011) was a Canadian [[cult]] leader and convicted murderer. Thériault, a self-proclaimed [[prophet]] under the name '''Moïse''' {{IPA|fr|mɔ.iz|}} (French for "Moses"), founded the '''Ant Hill Kids''' in 1977. They were a [[doomsday cult]] whose beliefs were based on those of the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]]. In April 1978, Thériault was removed from the Seventh-day Adventist Church.<ref name=belief>{{Cite web|url=https://wrldrels.org/2019/02/25/holy-moses-mountain-family-2/|title=Holy Moses Mountain Family|date=February 25, 2019|website=[[World Religions and Spirituality Project]]|access-date=July 6, 2023}}</ref> He maintained [[polygamy|multiple wives]] and [[Concubinage|concubines]], impregnating all female members as a religious requirement, and fathering 26 children.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine|last1=Laver|first1=Ross|last2=Kaihla|first2=Paul|date=February 8, 1993|title=The Ant Hill Kids|url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1993/2/8/the-ant-hill-kids|magazine=Maclean's|language=en-CA|volume=106|issue=6|page=18|access-date=May 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528034717/https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1993/2/8/the-ant-hill-kids|archive-date=May 28, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Thériault's followers, including 12 adults and 22 children, lived under his [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] rule in a [[Intentional community|commune]] and were subject to severe physical and sexual abuse.

Thériault was arrested for assault in 1989, dissolving the cult. In 1993, he was convicted for the murder of follower Solange Boilard. He had previously killed an infant named Samuel Giguère, while two of his disciples, Geraldine Gagné Auclair and Solange Boilard, died following [[Homeopathy|homeopathic]] treatments administered to them by Thériault. Thériault received a [[Life imprisonment|life sentence]], which he was serving when he was murdered at [[Dorchester Penitentiary]] in 2011. Thériault, along with [[Robert Pickton]], [[Clifford Olson]] and [[Paul Bernardo]], has been considered one of Canada's most notorious criminals since the 1980s.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Social Control in Alternative Religions: A Familial Perspective|author=RH Cartwright, SA Kent|journal=Sociological Analysis |jstor= 3711432|date=December 1992|volume=53|issue=4|pages=345–361|doi=10.2307/3711432}}</ref>

==Early life==
Roch Thériault was born in [[Saint-Épiphane]], [[Quebec]] on May 16, 1947, into a poor [[French Canadians|French-Canadian]] Catholic family, and was raised in [[Thetford Mines]]. Thériault was destined by his mother to become a [[Priesthood in the Catholic Church|Priest]], but was ostracized by other family members due to having been born from an incestuous rape of his mother by his grandfather. Thériault was frequently beaten by his stepfather throughout his childhood and his mother was too scared to protect him from the abuse. This further isolated Thériault from other family members.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BAnQ numérique |url=http://numerique.banq.qc.ca/ |access-date=2025-09-04 |website=numerique.banq.qc.ca |language=fr}}</ref> As a child Thériault was considered to be very intelligent, but dropped out of school in the seventh grade and lived many years in [[homeless shelter]]s across Quebec and worked different odd jobs before he finally founded a small woodwork business.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foglia |first=Pierre |date=November 17, 1979 |title=Un petit Christ |url=https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2411325 |access-date=2025-09-04 |website=numerique.banq.qc.ca}}</ref> In 1972, he began to teach himself the [[Old Testament]] of the [[Bible]] after he met an adventist Pastor.<ref name="localmouth.com">Ross, S. (January 13, 2010). Sect of roch Thériault - Cults. (n.d.).Local Community Forum and Information for Every Town, Village and Hamlet in Britain. Retrieved March 15, 2013, from [https://web.archive.org/web/20140202093701/http://www.localmouth.com/go/cults/show_topic?topic_id=2269]</ref> Thériault believed that the [[Eschatology|end of the world]] was near and would be brought on by the war between [[good and evil]]. Thériault converted from [[Catholicism]] to the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]] in January 1977,<ref name="belief" /> and began practising the denomination's regular [[holistic]] beliefs which encouraged a healthy lifestyle free of unhealthy foods and [[tobacco]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cvltnation.com/ant-hill-kids-break-legs-sledgehammer-go-hell/|title=THE ANT HILL KIDS: Break Your Legs With A Sledgehammer Or Go To Hell|last=Roos|first=Robin|date=May 20, 2020|website=[[CVLT Nation]]|access-date=July 6, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://grunge.com/928595/who-killed-roch-theriault-of-the-ant-hill-kids-cult/|title=Who Killed Roch Thériault Of The Ant Hill Kids Cult?|last=Homer|first=Aaron|date=March 16, 2023|website=Grunge|access-date=July 6, 2023}}</ref>

==Ant Hill Kids==
In the mid-1970s, Thériault convinced a group of people to leave their jobs and homes to join him in a religious movement. Thériault formed the [[cult]] in 1977 in [[Sainte-Marie, Quebec|Sainte-Marie]], Quebec with the goal to form a [[Intentional community|commune]] where people could freely listen to his [[Motivational speaker|motivational speeches]], live in unity and equality, and be free of sin.<ref name="localmouth.com"/> He prohibited the group from remaining in contact with their families and with the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]], as this was against his cult's values of freedom. Thériault's fear of the end of the world grew, claiming that God had warned him that it would come in February 1979, and used the commune to prepare for it. In 1978, in preparation, Thériault moved his commune by hiking to a mountainside he called "Eternal Mountain" in [[Hope, Quebec|Hope]], in the sparsely populated [[Gaspé Peninsula]], where he claimed they could all be saved.<ref>MacEachern, B. (February 28, 2011). MyKawartha Article: Former Burnt River cult leader killed in jail . Mykawartha.com | Your Peterborough and Kawartha Lakes online newspaper . Retrieved March 2013, from http://www.mykawartha.com/news/article/960359--former-burnt-river-cult-leader-killed-in-jail {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320075944/http://www.mykawartha.com/news/article/960359--former-burnt-river-cult-leader-killed-in-jail |date=March 20, 2012 }},</ref><ref>Kovalchik, K. (February 16, 2010). 4 Cults You Might Not Know About - Mental Floss. (n.d.). Random, Interesting, Amazing Facts - Fun Quizzes and Trivia - Mental Floss. Retrieved March 2013, from {{cite web |url=http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/47771 |title=4 Cults You Might Not Know About - Mental Floss |access-date=March 20, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118021718/http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/47771 |archive-date=January 18, 2012 }}</ref> There, Thériault made the commune build their town while he relaxed, comparing them to ants working in an [[Ant colony|ant hill]] and naming the group the Ant Hill Kids. In February 1979, when the [[apocalypse]] did not occur, people started questioning Thériault's wisdom, but he defended himself by saying that time on Earth and in God's world were not parallel, and that therefore it was a miscalculation. To expand the community as well as keep the members devoted, Thériault married and impregnated all of the women in the commune, fathering over 20 children with 9 female members of the group. By the 1980s, there were nearly 40 members. Followers were made to wear identical tunics to represent equality and their devotion to the commune.

In 1984, the group relocated from Quebec to a new site near [[Burnt River, Ontario|Burnt River]], a hamlet in [[Central Ontario]] which is now part of the city of [[Kawartha Lakes]].

===Abuse===
Following the cult's formation, Thériault began to move away from being a motivational leader as his [[Alcoholism|drinking problem]] worsened, exerting an increasingly [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] control over the lives of his followers and becoming irrational in his beliefs. Members were not allowed to speak to each other when he was not present, nor to have sex with each other without his permission.<ref name="localmouth.com"/> Thériault used his charisma to cover for his increasingly abusive and erratic behaviour, and none of the other members questioned his judgement or openly blamed him for any physical, mental or emotional damage.<ref name="localmouth.com"/> Thériault began to inflict punishments on followers that he considered to be straying, by spying on them and claiming that God told him what they did. If a person wished to leave the commune, Thériault would hit them with either a belt or hammer, suspend them from the ceiling, pluck each of their body hairs individually, or even defecate on them.<ref name="blogs.ottawacitizen.com">Dimmock, G. (November 14, 2011). Revealed: Murder of Canadian cult leader who performed ritual killings and beat children to death | Ottawa Citizen. (n.d.).Opinion - Blogs - ''Ottawa Citizen''. Retrieved March 15, 2013, from {{cite web |url=http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2011/11/14/revealed-murder-of-canadian-cult-leader-who-performed-ritual-killings-and-beat-children-to-death/ |title=Revealed: Murder of Canadian cult leader who performed ritual killings and beat children to death &#124; Ottawa Citizen |access-date=March 20, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408092346/http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2011/11/14/revealed-murder-of-canadian-cult-leader-who-performed-ritual-killings-and-beat-children-to-death/ |archive-date=April 8, 2013 }}</ref> The Ant Hill Kids raised money for living by selling baked goods, and members who did not bring in enough money were also punished.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/23978/4-cults-you-might-not-know-about| title=4 Cults You Might Not Know About| work=Mental Floss| date=February 16, 2010| access-date=March 20, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413031206/http://mentalfloss.com/article/23978/4-cults-you-might-not-know-about| archive-date=April 13, 2013| url-status=live}}</ref>

Over time, Thériault's punishments became increasingly extreme and violent, including making members break their own legs with [[sledgehammer]]s, sit on lit stoves, shoot each other in the shoulders, and eat dead mice and feces. A follower would sometimes be asked to cut off another follower's toes with [[Diagonal pliers|wire cutters]] to prove loyalty. The abuse extended to the cult's children, who were [[Sexual abuse|sexually abused]], held over fires, or nailed to trees while other children threw stones at them. One of Thériault's wives left a newborn child, Eleazar Lavallée, outside to die in freezing temperatures to keep him away from the abuse. Thériault attempted to backtrack to the original religious mission of the commune, beginning to strongly believe in [[Ritual purification|purifying]] his followers and ridding them of their sins through abusive purification sessions where the members would be completely nude as he whipped and beat them. Thériault claimed to be a holy being, and started performing unnecessary amateur surgical operations on sick members to demonstrate his healing powers. These "surgeries" included injecting a 94% [[ethanol]] solution into stomachs, or performing [[circumcision]]s on the children and adults of the group. In 1987, [[social work]]ers removed 17 of the children from the commune. However, Thériault faced no repercussions for his abusive acts.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kaihla |first1=Paul |title=Savage Messiah: The Shocking Story of Cult Leader Rock Thériault and the Women Who Loved Him |last2=Laver |first2=Ross |publisher=Doubleday Canada Limited |year=1993 |isbn=0-385-25440-7}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=November 2022}}

In 1989, when follower Solange Boilard complained of an upset stomach, Thériault performed another amateur surgery without [[Anesthesia|anaesthesia]]. He laid her naked on a table, and punched her in the stomach, then forced a plastic tube into her rectum to perform a crude [[enema]] with [[molasses]] and [[olive oil]]. He cut open her abdomen with a knife and ripped out part of her intestines with his bare hands.<ref name=":0" /> Thériault made another member, Gabrielle Lavallée, stitch her up using needle and thread,<ref name=":0" /> and had the other women shove a tube down her throat and blow through it.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}} Boilard died the next day from the damage inflicted by the procedures.<ref name=":0" /> Claiming to have the power of [[resurrection]], Thériault had his followers saw off the cap of Boilard's skull and he [[Ejaculation|ejaculated]] onto her brain.<ref name=":0" /> When Boilard did not return to life, her corpse was buried a short distance from the Ant Hill Kids' commune.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}

==Arrest and conviction==
Lavallée underwent harsh treatment at the Ontario commune during the late 1980s, suffering [[welding torch]] burns to her genitals, a [[hypodermic needle]] breaking off in her back, and eight of her teeth being forcibly removed.<ref name="blogs.ottawacitizen.com"/> Lavallée attempted to escape from the commune after Thériault cut off parts of her breast and smashed her head in with the blunt side of an axe, but upon her return he removed one of her fingers with wire cutters, pinned her hand to a wooden table with a hunting knife, and then used a cleaver to amputate her arm.<ref name=":0" />

In 1989, Thériault was arrested for [[assault]] after Lavallée had fled the commune again and contacted authorities, effectively dissolving the Ant Hill Kids. Provincial authorities had long-held suspicions about Thériault's cult due to the particularly primitive living conditions of its membership, but because the commune was officially registered as a church, officials were legally unable to investigate the adults, and could not do much except ensure the welfare of the children. Thériault was found guilty of assault for the amputation of Lavallée's arm and received a sentence of 12 years' imprisonment. The vast majority of the cult's followers abandoned Thériault after his arrest, but during his imprisonment he fathered another four children with remaining female members during [[conjugal visit]]s. Lavallée's report allowed further investigation into Thériault's actions, exposing the wider abuses at the communes and Solange Boilard's murder. In 1993, Thériault pleaded guilty to [[second-degree murder]] for the death of Solange Boilard, and was sentenced to [[life imprisonment]]. In 2000, Thériault was transferred to [[Dorchester Penitentiary]], a medium-security prison in [[Dorchester, New Brunswick]]. In 2002, Thériault was rejected for [[parole]] as he was considered too high a risk to reoffend, and he never applied again.

In 2009, Thériault tried to sell his artwork on a United States-based website MurderAuction.com, which called itself a "true crime [[auction house]]" and was willing to sell some of Thériault's drawings and poetry.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Beeby|first=Dean|date=March 10, 2008|title=Cult killer's prison art for sale on U.S. website|work=The Star|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2008/03/10/cult_killers_prison_art_for_sale_on_us_website.html|access-date=July 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708081950/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2008/03/10/cult_killers_prison_art_for_sale_on_us_website.html|archive-date=July 8, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Correctional Service of Canada]] prevented Thériault's works leaving Dorchester Penitentiary, and [[Stockwell Day]], the Canadian federal Public Safety Minister at the time, wrote to the Correctional Service to express concern that the killer was benefiting from work in prison.<ref>{{Cite news|date=April 6, 2009|title=Prison officials move to block sale of murderer's artwork|publisher=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/prison-officials-move-to-block-sale-of-murderer-s-artwork-1.850967|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=April 4, 2009|title=Officials bring down gavel on murderer's art auction|work=CTV News|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/officials-bring-down-gavel-on-murderer-s-art-auction-1.386153|access-date=July 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708000352/https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/officials-bring-down-gavel-on-murderer-s-art-auction-1.386153|archive-date=July 8, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Death and aftermath==
On February 26, 2011, at age 63, Thériault was found dead near his cell at [[Dorchester Penitentiary]]. His death is believed to be the result of an altercation with his cellmate, Matthew Gerrard MacDonald, a 60-year-old convicted murderer from [[Port au Port, Newfoundland and Labrador]], who was charged with the killing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.capacadie.com/actualites-regionales/2011/2/26/roch-moise-theriault-tue |title=Roch «Moïse» Thériault tué &#124; capacadie.com |access-date=February 26, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302012701/http://www.capacadie.com/actualites-regionales/2011/2/26/roch-moise-theriault-tue |archive-date=March 2, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/inmate-suspected-in-cult-leader-s-death-rcmp-1.1111723 | title = Inmate suspected in cult leader's death: RCMP | publisher = CBC News | date = February 28, 2011 | access-date = February 28, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302091447/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2011/02/28/nb-roch-theriault-homicide-investigation-549.html | archive-date = March 2, 2011 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/fellow-inmate-charged-in-cult-leader-s-death-1.1111108 | title = Fellow inmate charged in cult leader's death | publisher = CBC News | date = May 6, 2011 | access-date = May 7, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509031359/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2011/05/06/nb-roch-theriault-charges-806.html | archive-date = May 9, 2011 | url-status = live }}</ref> MacDonald pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison, having already been serving a life sentence for a previous murder charge. MacDonald had stabbed Thériault in the neck with a [[Shiv (weapon)|shiv]], walked to the officers station, handed them the weapon, and proclaimed "That piece of shit is down on the range. Here's the knife, I've sliced him up."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/Life+sentence+murder+cult+leader+Roch+Theriault/6254854/story.html | title = Life sentence for murder of cult leader Roch Thériault | work = The Gazette|location=Montreal | date = March 5, 2012 | url-status = dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308223121/http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Life+sentence+murder+cult+leader+Roch+Theriault/6254854/story.html | archive-date = March 8, 2012 }}</ref>

The 2002 film ''[[Savage Messiah (2002 film)|Savage Messiah]]'' depicts Thériault's crimes against his followers and the ensuing legal recourse. The film stars [[Luc Picard]] as Thériault, and [[Polly Walker]] as Paula Jackson, the social worker whose investigation revealed the crimes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303010/|title=Savage Messiah|publisher=IMDb|access-date=October 30, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061028103729/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303010/|archive-date=October 28, 2006|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Savage Messiah - European Premiere Screening|publisher=di-ve.com|date=June 2, 2003|url=http://www.di-ve.com/dive/portal/portal.jhtml?id=91173&pid=null|access-date=September 8, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060319103140/http://www.di-ve.com/dive/portal/portal.jhtml?id=91173&pid=null|archive-date=March 19, 2006|url-status=live}}</ref> Gabrielle Lavallée wrote a memoir of her life in the sect entitled ''L'alliance de la brebis'' ("Alliance of the Ewe"), {{ISBN|2-920176-85-4}}.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* ''Savage Messiah'', a compilation by two journalists of Thériault's life until his arrest.

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050404112012/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1026422427369_21831627/ CTV news report about Thériault]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071016100807/http://canoe.com/divertissement/cinema/fiche/film/100541.html]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Theriault, Roch}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century apocalypticists]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian criminals]]
[[Category:Canadian male criminals]]
[[Category:Canadian people convicted of murder]]
[[Category:Canadian people convicted of child sexual abuse]]
[[Category:Canadian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment]]
[[Category:Canadian people who died in prison custody]]
[[Category:Founders of new religious movements]]
[[Category:Murdered Canadian criminals]]
[[Category:People convicted of murder by Canada]]
[[Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Canada]]
[[Category:Prisoners murdered in custody]]
[[Category:Prisoners who died in Canadian detention]]
[[Category:Prophets]]
[[Category:People murdered in New Brunswick]]
[[Category:Converts to Adventism]]
[[Category:People disfellowshipped by the Seventh-day Adventist Church]]
[[Category:2011 murders in Canada]]