Welcome back to Death by Champagne, the podcast here to keep you up at night! This week Mack starts us off with our very first cult! She covers Victor Barnard, the leader of the River Road Fellowship; his rise to cult leadership, his disgusting sex crimes, and his downfall. Liv takes us to London for a really recent Buzzfeed Investigates topic covering the dangers of GHB in the gay community. How predators are using GHB, the very heartbreaking death of Gerhard Venter, and what his husband Ashley Chaplain is doing to find answers and closure.
 


This episode contains foul language, topics regarding murder, really graphic details regarding rape, child rape, and discussions about date rape drugs. We’ll do our best to stay on track, but the bottles are popped!
 


Sources
River Road Fellowship
Catie L’Heureux, The Cut “Everything You Need to Know About Victor Barnard, the Creepy Cult Leader Accused of Sexually Assaulting Minors”
Catie L’Heureux, The Cut “Two Childhood Rape Survivors Just Ended a Cult Leader’s Terrifying Reign”
Kehla Backman, “The More You Commit, The More The Leader Loves You”
M.L. Nestel, The Daily Beast
Karl Kahler, Twin Cities Pioneer Press “
Heavy.com
A. R. Vander Vegt, Moose Lake Star-Gazette
Sandra G. Boodman, “The Way of Many”, Washington Post
Thomas Clouse, Associated Press
The Way International, Wikipedia
Jennifer Brooks, Jenna Ross and Anderson Barbosa Star Tribune
William Laney, Wapakoneta Daily News/ November 7, 2000
 


Buzzfeed Investigates
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Ashley Chaplain Blog
Reynard Sinaga Article; by Patrick Strudwick