Just Evil! Cult Leaders That Rose To Power & How They Did It (LIST)

What is it about cult leaders that make their followers fall victim to the ideals of their sect?

Throughout history we’ve been subjected to cult leaders, who through their own ideas have been able to control people to do whatever they want.

STORY: We Pray! North Carolina Man Shoots 4-Year-Old Boy He Thought Was Gay 

Most recently, in Durham, North Carolina, police charged cult leader Pete Moses with first-degree murder in the deaths of 4-year-old Jadon Higganbothan and 28-year-old Antoinetta Yvonne McKoy.

Authorities say that Moses led a religious group of women and children who called him “Lord” and obeyed his every command out of fear.

Once operating out of Colorado, the sect moved to a home on Pear Tree Lane in southeast Durham in 2012 after Moses killed Jadon and Antoinetta.

A woman who left the group informed police that Moses killed Jadon in October 2010 because he thought the child was gay after he became concerned that the young boy had touched one of his sons inappropriately.

According to prosecutors, after Moses suspected Jadon was gay, he took him to the garage and shot him with a .22-caliber handgun.

The informant also told police that Moses ordered that McKoy be killed two months later when he learned she couldn't have children, wanted to leave the group and knew that he killed Jadon.

The group in question? Moses was a member of a religious sect known as the Black Hebrews, which believes it descends directly from the ancient tribes of Israel. The group also frowned upon homosexuality, which is why Moses killed Jadon.

Moses disposed of both bodies by burying them in trash bags.

This is yet another disturbing story, one among too many stories of cults and their unhinged tyrannical leaders. But how do these cult leaders rise to power?

Is it that they are so adamant about what they’re saying that their followers have to obey? Assertiveness in their convictions and those who are willing to listen and be convinced seems to be how many of these cult leaders come to power.

From 1970s cult leader Jim Jones to serial killer Charles Manson, men like this have been able to turn women and children into personal slaves that obey their every command  - ultimately always ending in mass deaths. 

Keep reading to find out more about the most deadly and disturbing cults in recent history. 

Above: Peter Lucas Moses appears in Durham court. Photo credit: Pete James Copyright 2012 Capitol Broadcasting Company.