Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2003, Page 43
News Summaries
Attleboro Sect (The Body)
Mother Accused of Murder Finally Speaks
A mother accused of starving her son to death when she was a member of a small
Attleboro, MA, Christian sect has for the first time made a statement about her experience.
Karen Robidoux, whose husband Jacques is serving life imprisonment for the crime of
allowing their child to starve to death, said of her involvement in the death:
―My inner feeling that I want to express to the world is that I know that I did all that was in
my power and ability to stop what was happening to Sam. Those who controlled the group
made my efforts impossible and created this tragic result." Her trial date has been
postponed to allow for court-ordered evaluation of her ability to take the stand.
Robidoux‘s attorney, Joe Krowski, says that he is not trying to make his client appear to be
a ‖victim‖ when he asserts that she was in no way responsible for the death — solid food
was withheld from her infant following a ―revelation‖ from God. He and other observers
believe that she was duped and manipulated into acquiescing. (Alison Bologna, News
Channel 10, Internet 8/4/03)
Aum Shinrikyo
Doctor Sentenced to Death
Tomamasa Nakagawa, a physician and former senior leader of Aum Shinrikyo, has been
sentenced to death for helping make the sarin gas used in the 1995 attack on the Tokyo
subway. He is the tenth Aum member to be sentenced to death. Aum once claimed 30,000
members but now, under the new name Aleph, has about 1,000. (AAP, Internet, 10/29/03)
Ex-Follower Assesses Asahara
Ikuo Hayashi, a physician and former Aum member now serving a life sentence in prison,
has written an analysis of leader Shoko Asahara saying the guru ―suffered from a
narcissistic obsession,‖ and that ―several traumatic setbacks led him to nurse wild,
destructive ambitions.‖
Asahara, born into a poor family, was sent to live with relatives when he was five and then
to a boarding school for the blind when he was six. He told Hayashi that he cried every
night for fear of dying in his sleep, and that most of his days were filled with tears. Hayashi
believes that some unresolved ―grief‖ that Asahara experienced in the school‘s closed
society festered and became a part of his psychology.
But since he was not totally blind, his limited sight, physical strength, and quick mind gave
him a feeling of power over the others, says Hayashi, and the ability to control others fed
his already inflated ego. This developed Asahara‘s conviction that he was a ―special being.‖
After being arrested at age 27 for running a pharmacy that produced and sold fake
medication, Asahara joined the Agonshu sect and learned how to run a spiritual movement
and attract followers. Next he opened a yoga studio where he preached the mantra, ―To
hold spiritual powers through endless spiritual training.‖ Soon, says Hayashi, Asahara
envisioned leading an elite group in a terrorist campaign to take over Japan.
According to Hayashi, Asahara cited sacred texts that sanctioned murder in the pursuit of
enlightenment. The guru ruled by fear, and disobedient followers were killed. Hayashi says
he joined Aum to achieve ‗virtue‘ and to do good and that he was taken in by Asahara‘s
spiritual leadership and blinded by his charisma, which together destroyed Hayashi‘s ego.

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2003, Page 44
Hayashi adds that he wrote his analysis of Aum and Asahara so that the group‘s crimes
would not be repeated. (Asahi Shimbun, Internet, 11/1/03)
Woman Was Government “Mole”
Kazumi Kitagawa, who recently sought asylum in North Korea, spied on Aum Shinrikyo for
the Japanese government from within the group. Former Public Security Investigation
Agency official Hironari Noda said Kitagawa sold information to the agency, which has been
closely monitoring Aum for a number of years following the Tokyo subway attack. Aum
formally complained about Kitagawa‘s spying in 2002, but the government, while
acknowledging it, refuses further comment.
Kitagawa, who joined Aum in 1995, after the gas attack, often told other followers that she
was fascinated by North Korea and the Kim Il Jong regime and hoped to move there
someday. (Hiroshi Matsubara, Japan Times, Internet, 11/6/03)
“Killing Machine’s” Death Sentence Upheld
The Tokyo High Court has upheld the death sentence of Yasuo Hayashi, 45, known as the
‗killing machine,‘ convicted of a number of Aum Shinrikyo-related crimes including the
release of three bags of sarin poison gas inside Tokyo subway cars in 1995 that killed 12
and injured thousands. Hayashi‘s lawyers argued that he was only an accessory to leader
Shoko Asahara’s plan to overthrow the government. (AFP on Yahoo! News Singapore,
Internet, 12/5/03)
Towns Can’t Deny Them Residency
The Japanese Supreme Court, in a landmark ruling, decided that local governments cannot
deny residency rights to members of Aum Shinrikyo. Aum had asked the courts to revoke
the decisions of 16 local governments around the country not to accept members‘
applications for residence. Some local governments had refused residency because, they
said, they had a duty of protect the health and safety of their citizens. One jurisdiction that
has accepted Aum member residency subsidizes other local residents to monitor the group‘s
activities. (Mainichi Shimbun, Internet, 6/26/03)
More Members in Russia
Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Kiril, meeting with the ―chief priests of the six largest
Japanese churches,‖ says there are more Aum Shinrikyo members in Russia than in Japan.
Both he and the Japanese delegation agreed to wage a campaign against cults that ―could
facilitate Russian-Japanese rapprochement.‖ (Daily News Bulletin (Moscow), Internet,
8/12/03)
Awaiting Christ
Arrested for Illegal Burials
Fifteen members of Awaiting Christ have been arrested in Mandela Park, Umtata, South
Africa, and charged with burying followers illegally. Sinoxolo Dukuza says that a woman
claiming to be a prophet ―convinced my mother, two of my brothers, and my two sisters to
give up everything and join her church. She told them that Christ was coming in December
and that they would only be saved if they joined.‖ Dukuza said that when she tried to
persuade family members to leave, ―I was accused of being the devil, and my family was
warned to keep away from ‗worldly people‘ ...My mother and my brothers have been
brainwashed. They still believe Jesus is coming to fetch them.‖
Mandela Park community leader Chief Jonas Ndzambule said Awaiting Christ does not
believe in medical treatment and would not let its children attend school or allow members