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For I Have Sinned: True Stories of Clergy Who Kill
They went from praying to preying...
Priests, pasters, ministers, and they are the men and women of God. We trust them unconditionally, tell them our darkest deeds, turn to them in our most desperate hour. We would never, in our wildest dreams, expect them to be... cold-blooded murderers . Now, peek into the confessionals of eleven clergymen and -women who did the unthinkable-- who broke the most sacred Thou shalt not kill .
Pastor Edmund Lopes could bring a congregation to its knees. Little did they know that years before, after murdering his wife and stabbing his girlfriend, he had found religion in prison and jumped parole to become a Baptist minister-- until police caught up with him, ten years after his escape.
Sister Sheila Ryan De Luca, having left her Franciscan convent after allegations of a lesbian affair with another nun, stands accused of brutally murdering a man who she claims raped her. Ultimately she served ten years in prison until her conviction was overturned.
Reverend Freddie Armstrong heard the voice of God telling him to "kill the Antichrist," so the schizophrenic ordained priest took a sharp butcher's knife and proceeded to stab and decapitate 81-year-old Fred Neal, a beloved local minister who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Read on for more stories of clergy who raised cain with eight pages of shocking photos!
Priests, pasters, ministers, and they are the men and women of God. We trust them unconditionally, tell them our darkest deeds, turn to them in our most desperate hour. We would never, in our wildest dreams, expect them to be... cold-blooded murderers . Now, peek into the confessionals of eleven clergymen and -women who did the unthinkable-- who broke the most sacred Thou shalt not kill .
Pastor Edmund Lopes could bring a congregation to its knees. Little did they know that years before, after murdering his wife and stabbing his girlfriend, he had found religion in prison and jumped parole to become a Baptist minister-- until police caught up with him, ten years after his escape.
Sister Sheila Ryan De Luca, having left her Franciscan convent after allegations of a lesbian affair with another nun, stands accused of brutally murdering a man who she claims raped her. Ultimately she served ten years in prison until her conviction was overturned.
Reverend Freddie Armstrong heard the voice of God telling him to "kill the Antichrist," so the schizophrenic ordained priest took a sharp butcher's knife and proceeded to stab and decapitate 81-year-old Fred Neal, a beloved local minister who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Read on for more stories of clergy who raised cain with eight pages of shocking photos!
- GenresTrue CrimeNonfiction
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
11 people are currently reading
212 people want to read
About the author
John Glatt
38 books748 followersEnglish-born John Glatt is the author of Golden Boy Lost and Found, Secrets in the Cellar, Playing with Fire, and many other bestselling books of true crime. He has more than 30 years of experience as an investigative journalist in England and America. Glatt left school at 16 and worked a variety of jobs—including tea boy and messenger—before joining a small weekly newspaper. He freelanced at several English newspapers, then in 1981 moved to New York, where he joined the staff for News Limited and freelanced for publications including Newsweek and the New York Post. His first book, a biography of Bill Graham, was published in 1981, and he published For I Have Sinned, his first book of true crime, in 1998. He has appeared on television and radio programs all over the world, including ABC- 20/20Dateline NBC, Fox News, Current Affair, BBC World, and A&E Biography. He and his wife Gail divide their time between New York City, the Catskill Mountains and London.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/johnglatt
http://us.macmillan.com/author/johnglatt
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 29, 2023
This is my tenth book by John Glatt and it is a doozy. The author shares in my morbid sense of humor.
Reverend John Terry was tired of his life as a pastor of a Pentacostal church, and after embezzling funds, he used the birth certificate of a dead man to begin a new life. After killing a parishioner and cutting off his head, he attempted to burn the church down. The fire was put out before burning his victim to a crisp and the good rev was busted.
Reverend Thomas Bird was having an affair with his church secretary and the lovebirds decided to off their respective spouses. A great chapter.
Martin Drew was a former Roman Catholic priest. He married a woman and they were both Methodist ministers. After discovering some shady moments of Marty's past, Regina filed for divorce and it not end well.
Edmund Lopes murdered one wife, was suspected of killing his next spouse and beat another woman who survived the vicious attack. The diminutive preacher gave fire and brimstone sermons and this chapter is bewildering.
My church makes the next chapter as a former Franciscan nun, Sheila Ryan De Luca left the sisterhood and became a NY City cop. After retirement, she engaged in lesbian trysts and married a fellow cop. It was a platonic marriage. On a party filled night she shot a young man in a van and cried rape. The jury convicted her and even Glatt remains unsure of what happened.
Money is the root of all evil and it would lead to the downfall of Reverend Jimmy Castria. The spendthrift was in debt and used his wiles to extract $40,000 from the Engel's, a married couple.
The two members of his flock vanished and Jimmy came to a sad end.
Glatt stays with the previous theme with John Canning, a man of the cloth who conned hundreds with his smooth manner. An elderly couple were killed in his coverup for the murder. Greed is, after all, one of the seven deadly sins.
Father Adelade Delorme keeps the money angle for murder going as the Catholic priest plotted his younger brother's demise in order to inherit a multimillion dollar estate. After shooting the unsuspecting Raoul, the holy man had the nerve to perform the Last Rites. The conclusion is a strange one.
Envy and lust are combined in the next tale of woe as Reverend Joseph Minter emptied his semi-automatic pistol into his wife Effie shortly after a church service, much to the amazement of witnesses in the parking lot. Effie would not have sex with Joe and he accused the neighbor of an affair.
James Chastain had a habit of setting fires, including the one that killed his first wife. The Methodist minister finally confessed, ten years after the murder.
Freddie Hubbard returned from Vietnam a completely changed man. He heard voices and one of them commanded him to kill. He followed the instructions by stabbing a fellow preacher to death at, of all places, a funeral home. He then removed the man's head and held it up in front of a cop. His behavior has earned him a spot at Angola Prison.
Marvin Gaye's murder is a fairly well known one as his father, Marvin, Sr. Shot him to death during a fight. The singer's success was a source of both pride and jealousy to his father. The preacher had battled demons all of his life and the story is one of mental and physical abuse.
For I Have Sinned is a very good read.
Reverend John Terry was tired of his life as a pastor of a Pentacostal church, and after embezzling funds, he used the birth certificate of a dead man to begin a new life. After killing a parishioner and cutting off his head, he attempted to burn the church down. The fire was put out before burning his victim to a crisp and the good rev was busted.
Reverend Thomas Bird was having an affair with his church secretary and the lovebirds decided to off their respective spouses. A great chapter.
Martin Drew was a former Roman Catholic priest. He married a woman and they were both Methodist ministers. After discovering some shady moments of Marty's past, Regina filed for divorce and it not end well.
Edmund Lopes murdered one wife, was suspected of killing his next spouse and beat another woman who survived the vicious attack. The diminutive preacher gave fire and brimstone sermons and this chapter is bewildering.
My church makes the next chapter as a former Franciscan nun, Sheila Ryan De Luca left the sisterhood and became a NY City cop. After retirement, she engaged in lesbian trysts and married a fellow cop. It was a platonic marriage. On a party filled night she shot a young man in a van and cried rape. The jury convicted her and even Glatt remains unsure of what happened.
Money is the root of all evil and it would lead to the downfall of Reverend Jimmy Castria. The spendthrift was in debt and used his wiles to extract $40,000 from the Engel's, a married couple.
The two members of his flock vanished and Jimmy came to a sad end.
Glatt stays with the previous theme with John Canning, a man of the cloth who conned hundreds with his smooth manner. An elderly couple were killed in his coverup for the murder. Greed is, after all, one of the seven deadly sins.
Father Adelade Delorme keeps the money angle for murder going as the Catholic priest plotted his younger brother's demise in order to inherit a multimillion dollar estate. After shooting the unsuspecting Raoul, the holy man had the nerve to perform the Last Rites. The conclusion is a strange one.
Envy and lust are combined in the next tale of woe as Reverend Joseph Minter emptied his semi-automatic pistol into his wife Effie shortly after a church service, much to the amazement of witnesses in the parking lot. Effie would not have sex with Joe and he accused the neighbor of an affair.
James Chastain had a habit of setting fires, including the one that killed his first wife. The Methodist minister finally confessed, ten years after the murder.
Freddie Hubbard returned from Vietnam a completely changed man. He heard voices and one of them commanded him to kill. He followed the instructions by stabbing a fellow preacher to death at, of all places, a funeral home. He then removed the man's head and held it up in front of a cop. His behavior has earned him a spot at Angola Prison.
Marvin Gaye's murder is a fairly well known one as his father, Marvin, Sr. Shot him to death during a fight. The singer's success was a source of both pride and jealousy to his father. The preacher had battled demons all of his life and the story is one of mental and physical abuse.
For I Have Sinned is a very good read.
June 7, 2020
Decent Compilation Of Stories Of "Flawed" Clergy" Who Commit Murder
The summary accounts of real-life murderers provided in this book are actually pretty detailed in terms of providing the "how's, when, where's and why's underlying each of the described crimes, as well as the disposition of each perpetrator. The $8 price may be a little high, but if you're into true crime, this book provides a fast, satisfying "read". ,
The summary accounts of real-life murderers provided in this book are actually pretty detailed in terms of providing the "how's, when, where's and why's underlying each of the described crimes, as well as the disposition of each perpetrator. The $8 price may be a little high, but if you're into true crime, this book provides a fast, satisfying "read". ,
September 18, 2024
Great compilation of true crime stories, many of which are super obscure! Easy to digest and informative.
April 3, 2016
2 1/2 stars.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews