35-year-old Sara McGrath is grateful she was able to recover and move on with her life after she survived a cult. She indeed has come forward to share her traumatic experience on the latest docuseries of Oxygen titled, "Deadly Cults," which narrates the horrific homicide incidences involving leaders of cults who performed manipulative control to influence innocent followers.

The show highlighted interviews with law enforcement officials, family members, experts, former followers, and friends, who are very close to the victims.

Specifically, the case of Daniel, a Kansas cult killer, also called Lou Castro, is being featured on Sunday. Perez or Castro, who headed a commune identified as "Angel's Landing," is said to have collected millions of dollars from the dead members' life insurance.

He was sentenced to life in prison in 2015, at the age of 55. In an interview with Fox News, McGrath said, one can survive such a traumatic experience, more so, he can move on, and life can be good after a storm.


Daniel Perez's Case Explored

According to McGrath, she, together with her family, joined Angel's Landing after her Mom, Jennifer Hutson, met Perez. The former sold the latter a house in 2001. McGrath said she was 17 years old at that time.

"My mom," she recalled, had a journal at that time, and she wrote how she felt the need to protect Perez. "I guess he appeared as someone who cared too much or innocent," that her mother was such a thoughtful person when it comes to people, and thus, she somehow felt she needed to protect Perez.

In the 20-acre property, Angel's Landing, which was located in the north of Wichita's rural area, Perez persuaded his communal family that he possessed magical powers, which included the ability to see the future. 

McGrath said that In the beginning, it was like a large support system, and everyone in the group was close. More so, in the beginning, she continued, "everything was excellent and fine." It didn't take long, though, for things to turn out well.

And, when McGrath was asked when she first found out something was not right within the commune, she said probably, "the first time Lou (Perez) raped me."

According to Wichita Eagle, Perez insisted on his followers that he was a 100-year-old angel "who needed to have sex with young girls" so he'd stay alive. The media outlet also noted that the sex offender registry of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation showed the victims of Perez are aged eight to 16 years old.


Some Highlights from the other Former Angel's Landing Members

In the same interview, McGrath admitted she got so scared to tell anyone what really happened to her. She explained, she did not try "to reach out and talk to anyone about it." Even after Perez was sentenced, McGrath confessed she was a bit scared.

McGrath's is just one of the many horrifying stories that occurred behind closed doors. In 2001, a plane crash occurred, and it killed an Angel's Landing member, her 12-year-old daughter, and her boyfriend. Then, in 2003, Patricia Hughes, a 26-year-old follower, drowned at the property compound. 

Investigators first believed the drowning happens because Hughes was trying to save her 2-year-old daughter from the pool. Then in 2006, Brian Hughes, Patricia's husband, was killed when a carjack turned unsuccessful, and he was crushed. Brian left his daughter under the care of Hutson, who died two years later from a traffic accident.


Guilty on 28 Charges

In a report released by Columbia Daily Herald, Perez was found guilty, mainly on 28 charges. The news outlet said that the charges included one count of first-degree murder, seven counts of serious criminal sodomy, eight counts of rape, one count of sexual exploitation, three counts of serious assault, and eight counts of making up false information.

As earlier mentioned, in 2015, Perez was given two life sentences on top of the 406 months with no parole probability for 80 years.


Check these out!

'Money Heist': A Must-Watch Series While on Lockdown

A Journey Through Decades of National Honduran Cinema

5 Legendary Kids' Films Starring Latino Actors, Before 'Coco' Became a Favorite