48 Hours - "48 Hours" Presents: The Family -- A Cult Revealed [Part 2]

Episode Date: February 25, 2018

Allegations of stolen children, drugs, abuse and a leader who claimed to be the second coming of Christ.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. 48 Hours presents. 48 Hours presents We all have mental scarring, we all have suffered and we all have something that we take with us.

I still don't know who I am in many ways. I'm lost. And I was lost then. We had to spend that many years up in that hellhole, being abused nearly every day. I've tried to forget it all. It's all very disturbing. I don't even know what the word love is. I can't even feel it. Those who are devoted to me realise this. Those who are not devoted, they don't know me. It was sort of like the most ghastly social experiment that should never have taken place.

The leader of this cult was this woman called Ian Hamilton Byrne. I had to start it. That was divine orders. That was my mission. That was the divine vision. Ann had been waiting for me. I was where I should be. And I was what I was. I think every day there were beatings. Some of the beatings were very vicious. I'm quite surprised that people survived them. We'd try and steal food if we could because we were always so hungry. I just put my body to shut down and it just had to survive the way it had to without food

and that's what I did. She had me under LSD for days. She'd just come in like every 12 hours or so and give me another piece because I wasn't working hard enough. She wanted us to be the new race of children, these perfect children who would save the world. It's all theatre to her. Presentation. Look at my children, aren't they beautiful? She liked to model us on the Von Trapp family.

They were all those pretty blonde hairs with beautiful voices, because we all sang as well and we all look blonde. I'm looking right at each one of you. You are the initiate. You're staring into the awakening. I hated her with a passion. I hated her for what she had done to us. And you stole the children? Stole. You stole them from sect members? You stopped us to organize the adoption? And groups like the family exist in the United States to this day. Absolutely.

A case that unfolded in Australia. A case that unfolded in Australia. Anne Hamilton Burns wanted to start adopting American babies. Came to its dramatic conclusion outside this house in the Catskill Mountains, Hurleyville, New York. I knock with force on that door. It's... Exactly. What do you say? I say, FBI, open the door. It's... Exactly. What do you say? I say, FBI, open the door.

As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, wherever you get your podcasts. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal.

There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reached the age of 10 that was still a virgin. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with.

In the Pitcairn trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely, Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you would learn how to tread the path of attainment, you must go to the one who has successfully passed through it. It is possible to make contact with the secret source of life of the most high. The world first became aware of the Australian cult known as The Family on August 14, 1987,

when the Victorian and federal police staged a dramatic pre-dawn raid to remove children living at an isolated compound near Melbourne. The cult was led by Anne Hamilton Byrne, a self-appointed mystic who controlled her followers for decades. Okay, everybody, I'll explain to you what's going to happen. We realize it's very, very stressful for you. You're Anna Rae. Anna Rae, you can trust us. We're going away. Great big deep breaths.

And you know you're scared. Well, investigations are still underway into a religious sect in Victoria known as the Family Patients. Children stolen at birth, brainwashed, beaten, even given mind-altering drugs like LSD. By day's end, news was spreading about Ann Hamilton Byrne, a yoga teacher turned cult leader who investigators say had been collecting children for years. At one time, there were 28 kids in all, ranging in age from toddlers to teens. Dave Whitaker's parents were senior cult members and knew Anne well. She was a very charismatic sort of person.

She had a huge presence about her. As many as 500 adults followed Anne willingly, but the children had no choice. Some were the offspring of cult members, but others were taken from unwed mothers, who were strong-armed into giving up their babies by cult doctors and nurses. Now those children are speaking out about their ordeal. There was a child that was nearly dying from malnutrition and it was only three foot tall and was 12 years old. Sarah Moore, who lived in the cult from birth until she was 17 years old, says the children were supervised by cult women who homeschooled them.

They were known as aunties, and Ben Shenton says some resorted to torture. You're going to be dunked in a bucket filled with water, and you knew you were going to have your head held under that for a period of time to the point where you are asphyxiated. You're close on blacking out. They all had absolute power. They could all hurt you. Even Anne's own granddaughter, Rebecca, grew up in the cult. And I was very, very afraid. I was very afraid. I was very afraid most days. When the children became teens, they told police that some of them were forced to take LSD in a ceremony that helped reinforce the cult's fundamental belief

that Anne was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, raising a master race of children. Anne whispered in my ear, who is Jesus? And then somehow the thought popped into my head, you're Jesus. And she goes, that's right, David. You always knew I was the Lord. But Anne did not embrace the humble life of Christ. She traveled extensively to properties she owned in Kent, England

and New York State, sometimes with her children. Investigators believe Anne paid for the houses with the millions of dollars she extracted from her wealthy followers, many of whom were highly educated, highly paid professionals.

Add a ray. You can trust us. By the time of the raid in 1987, only seven children ranging in age from 11 to 18 years old were living at Anne's special compound. Of the rest, some were living with their cult parents, others were in boarding schools in England. Anne happened to be overseas on the day of the raid, but her husband Bill was there, and so was Leanne. She had run away months earlier, but had gone to police and told them her story.

I actually went in with the police when the raid happened because they thought it was best that one of us was with them so that the children realized that it was OK, because it would have been very, very scary for them. And Bill came out of his room and saw me, and he said to me, how could you portray us like this? Incredibly, not a single adult was arrested. Police allowed Bill and the aunties to remain free

as the investigation continued. Meanwhile, the children were taken to a group home where they found normal life, even a simple meal, bewildering. I think we had breakfast. We had something to eat. And, you know, they said you can eat as much as you want. And, well, I said my stomach's only a certain size. and, well, I said, my stomach's only a certain size. So I'm lying in bed at the end of that night thinking through what had happened through the day, what I'd said, what I hadn't said,

and realising I no longer have to check what I say. Ben, then 15 years old, was one of the rescued children. At the age of 18 months, Ben had been sent by his grateful mother, a devoted cult member, to live at the children's compound. I'm not going to get in trouble if I say something wrong. And I think, to me, it's probably when I realized

the prison doors had opened for good. Behind closed doors, the adult members of the family were shaken by the police raid. Many left, including Bill Hamilton Byrne, who vanished overseas to join Anne. Some of the devoted continued to assemble weekly at the family's special lodge, where they listened to Anne's audio tape recorded messages. I'm looking right at each one of you. You are the initiate. You're staring into the awakening. It was clear more needed to be done,

and the children were about to get the champions they deserved. Investigative journalist Marie Moore tracked down senior members of the cult. Marie Moore, my name is Dr. McKay. I'm wondering if you've got any comment to make. Why won't you have... Is that all you've got to say, Dr. McKay? It was around the same time that police detective Lex DeMann came on the scene to investigate the biggest case of his career. Anne Hamilton Byrne is the most evil person that I've ever come across. And I've come across quite a few evil people in my life. Hot shot Australian

attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major

groups within Melbourne's underworld and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defence attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access,

I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. And listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing The Best Idea Yet, a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with

and the bolder risk-takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best-selling video game character of all time, only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+. It's

just the best idea yet. You couldn't hear those stories without it affecting you, if you had any heart at all. Back in the 1980s, Maury Moore was a tough-as-nails investigative reporter, hot on the trail of cult leader Anne Hamilton Byrne. But once she bonded with cult children Sarah and Leanne, her hard-edged attitude softened.

I do remember one of my bosses saying to me at one stage, are you a social worker or a journalist? And I said, well, at the moment, it seems I'm a bit of both. Mari was the one, ultimately the first person that we actually grew all of us to trust. And she was a bit of a bulldog in the fact that she wanted justice for all of us for what had happened. And she's always been there. Eager for answers, Mari tracked down one of the family's psychiatrists, Dr. John McKay. I'm wondering if you've got any comment to make now about what happened to the children. Why won't you have... Is that all you've got to say? She had questions about an autistic baby boy Dr. McKay had adopted and given to Anne to raise.

I wanted to ask him if he knew, after he handed that child over, what had happened to that child, the brutality it experienced. There's no need for that, Dr. McKay. McKay later admitted to another reporter that he had indeed given his adopted baby to Anne and Bill Hamilton Byrne. I think, you know, they've been able to provide a stable environment with a lot of help, a lot of love, a lot of dedication. Something that you weren't able to do? I think that's true. I wasn't able.

In 1988 and 1989, prosecutors built a case against eight cult members. Three were aunties who allegedly abused the children physically. But because there were no photographs of bruises, no police or hospital reports, those aunties were not charged with child abuse. Instead, all eight women were charged with applying falsely for government benefits, money they turned over to Anne. One of the aunties charged was Helen Buchanan, who Leanne says, quote,

would beat us with anything she could get her hands on. Helen denied abusing anyone. I suppose you'd call it a little bit old-fashioned nowadays because the values were those of high standards of dress, behaviour, speech. Although the discipline was firm, it was very loving. Helen pleaded guilty to Social Security fraud along with the others. Some received a few months in jail.

All were hit with fines and ordered to pay back the $223,000 they had stolen. Sarah Moore, a child of the cult felt horribly cheated they didn't go to jail for beating us nearly every single day and starving us you know for three days at a time and you know all the other things that happened up there enter police detective lex de man four months after the raid lex was investigating an arson fire, and one of the suspects was teenager Adam Lancaster, who'd been adopted by a cult member when he was two weeks old. Adam was a self-described troublemaker. I was a little bit of a rat bag, and I was just being a kid.

I was doing some things that really, like, for example, cutting people's car brakes. That went for a walk into the forest. Started lighting fires. One of Lex's colleagues alerted him to Adam's involvement in the family and told him to steer clear. His first words were, don't get involved. If you get involved, it'll be with you for a lifetime. Lex did not listen. In 1989, Lex teamed up with five other detectives to launch Operation Forest, a special unit assigned to target the family. Its mission, investigate

allegations of physical abuse and whether any of the children had been given LSD. Right at the start of it, we didn't know much about the sect, about the cult, apart from what we'd been told by the then children. Anne Hamilton Byrne was Lex's number one target, but he had a big problem. We didn't know where Anne was. We were told that Anne was in the UK. We were told that Anne was in the UK. We were told that Anne was in the United States. We were told that Anne was here and there, but never in Australia.

But wherever she was, Anne was casting her spell over true believers, like Michael Stevenson Helmer, who still thinks of Anne as a kind of sun goddess. She just radiated out. Don't you know that? Haven't you experienced that? A pale blue colour just went straight through me and through every part of my body and ended up in my toes.

Yeah. But Lex wasn't feeling the vibe, blue or otherwise. He kept hearing horrific tales of abuse, but with no hospital or police reports backing up the children's claims, it was hard to build a case. Then Lex caught a break. He heard that Anne's lawyer, Peter Kibbe, had left the cult. Peter was the key to the door. Lex knew how to get to Kibbe,

who had a condition that made the thought of living behind bars in a dirty jail cell inconceivable. Peter suffered from a disease of compulsive obsessive disorder. It would take him to have a shower sometimes two to three hours and three or four bars of soap. And so he never got to the office. Lex had Kibbe arrested on fraud charges. When he made bail, Kibbe surprised Lex with a phone call. A week or two later, the phone went in the office. This really animated and, I have to say, delightful voice was on the end of the phone saying,

Lex, Peter Kibbe. Yes, Peter Peter I'd like to have a cup of coffee with you kibbe slowly opened up and eventually admitted he'd helped and forged birth certificates for the children she claimed were her triplets I look at Peter as someone who had the guts to actually stand up and say no what we did wrong. Lex finally had the first tangible evidence to arrest Ann and Bill. He could only pursue them on a minor charge, conspiracy and perjury for falsifying birth certificates. But it would be enough to bring them back to Australia

if only Lex could find them. Maury Moore, meanwhile, had tracked down Ann and Bill in Hawaii. Hello, Mrs. Hamilton-Byrne. Maury Moore from Channel 9. Have you got any comment now about why you kept those children locked away for so long? No comment. When are you going to tell the children the truth about who their parents are? I don't know.

You're not going to tell them? Ann soon vanished again, and for three years managed to stay one step ahead of Lex until she made a disastrous mistake. She rang Sarah, and Sarah came to us and said, I think she's in the United States. The scenic and secluded town of Hurleyville, New York, was about to take center stage in an international drama, much to the surprise of Australian detective, Lex De Man. Who would have thought Anne would have been

in this house, two hours north of New York City, in a remote part of upper New York state, 10,000 miles from Victoria? It's like the dark side of the moon, right? To me, it is. And seeing it today, I'm amazed that we're actually able to find her. For four and a half years,

cult leader Ann Hamilton Byrne and her husband Bill had managed to elude the detective. How did they end up here? They knew that there were warrants for their arrest, and they also knew that we thought at the time they were in Kent in the United Kingdom. But Anne, who cult members believed was clairvoyant, didn't see that her future was about to dramatically change.

We had luck on our side. Anne had called one of the children back in Australia, Sarah Moore, change. We had luck on our side. Anne had called one of the children back in Australia, Sarah Moore, even though she knew Sarah was cooperating with investigators. We wanted so much for her to love us. I don't think she really ever did. Sarah, now knowing Anne was not her real mother, had come to realize her entire life had been a lie. mother had come to realize her entire life had been a lie.

We'd rock ourselves to sleep at night, calling out, Mommy, Daddy. As I got older, I realized that it was her creation and that she dictated the laws. And it wasn't to do with religion. It was to do with, you know, just power and money and control. When Sarah told Lex about the call, he traced it, discovering Ann was at her New York property. A moment almost too good to be true. Had she not made that phone call, she may well still be there today. But that still leaves the question of why Ann Hamilton Byrne,

with millions at her disposal, ended up in this house in the Catskill Mountains. with millions at her disposal, ended up in this house in the Catskill Mountains? Well, the answer goes back to the 1970s, when this area was a mecca for hippies in search of enlightenment. In the 70s and a little bit before that, there were quite a few yogis coming over to the West and attaining a lot of money and fame and power. Joan Bridges was a Georgia prom queen turned hippie back in that golden age of gurus. While the Beatles followed their Maharishi, Joan followed another celebrity guru, Swami Muktananda, to upstate New York, as did someone else.

Anne Hamilton Byrne showed up, and she had her whole entourage of these small children with dyed blonde hair and identical bows in their hair. It was one of the strangest things I'd ever seen. Ann appeared to be one of Muktananda's faithful disciples, but she was actually anything but that. I think Ann's design for being with Muktananda was to figure out how he did what he did. Obviously, she was trying to take people. In some ways, was this like the ultimate field trip, a business trip for her? She came here

to study him, learn his techniques? That would be a good way of describing it, and also bringing the children along here to get the confidence of Muktananda with her as a loving mother. with her as a loving mother. But behind closed doors, Leanne says the abuse never stopped, even when Anne would take some of the children along on her travels. She beat me so badly that I could hardly move. I was black and blue all over.

I mean, that was just part of life, but that was probably the most horrific time. In over 21 years, 28 young people went through our hands. Why did you do that? I love children. Now, decades later, Anne was on the run. The children she professed to love left behind half a world away. With his prey unaware that he had tracked her down, Lex's next move was to alert the FBI.

When the agent picked the phone up in New York, the first words were now, I'm from Victoria, an Australian police officer. Don't think I'm mad, but I'm going to tell you this story about Jesus Christ, reincarnated in the female form. Most of the investigations I had were weird. Dedicated FBI special agent Hilda Kogut was assigned the case. This is what we do. This is what the FBI does. What did you know about this group? And were there any concerns about whether they could be a potentially dangerous organization?

We were concerned based on allegations that some horrible things had been done to children that they had kidnapped and abused. that they had kidnapped and abused. To lay the groundwork for an arrest, Hilda first needed to verify that Ann and Bill were at their Hurleyville home. The house was isolated on a very quiet country road. There would be really no good place to sit and watch that house for 24 hours. What do you do?

My method was, I think, the fail-safe method. You go to the post office because everybody knows that the mailman knows all. And I guess I can say this, my father was a postal worker, so I know he did. Hilda did her reconnaissance while riding around with the mail carrier, confirming Ann and Bill were at the house.

And I took a good look at the front entrance and the back entrance, taking every bit of it in. What are your concerns? What are you worried about? Well, you want to make sure that you have enough people to surround the house. I mean, there's two people you're taking into custody, but you don't know who else is in that house. We're looking at a cult. You never know.

It was June 4th, 1993. Hilda Kogut and her team of agents swung into action, arriving at the Hurleyville house at dawn. I knocked with force on that door. It's... Exactly. What do you say? I say, FBI, open the door. Go inside the investigation with former detective Lex DeMann on Facebook at 48 hours. This then is the moment of rebirth upon a new planet. We've received the call. This so-called Jesus Christ was nothing more than a heinous criminal.

I don't think Anne Hamilton Byrne was evil. I know that Anne Hamilton Byrne was evil. Lex Demand's dogged pursuit of Anne Hamilton Byrne and her husband had led to this moment in upstate New York. I say, FBI, open the door. We have arrest warrants for Anne Hamilton Byrne and William Hamilton Byrne. Open the door. warrants for Ann Hamilton Byrne and William Hamilton Byrne. Open the door. Special Agent Hilda Koga didn't know what she would find behind that door.

I see a look of shock. Instead of a commanding cult leader, she saw a sad-looking 71-year-old woman. A very frail-looking old woman. Did she look like Jesus Christ to you? No. She looked like a woman that had had a lot of reconstructive surgery, including a hairline that pretty much started in the middle of her head. That's how many facelifts she'd had.

While the cult leaders gave up peacefully, Ann did complain on the ride to jail. She asked how long it would be. She hadn't eaten breakfast. Anne Hamilton Byrne was hungry, you're telling me, right? Could be. We didn't stop. No doubt the irony was lost on Anne. Remember, she routinely withheld food from the Colts' children.

We were always starving. One of the punishments for us was to take away our meals. So the longest I ever went without food was for a week. The FBI found no children in the Hurleyville house, and Anne had not adopted any in the U.S. 10,000 miles away in Australia, Sarah Moore waited with mixed emotions at police headquarters for word of an arrest.

It was so hard to betray her at the end, to talk to the police. But I knew that the kids were suffering so much. Finally, a six-year international manhunt was over. Hilda called Lex. And the words she said to me on the phone was, we've got the son of a bitch. And I just lost it.

And I screamed out, and I picked up the nearest chair and I threw it. And I could hear this scream from him and everybody else in the room. It was like a football game. Everybody was screaming. What a moment, huh? Exactly. It was great. Ann and Bill remained behind bars in New York for two months. I was desperate to meet Ann Hamilton Boone from day one.

It was now August 1993, and Lex would get his wish. Anne and Bill were to be extradited to Australia. Lex flew to New York's JFK Airport to escort them back home. And I'll never forget the first words she ever said to me. She said, so you're Mr. Demand. You're a lot younger than I thought. And I thought to me, she said, so you're Mr. Demand. You're a lot younger than I thought. And I thought to myself, and you are the bitch that have destroyed people's lives. If his eyes would have allowed him to drill a hole into her, it would have happened. He was that focused. Her capture had been his obsession. Now, Anne Hamilton Byrne was his,

the woman who had stolen and abused so many children and who had called herself the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Just before 9 o'clock this morning, Victorian police had Anne and William Hamilton Byrne back on Australian soil. People said, you'll never find her. And if you find her, you'll never get her back to this country. At that point, that was a sense of achievement. We've got her. Lex hoped that in capturing Anne, he'd convince cult members to see her as he did.

She was basically a very cunning crook. Still, not all of them could. I was devastated when she was put into jail. Yes, I know that they've all done wrong. But what can you do? They're your family. After so many lives left in ruins, what would justice look like for the victims of the cult? The case was about to take another dramatic turn. To hear some of the ex-cult children on their conflicted emotions about Anne and Bill,

join us online at 48hours.com. The Hamilton Burns living in New York were extradited to Australia. When Anne Hamilton Byrne finally set foot on Australian soil for the first time in six years, back in August 1993, she did not look like the glamorous cult leader her followers had come to expect. Anne being shown on national television without her wig, that really was a blow to her narcissism. A year later, with her wig back in place, Anne and her husband were hauled before a judge. Anne and Bill Hamilton Byrne appeared confident when they arrived at court. It was a moment ex-cult child Sarah Moore just had to see firsthand. I still wanted there to be justice and

for there to be some sort of acknowledgement that something bad had happened to us children. The children of the family, some of whom had been brainwashed, physically and emotionally abused, even given mind-altering drugs, thought that Ann and Bill would face charges that could put them in prison for decades. Ann and William Hamilton Byrne registered the children in 1984 as their own triplets. But a child's story is not proof of a crime. There was no physical evidence proving the children had been abused,

no photographs, no police or hospital reports. So prosecutors ended up charging the world's most notorious cult couple with a single paltry charge, conspiracy to make a false statement. They still each faced five years in prison and $60,000 in fines, but the judge had other ideas in sentencing judge David Jones said he took into consideration the couple are in their 70s have no previous convictions and are not in good health they say oh she's

quite an elderly woman that's just so much nonsense there was nothing wrong with her she was as healthy as an ox. Shockingly, neither Anne nor Bill would spend a single day in an Australian prison. Instead, the couple who had ruined countless lives would each pay a fine of only $5,000. To me, that wasn't justice. I was bitterly disappointed it ended like that. She didn't get anything, nothing. And it seems like in Australia, society doesn't care about children that are abused.

I think it's absolutely disgusting what the government did. But Detective Lex DeMann and prosecutors decided not to pursue any other charges in order, he says, to spare the children. We felt that to have put these children in the witness box to be torn apart by Defence Council would most likely have done more psychological damage in the long term to these people

than securing a conviction on those other charges. I don't think it was fair for anyone to make that call. I personally believe some of the children could have done that. They're very bright, they're strong, they've survived a lot more than a courtroom. So they could survive their childhood, but they couldn't survive being cross-examined. I think it underestimated them and I think it let them down.

The fact that she was only fined, not imprisoned, is an affirmation to the believers that she is divine, that she is all-powerful. FBI agent Hilda Kogut. She beat the Australian legal system. What more could you ask if you were a believer in someone like that and what someone like that espoused? Sure enough, a couple of dozen true believers stayed loyal to Anne following her court appearance

and are followers even now. Cultists like Michael Stevenson Helmer. There was an awful lot of goodness that went on there too. That's never mentioned by those dear children who are victims and will remain victims until the day they die. They never mention the good times, do they? Anne disappeared from the public's eye until 2009, 15 years after her day in court. She finally surfaced on 60 Minutes Australia to face some tough questioning.

Anne was a feisty 87-year-old. Were the children ever hit? Of course they weren't. Because? They were not beaten. Never? Never. You'll have to be pretty good to see through that.

It's absolute. It's lies the children and collected have tried to outrun their past after years of searching Adam Lancaster reunited with his biological family you want to see some photos yeah but his mother had died your mother There's a huge sadness that I actually never got to at least give her a cuddle or say, hey, I'm your son. Yeah. Here's my mum. Well, Ben, although it was all those years ago, it's no different.

Yeah. I can't believe it, coming back here. ago it's no different yeah i can't believe it coming back here ben shenton did reunite with his mother who at one time had rejected him you were just the perfect baby well that's very nice of you to say i have a relationship with my mother that is to the level of where she will allow it to go and it's very painful for her. That was not there. Upon being rescued from the cult... My bed was just right here. Anna Rae Trina Byrne learned that her mother had committed suicide,

but she was able to reconnect with her father. The last 10 years before Dad passed away were our best. That was when we really consolidated a wonderful, understanding, caring, intellectual relationship. Yeah. But Anna Rae did carry her scars into motherhood. I was unable to hold my first baby by myself at first for quite a little bit of time. It was very difficult trying to work out how to be a parent. Rebecca is Anne Hamilton Burns' granddaughter.

I'm deeply ashamed of my grandmother, the havoc and the cruelty. She's hurt so many people. How could I feel any other way? The mind boggles at the damage done. I don't respect her. I don't love her. Rebecca's mother had placed her in Anne's care. Rebecca says her complicated history has made it difficult to be a parent. I do remember one time going, well, I can't hit you across the room. I can't deny you food for days. How do I get you to do what I want? What do people do?

And I did stop that chain of abuse. Leanne Crease, who ran away from the cult twice as a teenager and once slapped Anne, has nonetheless always been fond of Bill Hamilton Byrne. He was my father. I was always daddy's girl. Always. Sorry.

She even asked Bill to walk her down the aisle at her wedding. And she is now the proud mother of two grown children. Although her past lurks in the shadows. We're still all trying to survive. We're still all trying to live in a world that we never grew up in. And then there is Sarah Moore, once Anne's favorite adopted child. She became a doctor. One of the ways I tried to obviate the effects of my childhood was to dedicate my life to helping others. And I spent a lot of time overseas, going to remote places and war zones and, you know, volunteering and doing all sorts of things. Shockingly, Dr. Sarah Moore passed away from heart failure.

She was only 46 years old. heart failure. She was only 46 years old. And Detective Lex DeMann, he still often breaks down when he thinks of the children. It's been a journey and a half, I have to say, and it's going to be with me for the rest of my life. I need a break. I need a break. Bill Hamilton Byrne died in 2001. But incredibly, Ann is still alive and still a millionaire with an estate estimated to be worth at least $10 million. She's living in a nursing home in Melbourne, suffering from dementia. In some ways, did Anne Hamilton Byrne win? Yes, she did.

Her evilness won. She should have been imprisoned and so should he have been. For the rest of their lives. For the rest of their lives and lives after that. Some might find this a bit harsh of me to say, but to me it'll be a great day. They bury the bitch six foot under. True believer Michael Stevenson Helmer visits Anne every day.

There is no dedicated successor to take over the family from Anne. man.