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Birth of Roch Thériault
Roch Thériault, the creator and leader of the Ant Hill Kids, was born in Rivière-du-Moulin, Quebec, and raised in Thetford Mines, Quebec. -
Renounced Catholic Upbringing
Theriault renounced his Catholic upbringing at eighteen and decided to find a new spiritual path. -
Marriage, Children, and Divorce
Thériault married Francine Grenier, and had two children; Roch-Sylvain and François. Later on, In 1974, Grenier would ask for a divorce. -
Joining SDA Church
Thériault joined the local Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) in Thetford Mines. -
Apocalypse
Thériault began having visions and dreams about an impending apocalypse. He then instructed his followers to contact their families and threaten to sever ties if they wouldn’t accept his prediction of the apocalypse. -
Attracting Followers
Thériault attracted five followers at the SDA events. The followers began to address Thériault and his second wife Gisele as “Papy” and “Mamy.” -
Involvement with the SDA Church
Thériault began to sell literature for the Seventh-day Adventist Church and taught a course on “detoxification” (how to quit smoking) in Thetford Mines and other towns. -
Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce
During the fall of 1977 Thériault, his wife, and his followers traveled to Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce and continued to offer detoxification courses across the Province of Quebec. -
Removed from the SDA Church
Thériault was removed from the Seventh-Day Adventist Church due to his erratic behavior caused by worsening alcoholism. Theriault's members began to address Theriault as “Moise” (Moses). -
Failed Prophecies and Jonestown Massacre
Thériault’s prophecy of the Apocalypse was wrong. He defended this failure by claiming God’s time works differently from their own time. Following the tragedy of the Jonestown Massacre, journalists started to compare the Holy Moses Mountain Family to Jim Jones religious group, and began to refer to the HMMF as a “cult.” -
“The Holy Moses Mountain Family”
The group moved to Gaspésie, a town in Quebec. The group began to explore the woods in the area, eventually settling by the foot of a mountain. The group then changed its name to “The Holy Moses Mountain Family”. -
Beginning of The End
Thériault christened his members with new Bible names to create a new beginning. Thériault began to initiate sexual relations with most of the women in the group, while physically abusing other members in horrific ways. -
Radio Interview
Following a radio interview with Roch Thériault where he discussed his prophecies, the police raided the HMMF commune on behalf of an ex-member who claimed to suffer psychological and physical abuse. Thériault was brought to trial and found guilty. He was given a suspended sentence. -
Abuse of the Followers
More members joined the group, and the abuse worsened. The most notable mention of abuse was two-year-old Samuel Giguère's death following a beating by another member and a “healing” surgical intervention gone wrong by Thériault. More members died, which caught the attention of the police. -
Aftermath of the Abuse
The police raided the commune. Thériault was arrested, and all the children of the commune were placed in child protective services. Seven members were charged for their complicity in the death of Giguère. -
First Sentencing and Imprisonment
Three members, including Thériault, were sent to prison in Québec City. All defendants were sentenced from nine months to a year. After the allotted time served, Thériault returned to the commune. -
"Ant Hill Kids"
After his first imprisonment, Thériault and his twenty-two remaining followers left from the Gaspésie and moved to the Kawartha region of Ontario. The group then renamed itself the “Ant Hill Kids”. -
Abuse Continued
The abuse continued within the community. An example is one of Theriault’s wives who was subjected to a brutal surgical operation by an intoxicated Theriault and passed away. Other members were subjected to torture at the hands of Theriault. One member (Gabrielle Lavallée) was able to escape and alert authorities. -
Thériault Final Arrest
Thériault was arrested after several weeks of hiding in the woods. Thériault was charged with the second-degree murder of an Ant Hill Kid member to which he pled guilty to the murder and the aggravated assault charge. He was eventually sentenced to life in prison. -
Death of Roch Thériault
Thériault died at sixty-three after being stabbed by his cellmate (Matthew Gerrard MacDonald) another convicted murderer at Dorchester Penitentiary in New Brunswick.