Micah Moore, of Kansas City, was charged on Saturday with first-degree murder in the death of Bethany Ann Deaton, which was made to look like a suicide after a bottle of pills and a note were left by her body.
He appeared shackled in court today with his head bowed to hear the charges against him after he confessed to the October 30 murder on Friday.
Moore told an International House Of Prayer pastor at the Grandview Police Department that he video recorded the sexual assaults on his iPad. Despite this, he has not been charged with any sexual assault. It is not yet clear if his iPad has been seized. IHOP released a statement today distancing themselves from the 'cult' saying they had no idea what kind of practices the students engaged in.
The body of the 27-year-old woman was found in a van with a bag over her head with a suicide note that said: 'My name is Bethany Deaton. I chose this evil thing. I did it because I wouldn’t be a real person and what is the point of living if it is too late for that?
'I wish I had chosen differently a long time ago. I knew it all and refused to listen. Maybe Jesus will still save me.'
The statement, seen by The Kansas City Star, said that Moore admitted he was with Deaton at the lake and that he 'placed a bag over her head and held it there until her body shook'.
Moore was one of a number of roommates of Bethany Deaton and her husband Tyler, who was said to serve as 'the spiritual leader of a community'.
He said he was afraid that Deaton was going to tell her therapist about assaults that had occurred over the previous few months.
Witnesses told detectives they were a part of a 'religious community' where they had sex with each other.
Moore told police that he was told to kill Bethany Deaton by a person who said 'he knew Micah had it in him to do it'.
Another person who lived at their house told police Tyler had recently been 'angry and frustrated' and that in the weeks before Bethany's death he revealed 'he had had a dream that he killed his wife by suffocating her'.
Moore is the only person to be charged in the case as yet but the police said they are still investigating.
Bethany's father released a statement on Monday about her death: 'We are deeply grieving the loss of our beautiful and innocent daughter. We are shocked and horrified by the information now coming forth.
'The betrayal, the subtle and increasing manipulation, and the brutal victimization which occurred is beyond tragic. We pray for the truth to be revealed.
'While it is important to understand how Bethany died, it is even more important to understand how she lived. Because of the ongoing investigation, we do not have any further comment at this time.'
Daily Mail
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