Crimes, Killers, Cults and Beer: A True Crime Podcast · Dark Pass Productions

151 Sheryl Ruthven and her Doomsday Cat Cult Part 1

·1 hr 24 min·5 clips

Rick says he and Cheryl were “floating down a river” during sex and that she got “stronger and stronger.”

1. Crimes, Killers, Cults, and Beer covers Sheryl Ruthven and her cat-focused doomsday cult in episode 151. 2. Bill hosts with Sandra as co-host, and Sandra’s return matters because the opening frames the episode as a Todd tribute follow-up. 3. The episode asks how a Pentecostal preacher in Bellingham, Washington built Freedom Fighters into a cult around cats, salvation, and fear. 4. Bill says Cheryl Walker Ruthven started in the Pacific Northwest and presented herself as a charismatic Pentecostal preacher with fire-and-brimstone messages. 5. He says the cult stayed small by ordinary church standards, with around 200 followers, yet still caused serious damage. 6. Cheryl’s marriage to Mark Walker begins in Spokane in 1984, after his mother tried to set him up with another woman from Nordstrom’s. 7. Bill says Cheryl already had a lust for power, and after the marriage and three children she began showing controlling behavior. 8. Cheryl later joined the Gates of Praise church, where Bill describes speaking in tongues, demon casting out, and exorcisms as part of the setting. 9. Debbie Lynch becomes important because Cheryl admires having a woman in charge, becomes her associate pastor, and eventually starts Freedom Fighters in 2001. 10. Bill reads Cheryl’s sermon language about “demonic soul ties” and says the words came from video footage of her preaching. 11. He says Cheryl mixed Catholic mysticism, Egyptian alchemy, paganism, Wicca, chakras, crystals, and doomsday beliefs into a single system. 12. Cheryl used salt water instead of communion wine or bread, and Bill notes that she watched who hesitated before drinking it. 13. After the divorce in 2004, Cheryl pushed Mark out of the family structure and told followers he was a devil who deserved to die. 14. A survivor later recalled praying for Mark’s death during prayer circles, and Bill says Cheryl had their kids talking about ways for Mark to die. 15. Mary enters after the divorce as a 27-year-old lesbian, gifted piano player, and singer who is drawn in when Cheryl tells her music will heal people. 16. Bill says Cheryl told Mary they had to “go into covenant,” then used that bond and later cut her off while keeping her inside the church. 17. Rick Madrid arrives in 2008 as a biker from New Mexico, and Bill says Cheryl singled him out as the man who could carry out her plans against Mark. 18. Rick’s interview quote about “floating down a river” and “under waterfalls” shows how deeply he believed Cheryl’s influence shaped his experience. 19. The episode is sarcastic, conversational, and full of detours, with Bill interrupting himself, riffing on Bible language, and joking with Sandra throughout. 20. People interested in cult psychology, religious manipulation, and weird true-crime stories with cats will get the most out of this episode; listeners wanting a tight, serious retelling may skip it.

As heard by us

A cult story about spiritual language, attention, and a private covenant that turns attraction into leverage.

Episode 151 follows Cheryl's cult through Mary, a 27-year-old lesbian raised in a religious world, whose piano playing and singing become a way in.

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Why you'd press play

You want to see how a spiritual promise turns Mary's music into leverage.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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