‘The Reptile Cult Murder’ on Investigation Discovery tells the strange story of self-described conspiracy theorist Sherry Shriner and her internet alien reptile cult. She was based in Ohio and spread bizarre apocalyptic prophecies and extraterrestrial invasion stories, gaining thousands of credulous followers across the nation. She is credited with brainwashing two unfortunate people, yet her popularity hasn’t wavered. Here is what we know if you want to know more.
Who Is Sherry Shriner?
Cleveland, Ohio is the place of Sherry J. Shriner’s 1965 birth. In 1985, she attended Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. Sherry and one of her students, Randy Sumner, instantly bonded over the fact that they were both from Ohio. “She was like a hurricane with her big, blonde hair,” he recalled. “She came into the room with confidence, ambition, and she intended to take control of the room pretty quickly.” According to him, Sherry chose Liberty University for its state-of-the-art broadcasting facilities at the time.
Founder of Liberty University and one of the most well-known evangelicals on television at the time, Dr. Jerry Falwell brought his sermons to every home in the nation every Sunday morning. Jerry Falwell provided Sherry with a lot of inspiration, and Randy thought this had a big impact on Sherry’s subsequent actions. She had an ambition of working as an anchor for a New York television network, the show claimed. She was disappointed, though, when she was unable to secure an internship at CNN’s Washington Bureau.
She went silent for the following five or six years, according to author Tony Russo, the same silence that precedes a storm, Randy recounted how Sherry returned to Ohio. In 1990, she earned a triple degree from Kent State University in journalism, political science, and criminal justice. Sherry found a means to develop an audience without ever leaving her house in 2003. She claimed to have prophesies from her time at Liberty University, when Satan purportedly contacted her, on a Yahoo group.
By 2003 or 2004, she had gathered a sizeable following and had begun her radio show, which streamed once to three times a week. Sherry connected with her fans via social media and web shows, obscuring her face and only uploading audio messages to conjure up an air of mystery, according to reporter Kelly Weill. Sherry was ahead of the curve in terms of conspiracies and online connections, Kelly continued, coming close to what we now refer to as influencers.
The planet is being overrun by reptile aliens, orgone has the power to slay demons, clones, and zombies, Jesus is Satan, and only worshippers of the god Yahuah will enter heaven, according to former cult members who heard Sherry preach. One of her strange conspiracy theories claimed that everyone, including Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II, was a shape-shifting lizard with alien rulers hell-bent on taking over the planet.
Sherry said that these alien rulers had installed powerful individuals in positions of authority in order to create a “one-world government.” She got a sizable audience for her absurd theories thanks to Facebook and YouTube. Sherry had more than 15,000 online followers as of 2018. The self-described “Servant, Prophet, Ambassador, Daughter, and Messenger of the Highest God” built more than ten websites, had a long list of self-published e-books and YouTube videos, and attracted thousands of credulous followers.
Is Sherry Shriner Dead or Alive?
Sherry’s reptilian cult members began passing away at an early age despite her proclamations of end-time redemption. Kelly Pingilley, 22, placed a suicide note on her pillow the evening of December 28, 2012, and then went to a snowy wildlife park in Waterloo Township with a bottle of sleeping tablets. On July 15, 2017, five years later, Steve Mineo allegedly begged Barbara Rogers, his girlfriend, to shoot him in the head. Barbara claimed that the 32-year-old had problems with Sherry’s cult.
Nate Pingilley, Kelly’s brother, said: “Sherry Shriner essentially operates a death cult based on fear. Every month, something significant will undoubtedly occur. Basically, she warns her followers that the world is ending. According to him, Shriner “gives them grandiose delusions…tells them they’re truly angels with magic abilities in human form. To get to that higher spiritual level was one of the reasons my sister murdered herself. In her suicide letter, she expressed her belief that she was headed towards some lofty destiny.
Kelly was discovered wearing an orgone pendant, which is the apparently supernatural element at the heart of Sherry’s theories. The pendants were subsequently offered for sale on her website for $44 plus delivery. The conspiracy theorist added an odd allegation by saying, “She (Kelly) didn’t give up without a fight and they left all the fake evidence…,” but he refused to accept responsibility for the teen’s death. NATO is concerned. After Steve’s passing five years later, Sherry was once more in the news.
Sherry asserted that the accusations made against her—that she is a cult leader and that her members are committing suicide—were the result of government plots. She died twice, but her popularity did not appear to suffer. You’d think she’d lose supporters every time one of her forecasts didn’t come true, Nate said. However, it doesn’t appear to be the case. In 2017, she requested donations as well as sold the orgone for as much as $288 on her website. According to reports, between 2014 and 2017, her GoFundMe page received more than $126,000.
She appeared to gain financially from the tragedy because donations increased after Steve’s passing. Monroe County prosecutors wanted to determine if Sherry or her supporters were involved in Steve’s killing as they were prepared for Barbara’s murder trial. She had a heart attack on January 7, 2018, preventing her from speaking with the prosecutors. At the time of her passing, she was 52 years old. Even though she is no longer preaching, her sermons are still available online.
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