Conscious Development of Body, Soul and Mind: Terri Hoffman

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by asoapymessromances

by asoapymessromances

Terri Lee Hoffman (March 21,1938 – October 31, 2015), later known as Terri Lilya Keanely, wasan American religious cult leader known for the unexplained deaths ofsome of her followers, including two husbands, shortly after they hadwilled their possessions to her. The devotees in her Dallas-based newreligious movement, Conscious Development of Body, Mind and Soul,fought against the "black lords" on various planes ofexistence and protected themselves with powerful gems. The goal wasjoining God and the twelve "masters" throughreincarnation in the spiritual realm. A four-year investigation byDallas district attorney's office failed to produce evidence tyingHoffman to the deaths, but she was later sentenced to prison forbankruptcy fraud.

Biography

Early life and career

Hoffman was born to poverty and sent toa Lutheran orphanage at nine. She was adopted two years later andrenamed Terri Lee Benson. Hoffman married truck driver John Wilder in1953 and had her daughter Cathy in 1954, her son Kenneth in 1958 andanother daughter, Virginia, in 1963. She was committed to theParkland Hospital for psychiatric evaluation during divorceproceedings in 1971, but got custody of the oldest child. In the1950s, Hoffman became interested in meditation, metaphysics,hypnotism, Silva Mind Control and the writings of Edgar Cayce. Afterattracting a number of followers in the late 1960s, she incorporatedher movement as Conscious Development of Body, Mind and Soul in 1974,selling lessons and private "consultations".

Hoffman also started a jewelrybusiness, incorporating it as CD Gems. Followers were instructed tobuy expensive, handmade jewelry that she would turn into powerful,protective gems. By the mid-1970s, over a hundred people attended theweekly lectures in Dallas, Texas, and many more took Hoffman'sprinted lessons. She claimed herself the reincarnation of SaintTeresa of Ávila as her inner circle waged war against the "blacklords" on several planes of existence. Aiding them were Godand the twelve "masters" such as Jesus who were visible toHoffman. She also said that she could communicate with the dead andsee the past and the future. Hoffman taught her followers to avoidcritical thoughts, "negative energies", as theycould prove fatal. However, death was not to be feared as theultimate goal was rebirth in the spiritual realm.

Deaths in the cult

In late 1976, Hoffman's second husbandGlenn Cooley wanted out of the cult and his marriage to Terri. He wasdiscovered dead of an overdose of valium and librium in February1977, five days after the divorce was finalized. Hoffman producedCooley's will from her safe, naming her the sole beneficiary, and hergroup saw the tragedy as proof that the black lords were making gainsand poisoning the blood. The cure was draining the poison throughbloodletting, which caused many members to leave the movement.Thirteen years later, a former high-ranking follower toldinvestigators that Hoffman had said to her that Cooley was "goingto the next level", and that the two had visited him at hiscabin the night before his death but after he had ingested the drugs.Five months after Cooley's death, Hoffman married Ben Johnson butdivorced him in 1980. Her meditation classes were reportedlyattracting hundreds at the turn of the 1980s, and ConsciousDevelopment began expanding into Chicago, Illinois.

In February 1979, Hoffman'ssecretary-treasurer Sandra "Sandy" Cleaver went on avacation with her daughter Susan Devereaux, whom she had previouslykept distance from because Devereaux's "evil spirits"were infecting her energies. Devereaux drowned while the two wentrafting, and soon the 14-year-old's will was delivered to her fatherChuck Cleaver. Her $125,000 trust fund was left to the cult, but thedocument was invalid as wills written by minors were not legal inTexas. Sandy Cleaver took a $300,000 life insurance policy to thesole benefit of Hoffman and also transferred title of her house toher guru, paying Hoffman rent to live in her own home. In September1981, Cleaver drove her station wagon straight off a mountain,killing herself and her 77-year-old housekeeper Louise "Weasie"Watson who had been reluctant to join the trip. Three months beforetheir deaths, both women had updated their wills naming Hoffman asthe sole beneficiary. Cleaver's brother Croom Beatty IV contested thewill and his lawyer James Barklow called it the result of fraud and"undue influence". The case was settled but Hoffmanand her movement were faced with bad publicity. Three of the fourfollowers who testified on Hoffman's behalf would later commitsuicide. By the mid-1980s, Hoffman had founded the perfume mixingcompany Perfume Oils International and begun performing acupressuremassages.

Robin Otstott, whom Hoffman had matchedwith an invisible CIA agent named George, believed that hernon-physical "bodies" were working against her andthat her best friend Tamara Taylor's invisible CIA lover Martin wasthreatening her life. On April 19, 1987, she told her former husbandthat she had terminal viral hepatitis but was persuaded to see adoctor. Two days later, after visiting Hoffman, Otstott killedherself with .38-caliber revolver. Her blood tests later showed nosigns of diseases.

In November 1987, Chicago follower MaryLevinson was found dead from a drug overdose. $125,000 in cash wasmissing and she had changed her life insurance policy less than twoweeks before her death. The new beneficiary was her former boyfriendLarry Keyes whom she had met through Hoffman. Terri Hoffman's fourthhusband Don Hoffman, who had fallen out of favor in the movement, wasdiscovered dead from a "mixed drug intoxication" inSeptember 1988. In his legal pad, Don cited his terminal, inoperablecancer as the reason for his suicide. The autopsy found no traces ofcancer. Terri explained to Don's son Rick that the black lords hadhidden the evidence of cancer behind an illusion. She was the solebeneficiary of her husband's estate. Rick and his sister Janet fileda wrongful death lawsuit against Terri in March 1989.

Four days after Don Hoffman's death,former cult devotee Jill Bounds was beaten to death in her home. Thekiller had browsed through her 1979 diary and ripped out some of thepages. Bounds had left the movement in 1982 but, despite being afraidof her, visited Terri Hoffman a few months before her death, whichcaused police to look for a connection. In June 1989, long-timefollowers David and Glenda Goodman marked in their journal that theyhad received instructions from God to practice shooting. Four monthslater, God announced that "the way is clear to get highenergies. It's like this: You are about to be joined in a marriagebetween your phys self & your spirit. All is in readiness. Thedate is set for Oct 20..." The Goodmans were found dead inlate November, five weeks after dying in a ritualistic double death.

Investigation and later life

Spurred by news reports about theGoodmans and the pattern of deaths that followed Hoffman, a criminalinvestigation was launched by the Dallas district attorney's officein January 1990. Assistant District Attorney Cecil Emerson statedthat it would be difficult to determine if mind control could legallybe a contributing factor in a death. Hoffman and ConsciousDevelopment denied any wrongdoing. Hoffman's lawyer, Fred Time,referred to the investigation as a witch-hunt and praised hisclient's persona. After four years, prosecutors could not findevidence linking Hoffman to the deaths.

Hoffman filed for bankruptcy in October1991, and she was sentenced to 16 months in prison for ten counts ofbankruptcy fraud in May 1994. She was released after serving a year.

In 1995, the TV series UnsolvedMysteries featured an episode on the mysterious disappearance ofHoffman follower Charles Southern.

Hoffman later married Roger Keanely andchanged her name to Terri Lilya Keanely. She started a websitetouting her experience and many talents and wrote a financial advicebook.

Publications

Ryan, Mike; Keanely, Terri Lilya(2006). The Colors of Money: Finding Your MoneyForce. MoneyForcePress. ISBN 978-0978967208.

Sources

Elkind, Peter (May 1990). "TheCurse of the Black Lords". Texas Monthly. Vol. 18, no. 5.