Is a cult responsible for a respected English professor’s disappearance?

Charles Southern disappeared

Missing: Gender: Male DOB: 7/25/48 Height: 6’2” Weight: 180 lbs. Eyes: Brown Hair: Brown Defining Characteristics: He may have a full beard

CASE DETAILS

In a haunting video message to his family, Don Hoffman revealed he had terminal cancer–a diagnosis he said was confirmed by three different doctors. Then, just hours after making the video, Don took his own life. An autopsy, however, found no trace of cancer. On the videotape, Don Hoffman said goodbye to five different family members. But there was no farewell to the heir to Hoffman’s estate–his second wife Terri, founder of a spiritual movement known as Conscious Development of Body, Mind, and Soul.

Terri Hoffman is at the center of what some might call a “circle of death.” The victims include Mary Levinson–drug overdose; David and Glenda Goodman–shot to death, probable double suicide; Jill Bounds–beaten to death; Sandy Cleaver–drove off a cliff in broad daylight; Sandy’s 14-year-old daughter Devereaux–drowned.

Eleven untimely deaths… eleven people with a direct or indirect link to Terri Hoffman. Now some believe a 12 th name should be added to this somber list–Charles Southern, Jr., a respected English professor. Southern mysteriously disappeared and his family now believes it may be no coincidence that he was a disciple of Terri Hoffman.

Peace, harmony, and enlightenment. Hoffman offered all this and more to Charles Southern and the others who joined her group, Conscious Development. Peter Muth was a former member who belonged to Hoffman’s sect for more than a decade:

“Part of the belief system Terri taught us was that death was really just another state of consciousness, and it wasn’t a bad thing. It wasn’t anything to fear. We also learned that the dark forces out in the universe had a name. They were the black lords, black overlords. They worked for Satan. The group we worked with was the White Brotherhood, who are good, benevolent characters. They’re on God’s side. The good guys.”

In Chicago, Charles joined a local branch of Conscious Development. Charles was assistant chairman of the English department at a local junior college. Joining Hoffman’s group was his most recent foray in an ongoing search for spiritual truth, an odyssey that had taken him to India and Africa. Charles rose quickly in Hoffman’s organization. He was soon teaching classes and leading meditation sessions. Eventually, he was invited to Terri Hoffman’s home in Dallas. By then, Terri Hoffman had begun to portray herself as a target of attack by the so-called Black Lords. During special meditation sessions, Hoffman exhorted her trusted inner circle to erect “a psychic shield around her.” Peter Muth says he saw Charles at one of these meetings:

“Now, her inner core group for fighting the battles lives in a kind of constant state of fear, because we’re always under attack from black magicians who supposedly could kill us, who could drive us insane. And as the years went by, you saw people in your group actually start to show signs of the strain, show signs of mental and emotional problems”

According to his sister, Cheryle, Charles was one of those who apparently collapsed under the pressure:

“We found Charles wandering on the street carrying a newspaper, stating, ‘I lived for art.’ We got him in the car and took him to Michael Reese hospital for examination, stating that he might be suicidal, and he also seemed to be reciting something in a strange language over and over and over again.”

After his release from the hospital, Charles stayed active in the group, but eventually became disillusioned with Hoffman. As Christmas neared, he made plans for a trip to India. In the days before he was supposed to leave, his mother, Ingerborg Southern, got a feeling that something was very wrong:

“I told him that I was disturbed and I felt that I should come to Chicago. And he said no, you don’t need to come to Chicago, because I’m perfectly all right, and I will be leaving for India in three days. So he assured me that everything was all right. And with that assurance, I didn’t go.”

That was the last time she spoke to her son. After two weeks and no word from their son, Charles’ father became worried:

“We, of course, wondered why we didn’t hear from him. But he had traveled so much and so often to so many parts of the world, I wasn’t overly concerned until he was overdue.”

Charles’ parents drove the 300 miles from Cincinnati. When they broke into their son’s house, a nagging concern for his well being turned to outright fear. Placed on a ceremonial stool from Africa were Charles’ winter dress hat and his coat, neatly folded inside out. Only later would his family learn that this was a Nigerian tribal symbol of death. Charles’ parents also discovered two barely legible notes–apparently his last will and testament. One said in part, “I came under a bad influence, and I was trying to fight it myself.” Terri Hoffman was mentioned twice and named executor of his estate. Over a 12-year period, two of Hoffman’s four husbands, her only son, six followers, and two people related to or employed by a follower came to an unnatural end. Causes of death: one murder, four fatal accidents, and six suicides.

In over half of these cases, Hoffman was named heir or beneficiary. She was designated to receive over a half a million dollars in cash, plus hundreds of thousands more in real estate, fine art, and jewelry. But authorities have not directly linked her to any of the deaths. Charles Southern is still missing. He is 6’2″ tall, weighs 180 pounds, and may have a full beard.

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Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season nine with Robert Stack and in season seven with Dennis Farina. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. Various seasons available now on Hulu.

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