ROCH THERIAULT

Roch Thériault

Roch Thériault is one of the most infamous criminals in Canadian history and with good reason—his crimes were horrific even by the standards of the other entries on this list. A 7th grade dropout, Thériault was intelligent and fanatically religious. In the 70s, he amassed a cult of around 40 people, who he called the Ant Hill Kids. Thériault used the women as concubines and impregnated many of them, fathering 26 children altogether. He demanded his followers obey him unquestioningly—some disciples were forced to cut off their own fingers with wire cutters to prove their loyalty.

Thériault was originally sentenced to two years in prison for the death of his two-year old son, Samuel, who died from a botched circumcision and beating. He then blamed the death on a cult member named Guy Veer and forced him to agree to be castrated by Thériault himself. Thériault’s second murder came was when he left one of his own infants outside in a blizzard. His third murder was one his concubines, Solange Boilard, who complained of an upset stomach. After trying to perform an enema by shoving a plastic tube up her rectum, Thériault sliced open her stomach and pulled out her intestines with his bare hands. He then made another member, Gabrielle Lavallée, stitch her up. Boilard died the next day. Sadly, that wasn’t the end of it. Claiming to have the power of resurrection, he ordered a disciple to drill a hole in Boilard’s head and then ejaculated into the hole.

Despite all the atrocities that he committed, Thériault’s crimes didn’t come to light until Gabrielle Lavallée escaped from the commune, only to return in 1989. As punishment for her escape, eight of her teeth were removed. Afterwards, Thériault stabbed her through the hand, pinning her to a table before amputating the arm. After years of torture, Lavallée finally turned to the police. Thériault was arrested and convicted later that year.

In 2011, at the age of 63, Thériault was attacked by Matthew Gerrard MacDonald, his 60-year-old cellmate. MacDonald strongly disliked Thériault for the horrifying acts he had committed, especially those involving women and children. He stabbed Thériault in the neck and then brought the shank to the prison guards, confessing immediately to the crime. He was given another life sentence