Joe Sumrall RSE student unsolved murder 1992

Experiences with physical, mental and emotional forms of abuse by JZ Knight-Ramtha, RSE Staff, About student deaths.
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Joe Sumrall RSE student unsolved murder 1992

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John Cruncher
Common Ground Date ?
article printed in the now defunct Common Ground newspaper
Joe Sumrall was a tall, handsome, congenial man who moved to Yelm in the mid-80s to be near the outrageousness of Ramtha. He left behind the California rat race and a lucrative career as a graphic designer. Free of the strictures of social consciousness, he was able to pursue a playful passion for cartooning in Yelm. He published a popular book of cartoons in 1988 and syndicated his work through numerous New Age publications, including Common Ground (1989-90). His cartoons were known for their superb draftsmanship and playful satire of New Age eccentricities.

In January 1992, Sumrall attended an event at the Ranch. During a lunch break he drove home to eat. He was later found dead at his house, having been beaten and strangled to death by an unknown assailant.
Disgruntled former students suspected foul play by elements at the Ranch, some even accusing J.Z. of settling a score against Sumrall for satirizing her in some of his cartoons. But according to those close to the investigation, police do not think the killers were in any way related to the Ranch or anyone in the Ramtha community. Police believe there were two perpetrators who probably knew that Sumrall had, like many in the Ramtha community, buried gold on his property, and that the killers severely beat an uncooperative Sumrall into revealing the location of his buried loot, after which he was eliminated as a possible witness. J.Z. was so upset about the murder, she proclaimed a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.
It is ironic, however, that J.Z.'s gesture, though well intended, trails a tragedy in part catalyzed by Ramtha's advice to avoid banks and bury valuables, such as gold, on one's property. Not only did many followers relinquish financial solvency when they followed this reckless advice, but for his parley at sovereignty, Sumrall lost his life.

The Sumrall tragedy presaged a year that quickly became one of the worst in J.Z.'s life. For 1992 was the year of the divorce trial and the subsequent public exposure of the inner workings of RSE, the Ramtha community, and J.Z.'s personal life. Through Jeff's affidavits and testimony, the testimony of former students, as well as J.Z.'s testy behavior in the witness box, the press made much of the bizarre context of the trial: a gay man suing to reopen the divorce settlement with his former wife who happens to channel a 35,000 year old disembodied warrior. Spirituality, greed, New Age weirdness; The angles were plentiful and delicious. And the press feasted on every juicy morsel.

A consequence of all this negative attention and ridicule, J.Z. and RSE lay low for the next two and a half years, choosing to regain control of the foundering community. She spent the time working to refine the teachings and to teachings, that RSE & J.Z. were thrust back, into the limelight. Though little connection seems to exist between May's controversial training methods and the curriculum at RSE, the assumed connection was leaped upon with salacious ardor by a scandal pandering press. And though J.Z. and current students would prefer that people, such as the writer of this article, leave the past behind and focus on the school and what it is today, the group's tumultuous history and its teeming contradictions render a close examination of the culture, of the people, the teachings, and its illustrious leader, necessary. For as Shakespeare said, "What is past is prologue." And the Ramtha community's prologue is a foundry of inconsistencies and ironic plot twists that begs evaluating.
(EMF) Online Forum • View topic - Common Ground July 1995 Vol.X No 1. Part 1 & 2
viewtopic.php?f=37&t=171

Lighten Up!: A Book of Enlightened Humor: Joe Sumrall: 9780939680726: Amazon.com: Books
http://www.amazon.com/Lighten-Up-Book-E ... 0939680726
New Age cartoonist Joe Sumrall was found dead in his Rainier, Wash. home on Apr. 3.
At, first it appeared he died of natural causes, but. a coroner's investigation revealed he had been Strangled. The case has not been solved.

Sumrall had been the owner of a Newport Beach, Calif. advertising agency. in 1987
he dropped out and moved to Rainier in order to be near the ranch of New Age
channeler J. Zebra Knight, who lives near Yelm, Wash. Knight claims to be the
channeler for a 35,000 year old warrior called "Ramtha" and has become a multi-
millionaire through paid consultations with those willing to pay.
Ramtha had lived in Atlantis, Knight says.

Sumrall had authored a book of cartoons in
1990,LIGHTEN UP
A BOOK OF ENLIGHTENED HUMOR, published by Rear & Co. of SantaFe,N.M.
He was 45 or 46 years old.
But he has nothing on at all, cried at last the whole people....
Rooster
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Re: Joe Sumrall RSE student unsolved murder 1992

Unread post by Rooster »

Wow, I found this one night online and have thought about it. I never knew exactely what happened or what was really going on at the time. I do remember hearing rumors of someone being robbed of gold. Not sure if this is when Jz put up her wall? I remember buy a rotwieler, sorry spelling? I just remember a strange air about the whole thing. Ironically it was after the teaching, a true master should never even have to lock their doors. They are protected and you should be able to never worry about locking your doors. I remember that teaching and this happening.
Rooster
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Re: Joe Sumrall RSE student unsolved murder 1992

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I should dig in to my notes. I wrote a letter at this time. I just remeber it was my first red flag.
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Re: Joe Sumrall RSE student unsolved murder 1992

Unread post by Sad Grandfather »

How can she lose? She tells you you shouldn't even need to lock your doors, BUT if you get robbed, it was YOUR fault because you created it, yourself!
:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
Down with Judith Hampton Knight!
Kelku
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Re: Joe Sumrall RSE student unsolved murder 1992

Unread post by Kelku »

Right on, Grandfather....

win-win is always on her side.
So great to create a closed system. :cry:
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Re: Joe Sumrall RSE student unsolved murder 1992

Unread post by seriously »

I forgot about Joe's murder until reading this post. I don't know that I knew Joe Sumrall but was attending RSE Inc around that time.

RED FLAGS: Keep in mind Joe was at the ranch with Ramtha prior to going home where he was murdered. I see two possibilities why Ramtha didn't intervene in Joe's murder.

1. Ramtha didn't care/felt Joe needed to experience this.
2. Ramtha didn't know it was going to happen.

Because Ramtha has said many times how he would protect his students, it makes sense to assume Ramtha didn't know. If Ramtha is omnipotent, Ramtha would know. Timeline excuse: Joe was just with Ramtha at the ranch. Ramtha was (i feel weird typing this) in the same time and place as Joe. I would argue this is yet another red flag indicating Ramtha isn't real.

Joe Sumrall: sorry you bought into RSE Inc. and paid the ultimate price for it. Joe's family: sorry for you loss.
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Re: Joe Sumrall RSE student unsolved murder 1992

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Can we see the cartoons he may have died for?
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Re: Joe Sumrall RSE student unsolved murder 1992

Unread post by David McCarthy »

Thank you J.
I recently posted an issue of CLG that had a contemporary mention of the murder of our cartoonist colleague Joe Sumrall in 1992. And it reminded me how bothered I still am that the case has never been solved.

Why does this particular instance get to me when there so many others out there also unsolved? Perhaps because I felt a bit of a kinship from afar with him as a fellow comic artist. He also seemed to not be entirely taken with the whole J.Z. Knight/Ramtha nonsense, which I am convinced was inspired by an aspect of Hitchcock's Family Plot.

Joe Sumrall's killer has never been identified so far as I know. This is a cold case worth warming up. We have not forgotten you, Joe.
Morty the Dog: Who Killed Joe Sumrall?
http://www.mortythedog.com/2011/07/who- ... mrall.html
But he has nothing on at all, cried at last the whole people....
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Re: Joe Sumrall RSE student unsolved murder 1992

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Alienated: By Joel Coffidis The Olympian 1992
Alienated: By Joel Coffidis The Olympian 1992
The mother of a man found strangled in his Rainier-area home says he abandoned friends and family.
By Joel Coffidis The Olympian
The California mother of a "talented, lovable man" found strangled in his Rainier-
area home says he became obsessed with a New Age channeler the last .several years and
abandoned his family and former associates.

Joe Andrew Sumrall was strangled at his Rainier area home April 3,
his mother said she struggles each day with the murder. "I just want to know how, who, why
the normal things a mother would want to know. Who took my son?"
Sumrall's mother, 65 who asked that her name and hometown not be used be-
cause she is worried about retaliation - said he moved to the Rainier area several
years ago to be a student of Ramtha, who followers say is an ancient Atlantis warrior
who speaks, or "channels," through Yelm-area channeler J.Z. Knight.
The mother said she believes her son was killed after he encountered someone
he knew and let into the home. Her 2-year-old grandson had gone with her son to the
store and was still strapped in the pickup truck's car seat when her son's body was
found about 9:45 p.m., five hours later, she said.
It had to be someone my son recognized," the mother said, reiterating detectives' reports that there were no signs of forced entry.

The mother said she last heard from her son in May 1989, when he sent her a six- or seven-page type-written letter. He also sent her about 15 cartoons which later appeared in his 1990 book, "Lighten Up? A Book of Enlightened Humor," which Sumrall's publisher said "pokes fun at some
of the sacred cows of the New Age --gurus, channelers, UFOs, crystals."
Until 1987, Sumrall owned a Newport Beach, Calif., advertising agency. But Sumrall's mother said Knight's teachings ruined her son's life, prompting him to slide further and further away from his family, friends and teen-age. son in Southern California.
"I want to know why they got him away from the life he had, his talent," the woman said. "I feel that they destroyed him by taking him out of society."
Knight, who has generally avoided public comment on Ramtha, declined to respond to the woman's charges. But a spokeswoman for Knight said she could understand the woman's grief even though
she thought the attacks were unfair.

"Yes, people pay to come here, but Mrs. Knight gives a lot to this community," the spokeswoman said.
Also, Knight gave Sumrall's girlfriend and 2-year-old son $5,000 to help pay for
the costs of the funeral and for living expenses, she said.
Surrrall initially was thought to have died that Friday of natural causes, but a
coroner's office that Sunday showed he died of asphyxiation by strangulation.
The mother criticized authorities for not sealing the house for evidence after the
body was found. "Why' did they let it sit until Sunday?" she asked.
But Chief Criminal Deputy Ray Hansen said the unexplained death ap eared to be
natural and premature, and al procedures were correctly followed at the scene by the
sheriffs and coroner's offices. Also, the autopsy on the body found at about 9:45 p.m. Friday --- was not complete until Sunday,
but an autopsy two or three days later is not unusual, Ilansen said
.
But he has nothing on at all, cried at last the whole people....
Rooster
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Re: Joe Sumrall RSE student unsolved murder 1992

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I am posting this as it still haunts me so. I looked and remembered. I have nothing. I do remember the teaching " a master should never have to lock their doors". I wrote a letter at the time. I must have thrown the letter. I know it was shortly after this incident. I was so upset. J.Z. had put up her walls around the compound. Told everyone to get rottweilers. Said something about a student being murdered for gold. Hide your gold.
It did not make sense to me. I thought the master and mighty Ramtha now says something totally different.
I wrote a letter to J.Z. asking for and explanation. Why the walls and why was she so insecure?
I did not hear a word, until I showed for my next event. I was stalled and told I could not be registered until I received a message from J.z. After a long wait, I was told I knew nothing about J.Z. and I was insecure myself as it all reflected on me. I was to look at my own insecurity. I was so upset. It devastated my spirit at the time. I was embarrassed as all my fellow students friends asked and looked at me, What is going on? I went home and laid around. I was stunned. My parents asking me what was wrong. I just really never got over that moment. It was so clear. I lost faith that day. It was my wake up call.m I just had to share this. It has always haunted me. I was too ashamed at the time to ever mention it. I was shamed by J.Z.
Just needed to get that off my shoulders.
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Re: Joe Sumrall RSE student unsolved murder 1992

Unread post by Ockham »

Hi Rooster,

It was painful to read your remarks regarding the dismissive and humiliating treatment you received from JZ Knight.

I'd say that was not too unexpected reaction from the apparently sociopathic and insecure JZ Knight. It was also probably primarily a business decision on Knight's or her advisors part, a carefully calculated chess move to get you quickly out of RSE. It reads a like a recommendation from the play book of an accomplished propagandist like, say Joseph Goebels. RSE had not extinguished your powers of deductive reasoning and ability to engage in critical thinking. Of course, you asked a sensible reasoned question of why Rotweilers and walls were necessary in light of being a master and having Ramtha’s vow of protection for the students. Knight and her crew also saw the danger of having somebody in the ranks of the students who might ask that same question to other students, and the risk of losing those students (also known as paying customers). I presume RSE decided it was better to lose a single customer than risk having the, "teachings," undermined and losing many. In a dictatorship, a dissenter would be disappeared, but luckily that option isn't available to RSE. The RSE solution to make somebody go away was a severe public humiliation. It serves two purposes: it punishes the dissenter and it makes the dissenter toxic to the remainder of the group. It is similar to a bratty kid that mouths off to the primary school teacher being called in the headmaster's office. The brat gets punishment and a message gets sent to the rest of the class. I am willing to bet that JZ Knight also got her rocks off by being able to have a little power trip making somebody else miserable.
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Re: Joe Sumrall RSE student unsolved murder 1992

Unread post by FreeNow »

I would not be surprised at all if JZ Knight died of cancer.
Keep the greater good at heart.
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Re: Joe Sumrall RSE student unsolved murder 1992

Unread post by forever »

For the record. Here we are may years apart in the post but text/theme is same?

What's helpful about this board is that people a persons thoughts aren't their own?

It's that no one saw or questioned. It's that there wasn't an honest student body where honest questions could be shared, aired, discussed.

Is there a single teaching that doesn't have berating of students and nothing but praise for the channel? No. That's a clue :?: :?: :?:

Ironically, the "F..king Jew" spewing comments by Ramtha "the enlightened one" are such hypocrisy. After all-WHO made Ramtha famous? Think about it.

WHO wrote the infamous White book?

It was a number one hook for many. As well as Love Yourself Into Life?

I believe his name is Steve Weinberg?

Who wrote, Ramtha-An Introduction? Weinberg?

Who and what gave JZ her start? Wasn't it Hollywood? Hollywood is run by.....?

There isn't anything about Ramtha, RSE, the "teachings" or Judith hampton, AKA JZ Knight, that isn't hypocritical and a complete contradiction of something said previously.

I had the same question about the wall and gate. Wasn't razor wire at the time or sub machine guns. C'mon, isn't how movie stars live. See any homes in Beverly Hills with razor wire? She has created her own prison.
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Re: Joe Sumrall RSE student unsolved murder 1992

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by Vanilla » Mon Nov 05, 2012 4:07 pm
Can we see the cartoons he may have died for?
Equally..
Joe Sumrall may have lost his life for the new book he was working on... :sad:
But he has nothing on at all, cried at last the whole people....
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Re: Joe Sumrall RSE student unsolved murder 1992

Unread post by David McCarthy »

Related:
JZ Knight/Ramtha Quotes:
RAMTHA, THE WHITE BOOK
Page 173
Student: Well, for example, if someone harmed my daughter,
it's evil because, let's say, she might die.
Ramtha: That is your judgment of evil. But what is evil about dying?
Student: So you don't even think that killing someone is evil?
Ramtha: That is correct, because I have not limited myself by believing in the ending of anyone thing,
for nothing is ever destroyed - ever.
Student: So you're saying that even murder is not wrong or evil.
Ramtha: That is correct.
Copyright © 1999, 2001, 2004 JZ Knight

JZ Ramtha: Murder is not wrong or Evil
EMF link https://enlightenmefree.com/phpBB3/view ... 777#p16777
But he has nothing on at all, cried at last the whole people....
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