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Michael Wayne Ryan (August 3, 1948 – May 24, 2015) was an American convicted murderer, Christian Identity cult leader, and white supremacist.
The Hungerford massacre was a spree shooting in Wiltshire and Berkshire, United Kingdom, which occurred on 19 August 1987 when 27-year-old Michael Ryan shot and killed sixteen people, including an unarmed police officer and his own mother, before killing himself. No firm motive for the killings has ever been established.
- 17 (including the perpetrator)
- 19 August 1987; 36 years ago, c. 12:30 – 18:52 (BST)
Feb 24, 2019 · Cult leader Michael Ryan did both, drawing in followers with a blend of anti-Semitism, white supremacy and doomsday prophecies. Ryan told his followers he spoke directly to God, or as he called him, Yahweh, and those who disobeyed him would suffer the worst of deaths.
- Benjamin H. Smith
- 2 min
People also ask
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A man who had spent three decades on Nebraska's death row for the 1985 cult killings of two people, including a 5-year-old boy, has died in prison, officials said Monday.
Michael Ryan died around 5:45 p.m. Sunday at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services said in a news release Monday. Tecumseh prison spokeswoman Jessica Houseman did not have a cause of death but said an autopsy would be performed.
At a hearing in March about legislation to repeal the state's death penalty, state Sen. Ernie Chambers said Ryan had terminal brain cancer. Houseman would say only that Ryan was being treated for a long-term medical condition.
Ryan was convicted in the torture and killing of 26-year-old James Thimm at a southeast Nebraska farm near Rulo, where Ryan led a cult, and in the beating death of Luke Stice, the 5-year-old son of a cult member. Ryan has been on death row since Sept. 12, 1985.
Over three days, Thimm was beaten, sexually abused, shot, stomped and partially skinned while still alive. His fingertips had been shot off on one hand. Ryan told his followers that he heard the voice of God.
Ryan's son, Dennis Ryan, and cult member Timothy Haverkamp were sentenced to life in prison for second-degree murder in Thimm's death. Authorities said Dennis Ryan delivered the gunshot that killed Thimm after a month of torture.
•Nebraska Lawmakers Vote to Abolish Death Penalty
— The Associated Press
It was confirmed that Michael Robert Ryan had fatally shot himself at 6.52 pm on Wednesday, 19 August 1987, with a single gunshot to the head. The bullet had passed through his skull and shattered his brain. The horrific Hungerford Massacre was finally over. Ryan had killed 16 people, including his mother, and wounded 15 others. Read more:
Mike Ryan (musician) (born 1988), country music artist from Texas. Michael Ryan (British actor) (active since 1998), British actor featuring in Kelly + Victor and Serena. Michael Ryan (artist) (active since 2004), comic book artist on various American comics, including Runaways.
May 25, 2015 · TECUMSEH, Neb. - A man who had spent three decades on Nebraska's death row for the 1985 cult killings of two people, including a 5-year-old boy, has died in prison, officials said Monday.
