Marlon Becker, 43, was shot and killed on May 21, 2025, inside a home on Demourelle Road in Pass Christian, Mississippi. Becker, a New Jersey native who had been living in Brazil, had traveled to Mississippi to visit Eric John-Moran Ladnier, a 63-year-old self-described prophet who had been Becker’s online spiritual mentor.

Police say Becker’s body was found at the bottom of a staircase with a single gunshot wound. Ladnier told investigators that both men had taken THC edibles, that Becker’s behavior became erratic, and that after Becker hit him and grabbed Ladnier’s wife he retrieved a 9mm pistol and shot Becker from the top of the stairs, claiming he had tried an exorcism and believed Becker was possessed. Ladnier’s wife initially told police she heard a loud pop from another room, then later said Becker was attacking her when the shooting happened.

Ladnier was arrested and charged with first-degree murder; his attorney sought dismissal on self-defense grounds at a preliminary hearing but a judge found probable cause and bound the case to a Harrison County grand jury. He is being held on $1 million bond as the investigation continues.