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PRIMETIME
Air Date: Thursday, January 27, 2005
Time Slot: 10:00 PM-11:00 PM EST on ABC
Episode Title: "N/A"
[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

A MURDER-SUICIDE BRINGS A NOTORIOUS RELIGIOUS CULT BACK INTO THE SPOTLIGHT

Also: In an Exclusive Interview with John Quiqones, the Mother and Sister of Slain Actress Lana Clarkson Speak Out About Her Life and Career

"Primetime Live" Airs Thursday, January 27 on ABC

As a boy, Ricky Rodriguez was the poster child for the popular Children of God religious cult, exalted by the cult's leader as its prophet-in-waiting. The group eventually shrank from the spotlight due to growing scrutiny about its alleged sexual practices, including the encouragement of sexual contact between children and adults and the use of sex to recruit new members. When the now 29-year-old Rodriquez brutally murdered another former cult member and then committed suicide earlier this month, those decades-old allegations of widespread abuse and exploitation of children came to the fore once again. Children of God has re-emerged with a new name - Family International - and says it has renounced sexual activity between adults and children. But former members tell Jay Schadler they don't believe the cult has ever really paid its debt to the children who were abused. "Primetime Live" airs THURSDAY, JANUARY 27 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Rodriquez's wife tells Schadler what her husband said in a dramatic phone call just minutes before he took his own life. And a chilling videotape shows Rodriguez making his final preparations for murder.

Also: In an exclusive interview with John Quiqones, the mother and sister of actress Lana Clarkson discuss her tragic death and defend her memory which, they say, has come under attack unfairly. They tell Quiqones that Lana was much more than a "B-movie actress," as she's often been described in media reports - she was a loving daughter and caring sister with a twenty-year career as a working actress. Two years ago Clarkson was shot dead during a pre-dawn visit to the home of legendary rock producer Phil Spector. Spector has been charged with murder, but claimed in a magazine interview that Clarkson took her own life. Donna and Fawn Clarkson say Spector's claim is "preposterous" and that all they want now is to finally hear the truth.

Plus: Chris Cuomo explores how poker, a game once viewed by many as confusing and even a little seedy, has gone mainstream in a big way. Cuomo talks with Annie Duke, a female poker champion who isn't afraid to go toe-to-toe with the best male players in the world - including the brother who taught her everything she knows.

DIANE SAWYER, CHRIS CUOMO, CYNTHIA MCFADDEN and JOHN QUINONES are the anchors of "Primetime Live." SHELLEY ROSS is the executive producer.

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