Neyla Reed: Profiled

Neyla Reed

Neyla Reed was ultimately the girl that managed to pull the plug on the Hammet cult. Initially she dated Edgar, ever so slowly learning about his hidden side and twisted nature. Neyla managed to maintain her distance as things became more scattered, panicked and erratic. Though she did involve herself within some of Edgar’s at the time perceived “kinks”, she made a strict point of not becoming a part of what the cult developed into.

She didn’t get along with Edgar’s other girlfriend Olya (her presence a fact that Edgar kept secret from her for quite some time) and she also didn’t connect with the other Hammet cult members. She had an adversarial relationship with the majority of the group, including with Kat Jones, a woman that would ultimately follow the same path as Neyla.

Neyla Reed attempted to stay away from her assumed eccentric boyfriend, but her feelings persisted, and eventually she returned to the group.

Twitter @NeylaReed or on Instagram @neylareed

Brandon Smith: Profiled

Brandon Smith

Brandon Smith remains as stubborn as Olya Palinski with regards to maintaining a view that what the cult did wasn’t an atrocity.

One of the founding members of the Hammet cult (a term which he loathes), Brandon Smith met and became friends with Olya while training to become a nurse in 2008. Although he managed to progress further in training to become a nurse, once Olya dragged him into Edgar’s circle, his days of helping people ended.

He enjoyed luring prospective donors online, and subsequently enjoyed the experiences he was privy to far more.

Brandon Smith remains one of the most detested members of the Hammet cult due to his passion with the atrocities they committed.

Katherine “Kat” Jones: Profiled

Kat Jones

Katherine Jones or “Kat” as she prefers to be known, is one of two members of the Hammet cult to make it away alive. Deluded by some online fetish websites, Kat found herself dragged into the Hammet cult and ultimate falling under the cult leader’s spell. Like many that became deeply associated with the group, Kat entered it perceiving it to be, “An unusual, but harmless experience.” She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Formerly an extroverted individual, Kat Jones now prefers to keep to herself after escaping what few managed to. She became intertwined with the group, and despite enjoying some of her experiences, Kat ultimately reached the epiphany of the truly destructive forces she had become involved in.

After leaving the cult, Kat moved back to Vancouver Island and tried to restart her life. The problem is that she remains unable to disconnect herself from the Hammet cult what with all the attention that it has received. Over the past year Kat Jones has been spotted around Vancouver, trying to rebuild her sense of normalcy.

Kat Jones can be found on Twitter by following @kat_katjones or on Instagram @kat_katjones

Olya Palinski: Profiled

According to Troy Rothko, Olya often referred to Edgar as “his eminence” behind closed doors.

Olya Palinski admits the most responsibility within the Hammet cult, claiming second only to Edgar Hammet himself. After connecting with Edgar early on, Olya helped Edgar establish this world and cult. She viewed Edgar’s world as superlative and couldn’t be convinced otherwise. Born and raised in Moscow, Russia, Olya emigrated to Canada at the age of 18 with her parents and sisters.

Having been enamoured by the look of Gothic make up and outfits, as a teenager Miss Palinski decided this would be the image she’d present herself in. She began down a path of whitening her skin, concealing tattoos of death-like images and alienating herself from her friends and family.

Although her immediate family accepted her in whatever she chose to do or dress as, Olya decided to leave her comfort zone of a life with them, moving out in her mid-teens. They have always maintained that they love her and wish to rehabilitate and re-involve her in the Palinski family, but she declines and keeps to herself. She has no interest in what she refers to as, “Normal boring life.”

As a young adult, Olya focused heavily on blood donation and testing after she had left school. Her first jobs were at donation clinics where she would routinely steal supplies in order to test blood outside of her workplace. Her focus on biology and from the outside, her apparent aspirations on getting into medicine helped shape her niche within Edgar’s circle.

Kyp Malkmus: Profiled

Kyp Malkmus

Like Remy White, Kyp Malkmus was involved in the Hammet cult as a result of his childhood friend Brandon Smith. Smith introduced Kyp to Edgar Hammet, and despite by all accounts being a kind hearted and soft-spoken individual, Kyp succumbed to what he described as “the energy” surrounding the rituals the cult performed, and involved himself.

Dolefully Kyp now resides in a psychiatric ward. He has been on “suicide watch” since being admitted. Malkmus claims full responsibility for his actions and continually expresses regret.

Recently Kyp was granted limited Twitter access, he set up an account and can be followed at @KypMalkmus

Edgar Hammet: Profiled

It’s far too easy to simplify the mind of someone like Edgar Hammet to labelings of deranged and crazy. Granted, his acts and teachings were heinous, but where were these thoughts derived from?

Edgar Hammet grew up in a very loving family on a farm in Langley, British Columbia. His parents indulged him often, continuously allowing his whims to dictate how they would approach the day. This level of control inspired Edgar to alter his physical form, experimenting with cutting himself and blood. Which ultimately lead to the consumption of it.

As a child Edgar wholly refused to attend school. His parents would drop him off and as soon as they were out of sight, Edgar would find a way to leave the school grounds to find somewhere dark and read. He would often stare in the mirror, every few months altering his hair.

He obsessed over vampire fiction, and as he grew up he would look further to find the historical “accuracies” within the texts he read. Slowly he developed an understanding, and with his parents forced to home school him because of his refusal to stay in school, he managed to alter his awake hours, developing a routine of staying awake at night and becoming “nocturnal.”

As a cult member, it was forbidden for anyone to argue with the maxims set out by Edgar. Members were made aware of this from the start, and stepping out of line meant only one punishment. Edgar defined his instructions as immemorial, obliging members to follow without question.

Since his conviction, he has not heard from his parents or his younger brother Marcus. Although Marcus agreed to participate in the Edgar Hammet cult documentary, “We Regret Nothing,” his parents refused to return any attempts at contact. From sources close to the family, we are told they’re experiencing problems coping with their son’s actions.

Remy White: Profiled

Remy White

Originally introduced to Edgar Hammet by her childhood friend Brandon Smith, Remy White became one of the central members of the Hammet cult early on. She has admitted to sometimes just witnessing, but usually participating in the rituals that the group performed which included using her image to lure the cult’s victims online.

Mirrors were really a source of resentment for Edgar. Their existence was inconducive to his claims, undermining his alleged “vampire” status. Chanel Bryson labelled Remy White as suffering from “Spectrophobia,” a morbid fear of mirrors. A phobia Bryson is convinced Edgar instilled in her.

She has always found quips comparing her with the cognac of the same name particularly irritating, with one claim against her alleging that she spat in a woman’s eye for merely making a related joke.