House of SIST leader found empty after barricade situation lasting overnight

Baltimore County police were searching for at least one suspect in the assault on an 18-year-old woman that led to a barricade Wednesday around a Pikesville house owned by a suspected religious cult leader.

A spokesman for the department said police were called to the 3700 block of Michelle Way about 10 p.m. Tuesday for a serious assault. They found the woman suffering from undisclosed injuries, and she was taken to an area hospital, where she remains in critical condition, police said.

Authorities, unsure whether the suspect remained in the home, surrounded the residence overnight until they were granted a search warrant. Department spokesman Lt. Robert McCullough said police entered the house about 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, but the residence was empty.

Police are talking with a person of interest but have made no arrests.
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The home is owned by Avraham Cohen — also known as R.C. Samanta Roy — the president of the Wisconsin-based Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology, a nonprofit educational organization. County police said Cohen is not a part of the investigation into the incident, and he was not believed to be at the residence at the time of the assault.

The goal of Cohen’s group is to establish a world-class educational institute in the Shawano, Wis., area, according to its website. But former members and authorities have labeled the group a cult, and the victim might have been part of the organization.
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