Sue Kauten's relationship to Berg & Zerby

Sue Kauten (Angela Smith) was one of the first staff members of David Berg & Karen Zerby (Maria), leaders of The Family, now known as The Family International. Sue was already with Berg & Zerby in Tenerife, Spain in 1976 when Berg was pushing an FFing (Flirty Fishing) outreach & Zerby could no longer handle the growing secretarial work & typing of Berg’s letters alone. Apart from being one of Berg’s lovers, Sue was one of the first three FFers— together with Zerby & Sarah Davidito.

The following quotes from Berg’s Letters show that from 1976 till the mid-1980's Sue Kauten was his lover, leading FFer trusted for ‘dangerous missions,’ childcare worker, as well as Zerby’s personal assistant & secretary. Sue traveled with Berg & Zerby from Tenerife to Portugal, to Switzerland, Malta, France & South Africa, etc. Independent witnesses confirm that she still lived with Berg & Zerby as a secretary/lover in the mid-80's in the Philippines and the 90's in Japan. In the 2000's, Sue Kauten was a member of the board of Elderhaven, a retirement home owned by Karen Zerby’s parents. In 2005, she was murdered by Ricky Rodriguez (Davidito), whom she had helped raise. Ricky subsequently took his own life.

‘Maria’ (whose legal name is Karen Zerby) is the present leader of the cult, The Family International.

Berg said about Sue Kauten: “She made herself so useful & so indispensable, Maria just figures she can’t go on without her!” For a long time, part of Berg & Zerby’s daily schedule include a briefing first thing in the morning where Sue told them the latest news of The Family around the world.

From ‘Bigger Jobs!—Dad Talks to His Staff’ Switzerland, 11/18/78 DFO 1673

17. One of the main reason we sent for Sue was we heard she was a good secretary & a typist & had a lot of other talents! At that time she had a husband who was supposed to be a good gardener, a good fix-it man, a good maintenance man & all-around helper...
18. So dear Monty could do a lot of things ... But his worst fault was he was almost insanely jealous of Sue— jealous of me, jealous of her fish—& he just made her life almost Hell on Earth by nagging her all the time about her other loves & being disrespectful & almost insolent toward me & disobedient.
29. God bless dear Sue, she had the talents & she’s still using them, thank God! She’s got a lot of talent—some ways you don’t know about!—Or maybe you do! God bless her! She’s a good FFer too. I’ll tell you, this is the FF team I started off with, Maria, Sara & Sue! They’re top notchers, they really know what they’re doing! I started off with that little team in Tenerife—I think they can probably remember the first night we went out! Hallelujah! So if you want to know anything about FFing, you can ask them.
31. Being single & childless is an advantage in working with this particular Family, because we’ve got enough to do without too many children or too many husbands who turn out to be a drag, like Sue’s husband turned out to be. She’s a lot happier how without him, & she can make a lot of other people a lot happier too.
77. When Sue came, we didn’t even realise how many talents she had & what a blessing she would be, but here she is with a lot of responsibility, & her biggest job turned out to be Maria!—Well, I guess me too. I think she fell in love with Maria before she fell in love with me! (Maria: She made herself indispensable!) That’s a good point! She made herself so useful & so indispensable, Maria just figures she can’t go on without her! Because she’s always there, always willing, works night & day, knows no hours, brings Maria something to eat any time of day or night, is willing to go down & cook it herself, fix it if it isn’t fixed, or fuck me, or go to town & shop or whatever is needed! She’s willing to do anything, any hour of the day or night.

‘Prophecy for Davidito!’ 2/3/77 – 2 Years Old DFO No. 619

91. Davidito has the best teachers in the world, the Lord’s given him the best—Alfred, Sarah, Monty, Sue and everybody that really loves him. They really really really love him. Amen, amen, amen, amen.

‘Supernatural Portugal!’ Portugal 3/7/77 DFO 1415

29. The other day I got that Francisco is like Simon in the Bible, he sees that we have a power that’s greater than his. (Ac.8:9–24)
32. He was fascinated by the power! He’s even asked Sue, “What is this power? What makes you so powerful, so strong?” Because you have succumbed to his power!
50. So the Lord has used you girls—& in this particular case He’s used Sue—in what I consider a very brave mission, a very dangerous mission, to be in that close a relationship with a man who’s on the borderline, so to speak.

‘The Maltese Doublecross!–Pt.1' DO 797 pt.1 November 12, 1978

23. Less than a week later two of their secret police were ringing our bell at 9:30 in the morning.
27. Dear Sue was out shopping & she even snuck in the front door while they were back in the kitchen without them knowing it. She knew right away something was up when she smelt cigarette smoke & heart these strange men’s voices, so she split upstairs real quick.

‘The Maltese Doublecross!–Pt.3' 15 November 1978 DO – 797 Pt.3

37. The younger guy then looked under Sue’s bed & pulled out the heavy suitcase of RD’s* & brought it completely out & tried to open it, commenting on how heavy it was & asking what was in it. (*Rough Drafts of Berg’s Letters.)

‘The Right Way to Start the Day!’ Cote Bleue, France, 21/9/80 DFO 1456

40. Anyhow, that’s the way we [Berg & Zerby] start our days...
42. With lots of prayer & cuddling & lovin’ & sex & kissin’ & suckin’ & fuckin’! Ummmm, yummy! Makes me want to have some more just talking about it! Hallelujah! TYL! Honey, you think I’ll ever get over it? (Maria giggles: —No!)
61. I usually then have my daily morning function, BM, do my daily duty, after which then I have my egg coffee & get into my diary, log, & make sure I have her to help me remember what happened yesterday.
63. Then we have our morning conference with Sue & get all the latest news of the whole Family & find out how everybody is, if they’re healthy & happy & busy, & she delivers Dora’s little note about Techi ...

‘Bad Absalom!—What’s Your Hang-up?—A Grandpa Story to Techi! 24/5/81 DO 1753

37. See, Daddy’s got lots of good wives to take care of him! He’s got Mommy, your Mommy,& he’s got Sue to take care of him when Mommy’s not here, & she takes very good care of Daddy & you & me. OK? (Techi: But not Mommy.) Oh, she takes better care of Mommy than almost anybody! (Techi: She was gone here.) Oh yes, Mommy’s not here right now. But when Mommy gets back Sue takes good care of her & feeds her good & fixes her meals for her & tells her what to eat.

‘Church Fire Dream!’ South Africa, 30/10/81 DO 1841

9. But dear Sue, she’s so super conscientious & over conscientious & careful & always afraid she’s makin’ a mistake or something & always trying to be so attentive & so careful & tryin’ to do her job overly well, always wondering or worrying if she’s not doing it right our something. She’s got such an inferiority complex about that & she’s so faithful & so diligent & so careful with every detail & takes such good care of us & the work & everything. (Maria: It’s good she is!) Of course it is. But I mean sometimes she almost overdoes it.
13. Well, Sue’s a real rebel, she’s not a bit churchy.