Killer Women with Ties to Alleged Cult Sentenced to Long Prison Terms for Ambushing Man Who Stopped

Two Black women with loose ties to the occult, who ambushed a young college couple hiking in Alabama’s Talladega National Forest in 2022, were sentenced to decades in prison in early January for killing one of the victims who tried to help them out of a jam.

Yasmine Marie Adel Hider, 21, of Oklahoma, will serve 35 years under an agreement in which she pleaded guilty to robbery and second-degree murder in the shooting death of Adam Simjee, as well as the subsequent kidnapping of his girlfriend, Mikayla Paulus, nearly two years ago.

Her co-defendant, Krystal Diane Pinkins, 37, received the maximum punishment of life in prison with no chance for parole after Hider testified against her during the trial, leading to convictions on charges of robbery, murder and unlawful use of a firearm during a violent crime, however, Pinkins was cleared on one count of kidnapping Paulus.

According to court records, Hider created a ruse by posing as a stranded motorist with car trouble, which drew the attention of the good Samaritans, Simjee and Paulus.

The two University of Central Florida students were searching for hiking grounds in the area on Aug. 14, 2022, several weeks before the start of the fall semester back in Florida.

Seeing an opportunity, Pinkins quickly laid out a plan to rob the couple after surprising them with the gun she had. But Pinkins instructed Hider to carry out the heist while she hid in the forest, later fleeing to an encampment and hiding out for several hours as the violence unfolded back by the roadside.

Before the fatal encounter, authorities believed the Hider and Pinkins were “living off the grid” at the hidden campsite, but it wasn’t clear if anyone else had ever shared the rugged accommodations with them.

Paulus and Simjee were searching for waterfalls in an older model white Chevrolet Uplander in Cheaha State Park when they chanced upon a distressed Hider, who convinced the couple to help her with her blue XB Scion, which she said was broken down less than half a mile up the road.

“Adam being the person he is, stopped to help them,” according to a GoFundMe page set up to help Simjee’s family, which has raised more than $18,000. “He and Mikayla tried to help the woman and even reached out to family for tips to help get the car started. When nothing else could be done, they offered to get help from the ranger station. This is when she pulled a gun and asked for banking information,” said the page, organized by Pilar Renteria.

When they made it back to the disabled car, Hider pulled a gun and ordered the couple to “empty their pockets and to walk further into the woods,” court documents said.

Unknown to Hider, Simjee had a concealed gun on his person, which he produced in a daring attempt to turn the tables on the armed woman, who stated, “Are you serious?” when she saw Simjee’s gun pointed toward her.

The two exchanged gunfire before they each were wounded and collapsed to the ground. 

Hider was shot four times, but she survived, while Simjee, a 22-year-old senior at the Orlando-area university, died at the scene after he was struck once in the abdomen.

Paulus, who was unharmed, fled into the woods and called police.

She later acknowledged that Simjee’s brave actions saved her life.

When authorities arrived, Paulus was performing CPR on Simjee, and she identified the shooter as Hider, who by that time was slumped against a fallen pine tree, bleeding from three bullets to her torso and one to her right leg. 

She had to be airlifted from the area for treatment. 

Paulus told investigators that Hider called out for help in desperate pleas to a second suspect hiding in the woods, prompting a wider search of the area.

Pinkins was taken into custody six hours later after she was found holed up at the remote campsite about a half mile away, where her 5-year-old son confronted police with a loaded shotgun as they approached the scene, according to reports.

A group of tents was set up at the campsite, but no one besides Pinkins and the boy were there.

Pinkins was initially charged with endangering the welfare of a child, and the Department of Human Resources was given custody of her son. The charges were later upgraded to include murder, robbery and kidnapping after police pieced together what happened.

Later, as she recovered in the hospital, Hider confessed to killing Simjee, saying, “I took his whole life away,” according to officials, adding that Hider waived her Miranda rights and cooperated with investigators about her role in the crime.

The remote camp has since been turned over to National Forest Enforcement Officers, who dismantled the tents and amenities.

In the years before the fateful encounter, Hider and Pinkins were drawn to the teachings of the University of Cosmic Intelligence — a New Age spiritual movement that is widely criticized as a cult given the group’s fantastical beliefs in conspiracy theories involving Lizard people and aliens.

Previously, an investigation by Vice into the pair last year found the women had promoted the peculiar spiritual content from the group on social media not long after Hider ran away from home and cut off communication with her family.

At the time of the killing, Hider and Pinkins had set out on a road trip when they ran out of money and got kicked out of a hotel, leading to desperation and a plan for murder.

The University of Cosmic Intelligence has been the subject of several extremely violent episodes by its members in recent years, although the group is not known to promote such mayhem.

The group maintains a significant presence on social media, garnering a massive following with teachings centered around mysticism and transcendence.

The group’s YouTube channel has nearly 200,000 subscribers, while the organization also sells crystals and jewelry in an online store.

The leader of the obscure religious sect, Rashad Jamal White, was convicted in 2023 of child molestation and cruelty to children and is currently serving an 18-year prison sentence in Georgia.

In a separate incident in 2022, another adherent was charged with killing his mother with a samurai sword, according to previous reporting.

White, an Atlanta-area social media influencer and self-described prophet taught that he and his followers were mythological beings with more power than mortals but less than gods. Adherents also believed that they were descended from aliens. 

Despite the shared religious link, authorities have not found any direct connections between White and Hider and Pinkins.

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