Amish Healer Accused Of Sex Trafficking & Kidnapping Teen Girls, Killing 6MO With Lavender Oil

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Sam Shetler, 42, was arrested in connection with a number of unrelated crimes, including sex trafficking and kidnapping, in March. Police said that over the course of that investigation, they connected Shetler to the death of a 6-month-old boy who was found unresponsive by his parents in March 2025. The baby died, and his parents told detectives that they brought their son to Shetler, whom they knew as a "holistic doctor" in the Amish community in Booneville, Missouri.

According to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime Shetler, ran the Mercy and Truth Retreat, which was already under investigation by the Cooper County Sheriff's Office after allegations were made that Shetler was sexually abusing several teenage girls and young women. When the parents brought their 6-month-old son to Shetler for treatment after noticing he was "turning blue," he allegedly performed a "lavender breathing treatment" on the boy on March 6, 2025, and sent him home.

The parents found the boy unresponsive and "blue in color" when they tried to wake him from a nap. When they could not find Shetler, they went to a neighbor who was not Amish to call 911 for help. Emergency medical personnel arrived at the scene and determined the baby was already deceased.

Police said the autopsy of the baby revealed that he had several viral infections including RSV and COVID-19 when he died. His cause of death was listed as "pneumonia complicating polyviral respiratory infection."

One year later, while authorities were investigating the sex crime charges, detectives spoke to someone who worked for the Mercy and Truth Retreat under Shetler's direction. The employee told detectives that the Amish community viewed Shetler as an "actual" doctor or "healer" who led the community to believe that "English," or non-Amish, medical doctors "do not know what they are doing."

When it came to treating the alleged victim, the employee told detectives that Shetler instructed the staff to treat the baby's breathing issues with an oil diffuser. The employee said Shetler allegedly neglected to check on the baby, something he reportedly promised the boy's parents he would do, because he was "too busy with the girls and the horses." Police said the staff noticed the baby's condition was "declining."

According to the medical examiner, the baby may have been saved if he had received traditional medical treatment.

6-month-old died after Amish 'healer' treated him with lavender oil: Police

When the parents brought their baby to Shetler for treatment after noticing he was "turning blue," he allegedly performed a "lavender breathing treatment" and sent him home.

lawandcrime.com

Another new probable cause statement filed Monday alleges that Shetler made unwanted sexual contact with a woman and threatened her to prevent her from leaving the retreat. The woman told the Cooper County Sheriff's Office that Shetler told her that if she tried to escape, he would kidnap her and hold her longer, according to the statement.

The statement also details the accounts of three other women who said they stayed at the retreat between 2014 and 2016 to learn how to belong in the Amish community. The women were between 19 and 20 years old at the time, according to the statement.

The women said that at the retreat, they witnessed Shetler pulling out the teeth of a young boy as punishment, and they said they each tried to escape at different times throughout their stays, according to the probable cause statement.

The women said that at the retreat, they were forced to take pills, up to 80 a day at one point, and were told they were "demon possessed" because they would not submit to Shetler, according to the probable cause statement.

One woman said she escaped but the other two did not and were allegedly sent to a different retreat in a different state until they would comply with Shetler's orders, according to the statement. After returning to the retreat in Cooper County, the two women eventually escaped at separate times while Shetler was not present at the retreat, according to the probable cause statement.

The Cooper County Sheriff's Office investigator interviewed the women on March 30 and 31, 2026, according to the statement.

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A man who led an Amish and Mennonite retreat in Cooper County is facing new charges, including involuntary manslaughter, in connection to alleged abuse in the Missouri community.

www.komu.com

In March 2026, prosecutors charged Sam B. Shetler, 42, with two counts of Trafficking for the Purposes of Slavery/Involuntary Servitude/Forced Labor and one count of First-Degree Sodomy.

On Monday, April 20, 2026, prosecutors filed more charges against Shetler.

They charged him with another count of Trafficking for the Purposes of Slavery/Involuntary Servitude/Forced Labor, four counts of First Degree Kidnapping - Facilitating A Felony - Inflicting Injury - Terrorizing, First Degree Sexual Abuse, and First Degree Involuntary Manslaughter.

On Tuesday, April 21, 2026, Shetler pleaded not guilty to the new charges.

Also in court, Shetler’s $100,000 bond was revoked.

Court documents state that, from 2022 to 2026, Shetler owned and operated the "Mercy and Truth Amish and Mennonite Retreat" in the 11000 block of Hidden Valley Court.

The retreat was supposedly for people from the Amish and Mennonite communities who are disabled, and/or in need of counseling or therapy.

During that time, people had reported “’cult-like’ suspicious, abusive, sexual and neglectful behavior from Shetler to his ‘residents.’”

Male victims reported being forced to work at Shetler’s private businesses and farms.

Female victims reported repeated sexual abuse.

Shetler pleads not guilty after additional charges filed in Amish retreat abuse case

The Cooper County man accused of abusing people while running an Amish “retreat” entered a plea after new charges were filed against him.In March 2026, prosecut

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