'Black Jesus' hacked to death in Papua New Guinea Accused rapist and murderer Stephen Tari, who was killed after escaping from jail. A self-style Papua New Guinea preacher who led a cannibal cult has been hacked to death outside Madang after he killed a local woman last Thursday while on the run from jail. Stephen Tari, 40, had joined a mass breakout last March while serving three years for rape and other crimes. He had previously been accused of raping, murdering and eating three girls in front of their mothers. Tari, who called himself Black Jesus, had reportedly attracted 6000 followers after he started converting followers in Madang Province in 2006. He told followers they would receive gifts from God if they joined his cult. His rapid popularity attracted media coverage. But his cult also outraged some locals and many turned against him in 2007. They beat him and handed handed Tari over to police who carried him out of the jungle hog-tied to a piece of bamboo in nothing but a loin cloth. He was eventually convicted and jailed on rape charges but the lurid details that emerged during the trial played into the old cannibal lore associated with opening of PNG to European interests in the 19th and early 20th century. Described as charismatic leader who wore white robes and saw himself as a resurrected Jesus, Tari was also accused of regularly drinking the blood of his followers, who he called "flower girls." The court heard he lured them to his hut where he cut their throats. Provincial police commander, Chief Superintendent Sylvester Kalaut, told the Port Moresby newspaper, the Post Courier, on Friday that Tari had been attacked and killed with one of his followers at Gal, his home village, about four hours walk from Madang. He had murdered a local woman and attempted to take the life of another. Tari's breakout from Beon jail outside Madang last March, alongside 47 other inmates, attracted widespread attention. Police had been unable to locate him, partly because he fled to the protection of his home village. But his return to old habits alienated local support. Chief Superintendent Kalaut warned escapees who fled with Tari could suffer a similar fate. "Those on the run are likely to cause problems for their respective communities which could lead to such a situation as in the case with this escapee," he said. He is now dead and this could be the fate of the others who are also on the run from authorities and I am warning and strongly urging those escapees to surrender themselves to authorities.