08:44 PM EST on Wednesday, November 23, 2005

By REBECCA LINDSTROM / 6NEWS

6NEWS

Scottland and Rhonda Belk were captured in Seattle while posing as Hurrican Katrina victims.

Scottland and Rhonda Belk appeared in a Seattle courtroom for the first time this afternoon accused of a murder in Mint Hill. Wednesday, the 6NEWS investigators uncovered new information about the trail of lies which led the Belks all the way to Seattle.

Police said the Belks first lived with Rhonda's folks. But after racking up $12,000 in debt, her parents kicked them out. That's when they moved in with Scottland’s mother. But before she was even found dead police said the Belks were onto their next victim, this time, in Texas.

Police said Scottland and Rhonda Belk stole a tractor trailer and then hundreds of gallons of gas. By the time police found Margaret Kalinoski's, Scottland’s mother, brutally beaten body - Scottland was recovering from surgery in Texas.

“His prostate was acting up,” said Detective Brad Koch with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

6NEWS learned it was in Texas where the Belks met an elderly man who took pity on them. He believed they were victims of Hurricane Katrina.

“If Rhonda would do the cooking and cleaning and so on, they could come and stay with him for a few days while they got back on their feet,” Pastor Ricky Kerr with Missionary Baptist Church of Texas.

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Kerr spoke with 6NEWS by phone. He eventually met the Belks when they attended his church in Saint Jo, Texas.

“They were able to convince the church not only to give them money, but some bus passes to Seattle Washington because Scottland had said he had the opportunity to go work in a church,” Kerr said.

Belk told them he was a lay preacher. He didn't mention it was at the World Church of the Creator, a white supremacy group.

“They came here in deception,” said Kerr. “That's probably one of the most disgusting things that a human being can do. If you'll kill your own mother, there's not a whole lot you won't do.”

Police also confirmed the Belks have a young daughter, who the left behind here in North Carolina. She's about 10-year-old and living with Rhonda's parents. No word yet on when the Belks will return to Charlotte to face charges.

The Belk family allegedly continued to tell people in Seattle they were Hurricane Katrina victims. When they arrived, Scottland Belk went to the hospital again for his prostate. An aide worker there helped them find a place to stay and it was that person who turned them in once she learned their true identity.