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car, and Ervil drove it around town for the afternoon; when someone commented that the car was riding low, he casually remarked that it must be because of
Rebecca. When Rebecca's mother, Ervil's first wife Delfina, discovered that her daughter had been murdered on the orders of her husband, she strongly objected. Another of her daughters, Lillian (who was also married to Mark Chynoweth) warned her that if she did not settle down and accept the righteousness of Rebecca's death, she would also be marked for blood atonement. Believing that her son-in-law and daughter were preparing to murder her, Delfina and her youngest daughter snuck out of Lillian's house and fled to Mexico.
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took the younger children to Daniel Jordan's home, asking for shelter and sanctuary from the other family members. Although Jordan did not fully trust Aaron, he allowed them all to move in. Two months later, Jordan took his wives and children and the LeBaron children with him on a camping trip. He was shot and killed at the campground. A week later, Aaron was arrested after pulling a gun on Jordan's wives and children and telling them he had been given a revelation giving him authority over the family.
207:, one of the largest polygamist sects. Three of Ervil's other followers, including Ramon's brother Ed, attended the funeral with orders to kill Verlan and anyone else who got in their way. They aborted their mission when they realized that police were stationed all around the funeral area to protect the mourners.
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Heber revived the policy of blood atonement, and over the next few years group members took revenge on those they blamed for Arturo's death. Gamaliel and Raul Rios were killed. Their two sisters who had been married to Ervil LeBaron disappeared. Heber had accused the women of knowing about Arturo's
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In 1977, Ervil also ordered the death of his pregnant teenage daughter
Rebecca, the wife of Mark Chynoweth. Angry that she had been separated from her toddler son, Rebecca threatened to go to the police about the group's activities. A witness testified that her body was stuffed into the trunk of a
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On June 27, 1988, the cult targeted three names that were prominently on Ervil LeBaron's blood atonement list. Within the span of a few minutes around 4 pm, cult members killed four people in three different locations in Texas. Ed
Martson, Ervil's stepson, was killed in Irving by another stepson,
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In 1987, the group ostensibly split into two. Heber took Ervil's wives and the teenage children with him to the United States, where they established a large auto theft ring. The younger children stayed in Mexico with Heber's younger brother Aaron (son of Lorna
Chynoweth). In August 1987, Aaron
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Although Heber did not spend a great deal of time proselytizing about religion to his followers, he fully embraced plural marriage and used it to tighten his influence over the group's members. In 1983, he married two women from
Guatemala. Within the next few years he also married several of his
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and her brothers Mark and Duane
Chynoweth raided Los Molinos. They threw firebombs at houses and shot at residents, killing two young men and injuring 13. They failed in their primary goal; Verlan had just moved his families out of the colony to Nicaragua. Ervil was arrested for masterminding the
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To Ervil's surprise, Joel's followers did not flock to his side; instead they advocated for Ervil's arrest. He was convicted of planning the murder, but freed a year later by a
Mexican appellate court. During his imprisonment, he continued to release pamphlets and books insisting that he was the
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Douglas Barlow. Heber, accompanied by his half-sister and wife
Patricia, shot Mark Chynoweth at his appliance repair shop in northern Houston. Another brother, Richard, killed Duane Chynoweth and his eight-year-old daughter Jennifer after luring them to an empty house on Rena Street in Houston.
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Six of the younger children, aged 12–18, were placed in separate foster homes in Utah. Authorities hoped that by separating them and showing them a normal life, the children could be deprogrammed and end the cycle of violence. All of the children disappeared from their foster homes on a single
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that was responsible for dozens of deaths over two decades. After Ervil’s death, his cult splintered into multiple factions, which were run by Daniel Ben Jordan and several of Ervil’s teenage sons. There ensued a bloody battle as they vied for power, each claiming to be Ervil’s true successor.
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By the late 1960s, Ervil LeBaron began preaching against his brother, accusing his brother of crimes against their faith. Proclaiming that he was the true successor to his father, Ervil began the Church of the Lamb of God and named himself the president. Some of Joel's followers, including
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Another of Ervil's followers, Leo
Evoniuk, also claimed to have been given the authority to lead the church. After months of arguing, the men agreed to meet to resolve their differences. At that meeting, Arturo was murdered, most likely by cult followers Gamaliel and Raul Rios.
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Increasingly upset by the violence, Noemi Zarate, a wife of Bud
Chynoweth (father of two of Ervil's wives), threatened to leave and go to the police. On Ervil's orders, his tenth wife Vonda White drove Zarate into the desert and killed her. Her body has never been found.
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Ervil was captured in Mexico and tried and convicted in the United States for planning Allred's murder. It was the first time he had been charged with a crime in the United States. Rena Chynoweth and Ramona Marston were acquitted by a jury for their role in the murder.
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Ervil's book had named his eldest son, Arturo LeBaron, as his immediate successor. Arturo was the son of Ervil's first wife, Delfina. Under Arturo, the cult openly embraced the criminal enterprises that they had previously dabbled in, specifically auto theft.
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He was most interested in executing his brother Verlan, who Joel's followers had elected as their new leader. Fearing for his life, Verlan had gone into hiding. In an effort to flush him out, on December 26, 1974, Ervil's underage thirteenth wife
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accordingly. Robert Simons, a leader of a small polygamous sect in Utah, denounced Ervil after learning that Ervil wanted to marry one of Simons' wives. Simons was killed in April 1975 by Mark Chynoweth and Eddie Marston, on Ervil's orders.
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Ervil had never given up the idea of killing his brother Verlan. He hatched a plan to flush Verlan out of hiding. He convinced his now 18-year-old wife Rena Chynoweth and his stepdaughter Ramona Marston (a wife of Daniel Jordan) to kill
120:. This required that a sinner must have their blood shed in order for them to have a place in heaven. Essentially, it required the death penalty for actions deemed crimes by Ervil. Joel refused to allow the practice into his church.
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During Arturo's reign, some of the group's adherents drifted away. Rena Chynoweth moved away with her two small children. Her brothers, Mark and Duane, and their mother Thelma moved to Texas. Daniel Jordan moved his family to Utah.
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half of the proceeds to the cult. On Ervil's orders, his tenth wife Vonda White executed Dean in her kitchen. She was later convicted of the murder. Ervil told her that with this murder she had ensured her presence in heaven.
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Ervil LeBaron moved part of his family to San Diego, California. He wrote letters to and visited many polygamist leaders, threatening their lives if they did not switch their allegiance to the Church of the Lamb of God and
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and agreed to testify against his siblings. Heber, Patricia, and Douglas Barlow were convicted. Aaron LeBaron and their sister Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron were indicted for helping plan the murders but couldn't be found.
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Alma Dayer believed that Johnson was the rightful successor to Smith, and that Johnson had appointed Alma to follow him. After Alma's death, several of his sons claimed to be his true successor. In 1955, his son
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policy. One of the assassins, Daniel Ben Jordan, was later arrested for the murder, but he was released when witnesses were too afraid to testify against him. The other killer, Gamaliel Rios, remained free.
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A few weeks later, Heber and four of his siblings were arrested in Arizona for auto theft. Shortly after, Aaron and two others were arrested in Chicago and charged with having false identification paper.
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half-sisters and stepsisters, including Patricia LeBaron. To gain favor with Mexican politicians and get cover for the family's criminal enterprises, he sometimes pimped out his sisters/wives.
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That same year, another of his followers, Dean Vest, prepared to leave the group. Ervil was already angry with Vest for refusing to sell a houseboat that he owned and
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218:, contained a list of 50 people that Ervil marked for blood atonement. The book also contained a list of who should succeed Ervil as leader of the cult.
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Ervil's wife Lorna Chynoweth became disillusioned and decided to leave the cult. On Arturo's orders, she was killed by her son Andrew.
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By 1967, tensions were rising between Joel and Ervil. Ervil began advocating for the return of the former Mormon principle of
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moved his family to Mexico, where the government showed no interest in prosecuting polygamists. They settled near
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murder in advance, and authorities believe cult members killed them. Evoniuk was killed in 1987 by cult members.
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While he was incarcerated in Utah, he continued to write testaments for his followers. One of these, the
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The brothers also argued about the fate of their second Mexican colony, a ranch known as Los Molinos, in
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446:"Ervil's followers Murder Routinely - in 20 years, 18 ex-associates have been slain or reported missing"
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Ervil died in jail in 1981. His brother Verlan died in a car crash in Mexico several days later.
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After Arturo's death, leadership of the cult fell to the next son on Ervil's list, 20-year-old
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and that, as God's representative on earth, he could decide who should die for their sins.
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was one of his earliest followers. Johnson followed the church teaching and practiced
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In 1972, Ervil orchestrated the murder of his brother, Joel — the first victim of the
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became second-in-command, with full authority over their new settlement, known as
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Violent religious group founded by Ervil LeBaron, responsible for dozens of deaths
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Desert Patriarchy: Mormon and Mennonite Communities in the Chihuahua Valley
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and the Chynoweth and Rios families, switched their allegiance to Ervil.
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Prophet of Blood: The Untold Story of Ervil Lebaron and the Lambs of God
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Jesse Hyde (Host) (2022). "Deliver Us From Ervil" . In iHeart. Novel.
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https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-deliver-us-from-ervil-96084334/
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The 4 O'Clock Murders: The True Story of a Mormon Family's Veneance
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Ervil LeBaron was also married to another Chynoweth sibling, Lorna.
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Former cultists face trial on charges linked to four slayings
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Richard eventually pled guilty to his role in the so-called
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Christian denominations established in the 20th century
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renounced polygamy, Johnson and his family, like many
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Religiously motivated violence in the United States
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The Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times
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165:raid, but was released due to lack of evidence.
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53:Church of the Firstborn (LeBaron family)
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390:"Violent Death Shadows Polygamist Sect"
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564:(Tucson: University of Arizona Press)
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476:"Dangerous Clan's Children on the Run"
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291:night at the end of September 1989.
612:Mormon fundamentalist denominations
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444:Davidson, Lee (June 28, 1988),
73:, taking multiple wives. When
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632:1972 establishments in Mexico
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622:History of Chihuahua (state)
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388:Cannon, Lou (Aug 8, 1977),
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205:Apostolic United Brethren
131:Foundation and fratricide
87:Colonia Juárez, Chihuahua
63:Latter Day Saint movement
32:Church of the Lamb of God
18:Church of the Lamb of God
529:Anderson, Scott (1992),
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38:fringe group founded by
125:Baja California, Mexico
83:Alma Dayer LeBaron, Sr.
657:Mormonism and violence
79:Mormon fundamentalists
216:Book of New Covenants
154:One Mighty and Strong
585:(New York: Putnam),
203:, the leader of the
109:. A third brother,
552:Further Information
67:Benjamin F. Johnson
617:Churches in Mexico
507:, UPI, Jan 9, 1993
591:978-0-399-12371-9
480:Los Angeles Times
284:4 O'Clock murders
138:Daniel Ben Jordan
16:(Redirected from
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145:blood atonement
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606:Categories
315:References
51:See also:
47:Background
173:1975-1980
581:(1981).
560:(2004).
455:July 19,
97:founded
71:polygamy
523:Sources
511:Jul 19,
485:Jul 19,
399:Jul 19,
152:Mormon
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111:Verlan
662:Cults
295:Notes
188:tithe
180:tithe
103:Ervil
57:When
587:ISBN
577:and
566:ISBN
539:ISBN
513:2018
487:2018
457:2018
401:2018
95:Joel
30:The
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