Ervil LeBaron
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| Ervil LeBaron | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name: | Ervil Morrell LeBaron |
| Born: | February 22, 1925 |
| Died: | August 16, 1981 |
| Cause of death: | natural causes |
| Penalty: | Life |
| Killings | |
| Number of victims: | 25+ |
| Span of killings: | 1974 through 1981 |
| Country: | Mexico  , U.S.  |
| State(s): | California, Utah |
| Date apprehended: | June 1, 1979 |
Ervil Morrell LeBaron (February 22, 1925 – August 16, 1981) was the leader of a polygamous Mormon fundamentalist group who ordered the killings of many of his opponents.
Using the doctrine of blood atonement to justify multiple murders, LeBaron died in prison for orchestrating the murder of an opponent. He had 13 wives in a plural marriage, several of whom he married while they were still underage.
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[edit] History
After the mainstream Mormon church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, officially abandoned the practice of polygamy in 1890, some polygamous Mormons who wished to continue the practice, without the interference of U.S. law enforcement, moved south to Mexico. Alma Dayer LeBaron was one of these people, and in 1924 moved his family, which included his two wives and eight children, to northern Mexico. There, the family started a farm called "Colonia LeBaron" in Galeana, Chihuahua
When Alma died in 1951, he passed the leadership of the community on to his son Joel LeBaron. Joel eventually incorporated the community as the Church of the Firstborn in the Fullness of Times in Salt Lake City, Utah.[1] His younger brother, Ervil LeBaron, was the elder LeBaron's second in command during the early years of the church's existence. The group ultimately numbered around 30 families who lived in both Utah and a community called "Los Molinos" on the Baja California Peninsula.
[edit] Killings
In 1972, the brothers split over leadership of the church and Ervil started a new church in San Diego, California, the Church of the Lamb of God. That same year, he ordered the killing of his brother Joel in Mexico. Leadership of the Baja California church passed to the youngest LeBaron brother, Verlan, whom Ervil unsuccessfully tried to have killed over the next decade. Ervil was tried in Mexico in 1974 for the murder of Joel, but the ruling was overturned on a technicality. Ervil subsequently raided Los Molinos in an attempt to kill Verlan, who was not at home, but the town was destroyed and two men were killed in the process.
Ervil LeBaron's attention was also focused on rival polygamous leaders. In April 1975, he ordered the killing of Bob Simons, a polygamous Mormon who ministered to Native Americans. LeBaron's 10th wife, Vonda White, carried out several murders on her husband's orders. She is believed to have killed Noemi Zarate, the wife of one of LeBaron's close associates who became critical of LeBaron's practices. White also killed Dean Grover Vest, one of LeBaron's henchman who attempted to leave the church that year. White was later sentenced to life in prison for the Vest murder. LeBaron has also been linked to death of his own daughter Rebecca, who spoke out against the group.
In 1977, LeBaron ordered the killing of Rulon C. Allred, leader of another group of polygamous Mormon fundamentalists called the Apostolic United Brethren. LeBaron's 13th wife, Rena Chynoweth, and another woman, Ramona Marston, carried out the murder. Rena Chynoweth was later tried and then acquitted for Allred's murder. In 1990, Chynoweth wrote a book, The Blood Covenant, about her experiences in LeBaron's group, which she characterized as using mind control and fear to control its followers.
On June 1, 1979, LeBaron was apprehended by police in Mexico and was extradited to the United States where he was convicted of having ordered Allred's death. In 1980, he was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Utah State Penitentiary, and died there on August 16, 1981. Coincidentally, Verlan (whom Ervil had tried to murder) died in an auto accident in Mexico City two days after Ervil's body was discovered in his cell.
[edit] Aftermath
While in prison, LeBaron continued to order his remaining followers to murder his opponents, including some of his wives and children. It has estimated that upwards of 25 people were killed as result of LeBaron's prison-cell orders. Many of his family members and other ex-members of the group still remain in hiding for fear of retribution from LeBaron's remaining followers. Before his death, he reportedly wrote a 400 page "bible" (The Book of the New Covenants) which included a commandment to kill disobedient church members. Some 20 copies were printed.
Several of his followers have been convicted for murder, while others are still on the run. Ervil's daughter Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron is wanted by the FBI.
[edit] References
- "A Deadly 'Messenger of God'", Time, Aug. 29, 1977.
- Scheeres, Julia. Ervil LeBaron. Renegade Mormon fundamentalist wooed child brides and used them as the instruments of his murderous designs.. Retrieved on October 1, 2005.
- Bradlee, Ben Prophet of Blood: The Untold Story of Ervil Lebaron and the Lambs of God (Putnam, 1981)
- Hales, Brian C.. The Priesthood Claims of The Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times. Retrieved on December 27, 2006.
- Hales, Brian C. (2006). Mordern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations After the Manifesto. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books. ISBN 978-1-58958-035-0.
- Anderson, Scott (1994). The 4 O'clock Murders. New York: Dell. ISBN 044021629X.
[edit] See also
[edit] Movie portrayals
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