Ervil LeBaron
Encyclopedia
Ervil Morrell LeBaron was the leader of a polygamous Mormon fundamentalist group who ordered the killings of many of his opponents, using the religious doctrine of blood atonement
to justify the murders. He was sentenced to prison for orchestrating the murder of an opponent, and died in prison.
He had at least 13 wives in a plural marriage
, several of whom he married while they were still underage
, and several of whom were involved in the murders.
the practice of polygamy
in 1890, some polygamous Mormons moved south to Mexico to continue the practice without the interference of U.S. law enforcement. Alma Dayer LeBaron, Sr.
, 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
. Joel's younger brother, Ervil LeBaron, was his 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
.
, 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 and convicted in Mexico in 1974 for the murder of Joel, but his conviction was overturned on a technicality; some have alleged this was as a result of a bribe. Ervil's followers subsequently raided Los Molinos in an effort to kill Verlan. Their intended target was in Nicaragua
, but the town was destroyed and two men were killed in the process.
Ervil LeBaron's attention was also focused on rival polygamous leaders. He ordered the killing in April 1975 of Bob Simons, a polygamist who sought to minister to Native American
s. 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 thirteenth wife, Rena Chynoweth, and another woman, Ramona Marston, carried out the murder. Although Rena Chynoweth
was tried and acquitted for Allred's murder, she confessed to the murder in her 1990 memoir, The Blood Covenant. She also described her experiences in LeBaron's group, which she characterized as using mind control
and fear to control its followers.
LeBaron also ordered murders of family members of his own or his supporters. Vonda White, LeBaron's tenth wife, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Dean Grover Vest, one of LeBaron's henchmen, who had attempted to leave the church that year. White is also said to have killed Noemi Zarate Chynoweth, the plural wife of Bud Chynoweth, Ervil's father-in-law through his wife, Lorna Chynoweth. Noemi had been critical of LeBaron's practices, and snubbed LeBaron (her new son-in-law) at her marriage to Bud. According to people who saw Noemi disappear, Thelma Chynoweth (Bud Chynoweth's first wife, Lorna Chynoweth's mother, and Noemi's "sister-wife") helped kill Noemi. LeBaron also has been linked to the death of his own 17-year-old daughter Rebecca, who was pregnant with her second child, and had hoped to leave the group; allegedly, Eddie Marston (Ervil's stepson) and Duane Chynoweth (his brother-in-law) strangled her in April 1977.
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 in Draper
, where he died on August 16, 1981. Coincidentally, Ervil's brother 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.
Three of the murders were carried out simultaneously on June 27, 1988, at 4.00 p.m. Duane Chynoweth, one of LeBaron's former followers, and his eight year-old daughter were shot and killed while running errands. Eddie Marston, one of LeBaron's stepsons and former thugs, was killed in the same manner, and Mark Chynoweth, a father of six, was shot multiple times in his office in Houston, Texas.
Of the seven killers involved in the infamous "4 o’clock murders", five were found guilty of murder. One, Cynthia LeBaron, testified against her siblings at trial and was granted immunity. The final suspect, Jacqueline LeBaron, was captured by the FBI in May 2010. On June 16, 2011, Jacqueline LeBaron pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct religious beliefs and faces a five year maximum sentence in a future sentencing hearing.
It has been estimated that upwards of 25 people were killed as a 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.
Blood atonement
In mormonism, blood atonement is a controversial doctrine that teaches that murder is so heinous that the atonement of Jesus does not apply. Thus, in order to atone for these sins, the perpetrators must have their blood shed upon the ground as a sacrificial offering...
to justify the murders. He was sentenced to prison for orchestrating the murder of an opponent, and died in prison.
He had at least 13 wives in a plural marriage
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
, several of whom he married while they were still underage
Marriageable age
Marriageable age is the age at which a person is allowed to marry, either as of right or subject to parental or other forms of consent. The age and other requirements vary between countries, but generally it is set at 18, although most jurisdictions allow marriage at slightly younger ages with...
, and several of whom were involved in the murders.
History
After The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), officially abandoned1890 Manifesto
The "1890 Manifesto", sometimes simply called "The Manifesto", is a statement which officially disavowed the continuing practice of plural marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
the practice of polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
in 1890, some polygamous Mormons moved south to Mexico to continue the practice without the interference of U.S. law enforcement. Alma Dayer LeBaron, Sr.
Alma Dayer LeBaron, Sr.
Alma Dayer LeBaron, Sr. was a Mormon fundamentalist who was the father of a number of leaders and church founders in Mormon fundamentalism.LeBaron was generally known as 'Dayer LeBaron' and was the grandson of Benjamin F. Johnson...
, was one of these people, and in 1924 moved his family, which included his two wives and eight children, to northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. There, the family started a farm called "Colonia LeBaron" in Galeana
Galeana, Chihuahua
Galeana is one of the 67 municipalities of Chihuahua, in northern Mexico. The municipal seat lies at Hermenegildo Galeana. The municipality covers an area of 1,529 km².As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 3,774....
, Chihuahua.
When Alma died in 1951, he passed the leadership of the community on to his son Joel LeBaron
Joel LeBaron
Joel Franklin LeBaron was a leader in the Mormon fundamentalist movement in northern Mexico. He was murdered by a member or members of a rival church which was headed by his brother Ervil LeBaron.-Early life:...
. Joel eventually incorporated the community as the Church of the Firstborn in the Fullness of Times in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. Joel's younger brother, Ervil LeBaron, was his 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
Baja California Peninsula
The Baja California peninsula , is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico. Its land mass separates the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California. The Peninsula extends from Mexicali, Baja California in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur in the south.The total area of the Baja California...
.
Killings
In 1972, the brothers split over leadership of the church and Ervil started a new church in San DiegoSan Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, the Church of the Lamb of God. That same year, he ordered the killing of his brother Joel in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. 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 and convicted in Mexico in 1974 for the murder of Joel, but his conviction was overturned on a technicality; some have alleged this was as a result of a bribe. Ervil's followers subsequently raided Los Molinos in an effort to kill Verlan. Their intended target was in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, but the town was destroyed and two men were killed in the process.
Ervil LeBaron's attention was also focused on rival polygamous leaders. He ordered the killing in April 1975 of Bob Simons, a polygamist who sought to minister to Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
s. In 1977, LeBaron ordered the killing of Rulon C. Allred
Rulon C. Allred
Rulon Clark Allred was a homeopathic physician and chiropractor in Salt Lake City and the leader of what is now the Apostolic United Brethren, a breakaway sect of polygamous Mormon fundamentalists in Utah, Colorado, and Arizona, United States...
, leader of another group of polygamous Mormon fundamentalists called the Apostolic United Brethren
Apostolic United Brethren
The Apostolic United Brethren is a polygamous Mormon fundamentalist church within the Latter Day Saint movement. The sect is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
. LeBaron's thirteenth wife, Rena Chynoweth, and another woman, Ramona Marston, carried out the murder. Although Rena Chynoweth
Rena Chynoweth
Rena Chynoweth is a former Mormon fundamentalist who shot Rulon C. Allred dead in 1977. Acquitted of murder in a criminal trial, Chynoweth later admitted to killing Allred.-Early life:...
was tried and acquitted for Allred's murder, she confessed to the murder in her 1990 memoir, The Blood Covenant. She also described her experiences in LeBaron's group, which she characterized as using mind control
Mind control
Mind control refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator, often to the detriment of the person being manipulated"...
and fear to control its followers.
LeBaron also ordered murders of family members of his own or his supporters. Vonda White, LeBaron's tenth wife, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Dean Grover Vest, one of LeBaron's henchmen, who had attempted to leave the church that year. White is also said to have killed Noemi Zarate Chynoweth, the plural wife of Bud Chynoweth, Ervil's father-in-law through his wife, Lorna Chynoweth. Noemi had been critical of LeBaron's practices, and snubbed LeBaron (her new son-in-law) at her marriage to Bud. According to people who saw Noemi disappear, Thelma Chynoweth (Bud Chynoweth's first wife, Lorna Chynoweth's mother, and Noemi's "sister-wife") helped kill Noemi. LeBaron also has been linked to the death of his own 17-year-old daughter Rebecca, who was pregnant with her second child, and had hoped to leave the group; allegedly, Eddie Marston (Ervil's stepson) and Duane Chynoweth (his brother-in-law) strangled her in April 1977.
On June 1, 1979, LeBaron was apprehended by police in Mexico and was extradited
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
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 in Draper
Draper, Utah
Draper is a city in Salt Lake and Utah Counties in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Between 1990 and 2000 Draper was Utah's fastest-growing city over 5,000 people . Its population in 1990 was 7,143 and had grown to 25,220 by the 2000 census...
, where he died on August 16, 1981. Coincidentally, Ervil's brother 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.
Aftermath
While in prison, LeBaron wrote a 400-page "bible" known as The Book of the New Covenants, which included a commandment to kill disobedient church members who were included in a hit list written by LeBaron. Some 20 copies were printed and distributed.Three of the murders were carried out simultaneously on June 27, 1988, at 4.00 p.m. Duane Chynoweth, one of LeBaron's former followers, and his eight year-old daughter were shot and killed while running errands. Eddie Marston, one of LeBaron's stepsons and former thugs, was killed in the same manner, and Mark Chynoweth, a father of six, was shot multiple times in his office in Houston, Texas.
Of the seven killers involved in the infamous "4 o’clock murders", five were found guilty of murder. One, Cynthia LeBaron, testified against her siblings at trial and was granted immunity. The final suspect, Jacqueline LeBaron, was captured by the FBI in May 2010. On June 16, 2011, Jacqueline LeBaron pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct religious beliefs and faces a five year maximum sentence in a future sentencing hearing.
It has been estimated that upwards of 25 people were killed as a 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.
Media portrayals
See also
- Factional breakdown: Mormon fundamentalist sects
- Mormon fundamentalism
- List of Mormon fundamentalist churches
- List of Mormon fundamentalist leaders