1 00:00:05,311 --> 00:00:08,450 [tense music] 2 00:00:08,518 --> 00:00:12,124 ♪♪ ♪♪ 3 00:00:12,191 --> 00:00:13,326 SCOTT: The Mexican authorities 4 00:00:13,393 --> 00:00:15,297 conduct this raid to get Ervil. 5 00:00:19,740 --> 00:00:23,748 They find Rena Chynoweth and, weirdly enough, Daniel Jordan. 6 00:00:23,814 --> 00:00:25,483 They're arrested. 7 00:00:25,551 --> 00:00:28,691 They have Rena Chynoweth in a prison cell. 8 00:00:31,162 --> 00:00:33,834 And apparently, Rena is taunting them. 9 00:00:40,180 --> 00:00:42,084 - By the time the Mexican authorities 10 00:00:42,150 --> 00:00:44,690 realize their mistake, 11 00:00:44,757 --> 00:00:48,931 they go back, and of course, Ervil's long gone. 12 00:00:48,998 --> 00:00:51,369 It's just a stunning failure for law enforcement. 13 00:00:56,212 --> 00:00:58,952 If you believe in the One Mighty and Strong idea, 14 00:00:59,018 --> 00:01:01,723 well, Ervil seems to be the living embodiment of it. 15 00:01:01,790 --> 00:01:05,397 LINDSAY: Ervil is a dangerous, unhinged prophet. 16 00:01:05,463 --> 00:01:08,102 He's been connected to at least nine murders. 17 00:01:09,907 --> 00:01:12,377 But Ervil wasn't gonna stop there. 18 00:01:12,444 --> 00:01:14,482 He was capable of killing anyone. 19 00:01:14,549 --> 00:01:17,120 - Ervil is as dangerous as any man alive 20 00:01:17,187 --> 00:01:20,327 and won't stop until he wipes out all rival polygamists. 21 00:01:20,394 --> 00:01:22,733 - Everyone's on edge 22 00:01:22,799 --> 00:01:27,976 because Ervil is still out there. 23 00:01:28,043 --> 00:01:30,915 [unsettling string music] 24 00:01:30,982 --> 00:01:38,129 ♪♪ ♪♪ 25 00:02:05,083 --> 00:02:07,487 - They caught Dan in that apartment 26 00:02:07,555 --> 00:02:10,260 because Dan was pretending to be Ervil. 27 00:02:10,327 --> 00:02:11,563 CELIA: Yes. 28 00:02:11,630 --> 00:02:13,332 They thought he was Ervil. - I was there too. 29 00:02:13,399 --> 00:02:14,435 ANNA: And I was there, and-- CELIA: Yes. 30 00:02:14,503 --> 00:02:15,871 - So what do you remember about it? 31 00:02:15,938 --> 00:02:18,476 - I remember sleeping, and somebody comes 32 00:02:18,544 --> 00:02:20,548 and starts pounding on the door really hard. 33 00:02:20,615 --> 00:02:22,619 And I woke up in the middle of the night 34 00:02:22,685 --> 00:02:24,790 and walked over to the door and opened it. 35 00:02:24,857 --> 00:02:28,397 And, uh, I remember them, like, hitting people. 36 00:02:28,463 --> 00:02:30,066 [pensive music] 37 00:02:30,133 --> 00:02:32,471 This is my first time I had been in a--in a house 38 00:02:32,539 --> 00:02:34,408 when it was raided. 39 00:02:34,475 --> 00:02:37,248 Gotta be about six years old. 40 00:02:37,314 --> 00:02:40,220 And that memory of me opening that door... 41 00:02:40,287 --> 00:02:46,934 ♪♪ ♪♪ 42 00:02:47,001 --> 00:02:52,477 Just haunted me for just years and years. 43 00:02:54,850 --> 00:02:57,555 In my child brain, I extrapolated 44 00:02:57,622 --> 00:02:59,025 that I was responsible. 45 00:02:59,092 --> 00:03:02,030 [tense music] 46 00:03:02,097 --> 00:03:07,041 ♪♪ ♪♪ 47 00:03:07,108 --> 00:03:08,744 This one's a tough one. 48 00:03:15,156 --> 00:03:16,727 - Besides opening the door, 49 00:03:16,794 --> 00:03:19,131 what do you remember about that? 50 00:03:19,198 --> 00:03:20,702 - I remember they were pretty brutal. 51 00:03:20,769 --> 00:03:23,574 The--I guess they were Federales. 52 00:03:23,641 --> 00:03:24,877 - They were ransacking the house 53 00:03:24,943 --> 00:03:28,885 and taking whatever they wanted of our belongings. 54 00:03:28,951 --> 00:03:31,389 It was very frightening for a nine-year-old child-- 55 00:03:31,456 --> 00:03:34,162 and Hyrum is six--- 56 00:03:34,229 --> 00:03:39,004 to watch these events unfold right in front of our eyes. 57 00:03:41,911 --> 00:03:45,350 Very violent things were happening around me. 58 00:03:47,154 --> 00:03:51,062 They did whatever they wanted, and they knew they could. 59 00:03:51,129 --> 00:03:55,103 After Rena and Dan are arrested, the Federales left. 60 00:03:55,170 --> 00:03:57,708 The apartment was ransacked. 61 00:03:57,775 --> 00:03:59,679 The next thing we know, Hyrum and I 62 00:03:59,746 --> 00:04:01,550 are being whisked out the door 63 00:04:01,617 --> 00:04:03,419 with another member of the cult. 64 00:04:03,486 --> 00:04:08,363 ♪♪ ♪♪ 65 00:04:08,430 --> 00:04:10,300 We had no idea where we were going. 66 00:04:10,366 --> 00:04:13,941 We just drove for a long, long time. 67 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:22,491 We get to this little tiny apartment. 68 00:04:24,461 --> 00:04:26,065 The door opens. 69 00:04:29,405 --> 00:04:31,442 And it's Ramona. 70 00:04:33,614 --> 00:04:36,486 And after so long of being 71 00:04:36,554 --> 00:04:39,592 just mistreated the way we were 72 00:04:39,659 --> 00:04:45,303 and finding her, and her embracing me, 73 00:04:45,370 --> 00:04:47,542 she was such a safe haven. 74 00:04:50,079 --> 00:04:53,654 We had no idea that Ramona was also wanted 75 00:04:53,721 --> 00:04:58,362 for the murder of Rulon Allred, along with Rena. 76 00:04:58,429 --> 00:05:01,268 - Allred, leader of a group of thousands of polygamists 77 00:05:01,335 --> 00:05:02,939 in Utah and surrounding states, 78 00:05:03,006 --> 00:05:04,609 was killed in a hail of gunfire. 79 00:05:07,982 --> 00:05:10,053 REPORTER: Ramona Marston jumped bail and disappeared, 80 00:05:10,119 --> 00:05:13,025 accused of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. 81 00:05:14,762 --> 00:05:17,201 - Ramona never talked about Rena or my father. 82 00:05:17,267 --> 00:05:18,838 The last I heard about Rena 83 00:05:18,904 --> 00:05:22,545 was when she had been arrested in the raid. 84 00:05:22,612 --> 00:05:24,081 - The Feds want Rena Chynoweth 85 00:05:24,148 --> 00:05:26,419 extradited to the United States immediately. 86 00:05:26,486 --> 00:05:28,089 They wanna lock her up. 87 00:05:28,156 --> 00:05:30,661 So the Mexican authorities take her straight to Laredo 88 00:05:30,728 --> 00:05:32,297 to get her across the border. 89 00:05:32,364 --> 00:05:37,040 ♪♪ ♪♪ 90 00:05:37,107 --> 00:05:38,710 - They get Rena to the border. 91 00:05:40,981 --> 00:05:43,787 And then just like you see in the movies... 92 00:05:45,323 --> 00:05:48,997 The FBI agents are waiting for her there on the other side. 93 00:05:53,473 --> 00:05:55,911 - The FBI today arrested a key suspect, 94 00:05:55,978 --> 00:05:58,551 20-year-old Rena Chynoweth at the International Bridge 95 00:05:58,617 --> 00:05:59,953 in Laredo, Texas. 96 00:06:00,020 --> 00:06:01,824 Chynoweth is charged with first-degree murder 97 00:06:01,891 --> 00:06:04,729 and conspiracy to murder in the Allred case. 98 00:06:04,796 --> 00:06:06,266 Authorities have described the killing 99 00:06:06,332 --> 00:06:08,069 as a religious assassination 100 00:06:08,135 --> 00:06:10,073 ordered by the fanatic Ervil LeBaron, 101 00:06:10,140 --> 00:06:12,043 the leader of a rival polygamist cult. 102 00:06:13,514 --> 00:06:16,820 LINDSAY: More and more people are looking for Ervil. 103 00:06:16,886 --> 00:06:19,893 They start putting up wanted posters. 104 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:21,830 He has to go further into hiding. 105 00:06:25,605 --> 00:06:27,708 And he's running for his life. 106 00:06:37,460 --> 00:06:40,400 [pensive music] 107 00:06:40,467 --> 00:06:42,204 ♪♪ ♪♪ 108 00:06:42,270 --> 00:06:45,778 - I did not realize that Rena was on trial 109 00:06:45,845 --> 00:06:47,882 for the murder of Rulon Allred. 110 00:06:47,949 --> 00:06:54,161 At the time, I lived with Mark and Lillian in Mexico. 111 00:06:54,228 --> 00:06:57,467 Lillian was our older half-sister, 112 00:06:57,535 --> 00:07:00,641 and Mark was Rena's brother. 113 00:07:02,377 --> 00:07:05,383 Mark and Lillian were devoted 114 00:07:05,450 --> 00:07:07,688 and very much in love with each other. 115 00:07:07,755 --> 00:07:10,928 Their love story was a very sweet, tender one. 116 00:07:10,995 --> 00:07:14,903 Mark was one of the very few men in our lives 117 00:07:14,969 --> 00:07:18,042 who set a really good example of treating your wife 118 00:07:18,109 --> 00:07:22,017 with respect and treating young teenage girls 119 00:07:22,083 --> 00:07:26,425 not as potential wives, but as young girls 120 00:07:26,492 --> 00:07:28,897 that needed to be brought up. 121 00:07:33,039 --> 00:07:34,609 - Police suspect Mark Chynoweth 122 00:07:34,676 --> 00:07:36,746 for being the triggerman for the cult. 123 00:07:36,813 --> 00:07:38,684 Mark was involved in multiple murders 124 00:07:38,751 --> 00:07:40,587 and the Los Molinos raid, 125 00:07:40,654 --> 00:07:45,496 where Ervil's followers killed two people 126 00:07:45,564 --> 00:07:47,535 and shot many others. 127 00:07:49,939 --> 00:07:52,745 - This is nothing Mark would have ever done 128 00:07:52,812 --> 00:07:56,620 if it would have been of his own free will. 129 00:07:56,687 --> 00:08:01,061 It was purely brainwashing and indoctrination 130 00:08:01,128 --> 00:08:05,203 and fear and the power that was held over him. 131 00:08:05,270 --> 00:08:09,244 Mark and Lillian were true believers of Ervil LeBaron. 132 00:08:09,311 --> 00:08:11,349 ANNA: Whatever our father asked, 133 00:08:11,416 --> 00:08:14,287 Mark and Lillian obeyed. 134 00:08:14,354 --> 00:08:17,227 They were there to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth. 135 00:08:19,733 --> 00:08:21,937 CELIA: Shortly after the raid, 136 00:08:22,003 --> 00:08:26,045 Mark and Lillian began packing up their things. 137 00:08:26,112 --> 00:08:29,719 And we were going to move again. 138 00:08:29,786 --> 00:08:31,422 [suspenseful music] 139 00:08:31,488 --> 00:08:35,698 And Lillian seemed upset and distressed about having-- 140 00:08:35,765 --> 00:08:37,635 not knowing where she's going. 141 00:08:39,371 --> 00:08:43,580 Eventually, we arrived to the U.S. border. 142 00:08:46,385 --> 00:08:49,892 I didn't know what was going on with her, 143 00:08:49,959 --> 00:08:53,867 but she was not happy with what was happening. 144 00:08:57,742 --> 00:08:59,712 Mark got out of the car. 145 00:09:04,455 --> 00:09:08,028 He told the Border Patrol who he was... 146 00:09:12,639 --> 00:09:14,809 And that he was wanted for questioning 147 00:09:14,876 --> 00:09:17,180 for the murder of Rulon Allred. 148 00:09:19,886 --> 00:09:22,525 And so they took him into custody. 149 00:09:22,591 --> 00:09:24,629 He's in handcuffs. 150 00:09:24,696 --> 00:09:29,304 Before I could really even register what was happening... 151 00:09:32,344 --> 00:09:36,085 Mark put on a bright smile 152 00:09:36,151 --> 00:09:41,964 and was waving with the hands in handcuffs behind him 153 00:09:42,030 --> 00:09:44,702 to make sure that we didn't get the impression 154 00:09:44,769 --> 00:09:46,371 that anything bad was happening. 155 00:09:49,813 --> 00:09:53,554 So I was very, very confused. 156 00:09:53,621 --> 00:09:56,058 He was turning himself in 157 00:09:56,125 --> 00:10:00,768 so that he could testify on Rena's behalf. 158 00:10:00,834 --> 00:10:03,674 He was such a true, strong believer 159 00:10:03,741 --> 00:10:05,878 that he was willing to turn himself in 160 00:10:05,945 --> 00:10:09,451 because he knew God would prevail. 161 00:10:09,519 --> 00:10:11,222 - Murder case investigators say 162 00:10:11,289 --> 00:10:13,961 is the longest-running, most expensive in Utah history 163 00:10:14,028 --> 00:10:16,231 began nearly two years ago with the shooting death 164 00:10:16,298 --> 00:10:18,436 of polygamist leader Dr. Rulon Allred. 165 00:10:18,503 --> 00:10:20,339 The investigation led to rival polygamist 166 00:10:20,406 --> 00:10:21,976 cult leader Ervil LeBaron. 167 00:10:22,043 --> 00:10:23,212 LeBaron is still a fugitive, 168 00:10:23,279 --> 00:10:24,916 but some of his followers have been captured 169 00:10:24,982 --> 00:10:26,185 and will stand trial. 170 00:10:26,251 --> 00:10:27,989 REPORTER: Police believe on his orders, 171 00:10:28,055 --> 00:10:30,393 Rena Chynoweth, his 20-year-old wife, 172 00:10:30,460 --> 00:10:34,067 and Ramona Marston, his stepdaughter, killed Allred, 173 00:10:34,134 --> 00:10:36,706 aided by Rena's brothers, Mark and Victor Chynoweth, 174 00:10:36,773 --> 00:10:39,344 and Ramona's brother, Eddie Marston. 175 00:10:39,411 --> 00:10:42,551 - After my father's murder and funeral, 176 00:10:42,618 --> 00:10:48,329 we began hearing reports that some of Ervil's followers 177 00:10:48,396 --> 00:10:50,635 had been arrested. 178 00:10:50,702 --> 00:10:53,740 But I want them to get Ervil. 179 00:10:58,216 --> 00:10:59,986 REPORTER: Just moments ago, a woman who's said to be 180 00:11:00,053 --> 00:11:02,090 one of the 13 wives of Ervil LeBaron 181 00:11:02,157 --> 00:11:05,463 was bound over for trial in the murder of Dr. Rulon Allred. 182 00:11:05,531 --> 00:11:09,539 ♪♪ ♪♪ 183 00:11:09,606 --> 00:11:12,377 ANNA: During the trial for Rulon Allred, 184 00:11:12,444 --> 00:11:17,120 people feared Ervil, feared what he was capable of. 185 00:11:20,159 --> 00:11:22,865 - Some of the police involved, some of the investigators, 186 00:11:22,932 --> 00:11:26,740 prosecutors had received threats. 187 00:11:26,807 --> 00:11:30,814 There was FBI coverage, security. 188 00:11:30,881 --> 00:11:33,219 It was a very tense scene. 189 00:11:33,286 --> 00:11:35,524 REPORTER: Assistant County Attorney David Yocom 190 00:11:35,591 --> 00:11:38,997 says he doesn't rule out the possibility of violence. 191 00:11:39,064 --> 00:11:41,134 - There will be, uh, guards on the door, 192 00:11:41,201 --> 00:11:44,007 and, uh, the court has ordered that, uh, 193 00:11:44,074 --> 00:11:46,746 there be close security in the trial. 194 00:11:46,813 --> 00:11:48,883 The leader was still out there. 195 00:11:48,950 --> 00:11:51,288 We feared that Ervil ordered them 196 00:11:51,355 --> 00:11:53,593 to kill any number of our witnesses. 197 00:11:53,660 --> 00:11:56,633 LINDSAY: Ervil's executions had been very bold, 198 00:11:56,700 --> 00:12:00,473 and so it had everyone asking if he would be bold enough 199 00:12:00,541 --> 00:12:02,044 to attack the courtroom. 200 00:12:02,110 --> 00:12:04,314 Even though Ervil isn't on trial, 201 00:12:04,381 --> 00:12:06,753 his presence is looming everywhere. 202 00:12:10,594 --> 00:12:14,635 - During the trial, I was living with Ramona in Mexico. 203 00:12:14,702 --> 00:12:17,675 Ramona never mentioned anything 204 00:12:17,741 --> 00:12:19,311 about the trial that was happening. 205 00:12:19,378 --> 00:12:21,750 - I was already back in the U.S. 206 00:12:21,817 --> 00:12:24,656 It was always explained to me 207 00:12:24,722 --> 00:12:26,926 that God would look out for them, 208 00:12:26,993 --> 00:12:30,033 that they would surely be found innocent, 209 00:12:30,100 --> 00:12:34,509 and that we could expect them to come home. 210 00:12:34,575 --> 00:12:37,246 LINDSAY: Although four people were on trial, 211 00:12:37,313 --> 00:12:40,152 everyone was focused on the triggerwoman, Rena. 212 00:12:42,157 --> 00:12:44,996 The jury was made up of mostly women. 213 00:12:45,063 --> 00:12:47,100 Rena's lawyers knew this. 214 00:12:47,167 --> 00:12:49,839 Rena was a young, pregnant plural wife 215 00:12:49,906 --> 00:12:52,110 victimized by this bad guy. 216 00:13:06,305 --> 00:13:09,144 - Rena got on the stand and said she had never heard 217 00:13:09,211 --> 00:13:11,348 of Dr. Allred before. 218 00:13:11,415 --> 00:13:15,356 She didn't know anything about the murder until afterward. 219 00:13:18,697 --> 00:13:20,967 - It was hard to figure out what role she had played in it. 220 00:13:22,905 --> 00:13:25,276 - But I knew she was the cold-blooded killer. 221 00:13:26,713 --> 00:13:29,586 Difficult to cross-examine someone like that. 222 00:13:29,653 --> 00:13:34,394 You just want to tear into 'em and rip 'em apart. 223 00:13:37,034 --> 00:13:38,503 But you can't. You can't do that. 224 00:13:41,374 --> 00:13:44,783 - People in Ervil's group are paying attention 225 00:13:44,849 --> 00:13:47,087 to how this is being reported on TV. 226 00:13:47,153 --> 00:13:49,124 New threats start coming in. 227 00:13:49,191 --> 00:13:51,195 DAVID: One juror had told the bailiff 228 00:13:51,262 --> 00:13:53,567 that he was frightened. 229 00:13:53,634 --> 00:13:56,706 He had thought people were following him, 230 00:13:56,773 --> 00:13:59,277 which, to me, meant this juror 231 00:13:59,344 --> 00:14:02,083 was being intimidated indirectly. 232 00:14:02,150 --> 00:14:04,487 It's up to the jury in what they call a penalty phase 233 00:14:04,555 --> 00:14:06,158 of the case to determine the penalty, 234 00:14:06,225 --> 00:14:07,528 and there's only two choices. 235 00:14:07,594 --> 00:14:10,466 One, death, which is a possibility, 236 00:14:10,534 --> 00:14:14,374 as well as the other one, life imprisonment. 237 00:14:14,441 --> 00:14:17,615 [tense music] 238 00:14:17,681 --> 00:14:21,154 - The jury deliberates for only four hours. 239 00:14:24,596 --> 00:14:25,931 They come out. 240 00:14:28,002 --> 00:14:30,640 And before they read the verdict... 241 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:37,955 The judge tells the courtroom, "I will have no outbursts." 242 00:14:41,328 --> 00:14:44,969 And they find Rena Chynoweth... 243 00:14:46,907 --> 00:14:48,543 Not guilty. 244 00:14:48,610 --> 00:14:55,056 ♪♪ ♪♪ 245 00:14:55,122 --> 00:14:57,427 Rena, Mark Chynoweth, Victor Chynoweth, 246 00:14:57,494 --> 00:15:00,065 and Eddie Marston were all acquitted. 247 00:15:10,621 --> 00:15:13,660 - The jury couldn't convict Rena for several reasons. 248 00:15:13,727 --> 00:15:17,133 First, no witnesses could positively ID her. 249 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:20,273 And second, Rena appeared to be a victim 250 00:15:20,339 --> 00:15:21,843 under Ervil's control. 251 00:15:21,909 --> 00:15:26,686 But there were other theories as well, like intimidation. 252 00:15:26,752 --> 00:15:28,422 - How did they all get off? 253 00:15:28,489 --> 00:15:31,763 I had no idea how that could have happened. 254 00:15:31,830 --> 00:15:34,902 GARY: This cult was a big threat to a lot of people, 255 00:15:34,969 --> 00:15:38,643 and it only takes one juror to acquit. 256 00:15:38,710 --> 00:15:41,381 - I really don't remember Rulon Allred's trial. 257 00:15:41,448 --> 00:15:43,787 But I remember when it was done, 258 00:15:43,854 --> 00:15:46,692 they came back and said that Rena had been acquitted. 259 00:15:48,964 --> 00:15:50,901 And that was, like, a huge relief. 260 00:15:50,968 --> 00:15:54,542 We gave all the credit to God for that. 261 00:15:54,609 --> 00:15:57,648 LINDSAY: The result of Rena's trial 262 00:15:57,715 --> 00:16:00,453 isn't just the heartache of Rulon Allred's family 263 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:03,192 and their injustice. It has ripple effects. 264 00:16:04,795 --> 00:16:07,500 Once Rena was acquitted, Ramona Marston 265 00:16:07,567 --> 00:16:09,638 was never convicted for the crime. 266 00:16:11,777 --> 00:16:15,382 And then there's Dan Jordan down in Mexico. 267 00:16:15,449 --> 00:16:18,422 REPORTER: Jordan was held in jail in Ensenada, Mexico. 268 00:16:18,488 --> 00:16:20,795 - I don't believe I'll have any statement 269 00:16:20,861 --> 00:16:22,063 to make at this time. 270 00:16:22,130 --> 00:16:23,398 I do thank you for coming. 271 00:16:23,465 --> 00:16:25,203 Uh, thank you for your attention. 272 00:16:25,269 --> 00:16:27,173 - Dan is let off as well. 273 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:29,377 INTERVIEWER: Mr. Jordan, are you surprised? 274 00:16:29,444 --> 00:16:31,549 - I won't have any comments to make at this time. 275 00:16:31,616 --> 00:16:33,452 Thank you very much. 276 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:36,058 LINDSAY: Another one of Ervil's followers 277 00:16:36,125 --> 00:16:37,661 gets off the hook. 278 00:16:37,728 --> 00:16:40,032 Justice is undone. 279 00:16:44,308 --> 00:16:47,113 Ervil gets away with it again. 280 00:16:53,426 --> 00:16:57,366 [apprehensive music] 281 00:16:57,433 --> 00:17:00,406 - After Rena was acquitted in 1979, 282 00:17:00,472 --> 00:17:02,544 we all returned to Colorado. 283 00:17:02,611 --> 00:17:05,917 I was so happy to be reunited with Celia... 284 00:17:05,984 --> 00:17:09,357 - Yeah! - My mom, my family, um. 285 00:17:09,424 --> 00:17:12,396 But Dan Jordan also returned to Colorado at that time. 286 00:17:15,971 --> 00:17:19,278 My father, Ervil, was, uh, hiding out in Mexico, 287 00:17:19,344 --> 00:17:22,651 so Dan Jordan was the one who was in charge. 288 00:17:26,057 --> 00:17:28,295 So we're working in the appliance store. 289 00:17:28,362 --> 00:17:30,701 [tense music] 290 00:17:30,768 --> 00:17:33,206 ♪♪ ♪♪ 291 00:17:33,272 --> 00:17:34,508 And Dan comes in one day. 292 00:17:38,984 --> 00:17:41,822 He has this big announcement. 293 00:17:41,889 --> 00:17:47,433 Dan is like, "If you guys will work hard all summer long, 294 00:17:47,500 --> 00:17:49,438 "at the end of the summer, each of you 295 00:17:49,506 --> 00:17:53,814 will get $50 to buy new school clothes." 296 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:57,821 - There were times when, 20 children in a home, 297 00:17:57,888 --> 00:18:00,860 they were given food money of $20 a week. 298 00:18:00,927 --> 00:18:06,271 So $50 for us was a lot of money in our minds. 299 00:18:06,338 --> 00:18:10,881 - I mean, it was astronomical. 300 00:18:10,947 --> 00:18:12,483 And so guess what we did? 301 00:18:12,551 --> 00:18:13,787 CELIA: We did. We worked so hard. 302 00:18:13,853 --> 00:18:16,191 ANNA: We worked really hard. 303 00:18:18,128 --> 00:18:19,865 All summer long. 304 00:18:22,505 --> 00:18:24,575 Six days a week, 12 hour days. 305 00:18:26,478 --> 00:18:30,119 And we're gonna get our $50. 306 00:18:30,186 --> 00:18:33,960 The Saturday before school is supposed to start, 307 00:18:34,027 --> 00:18:37,100 I'm like, uh, where is the $50? 308 00:18:37,167 --> 00:18:40,406 Like, we're supposed to be able to, like, go shopping. 309 00:18:40,472 --> 00:18:42,545 And then it's like, oh, no, 310 00:18:42,612 --> 00:18:44,581 there's not enough money for that. 311 00:18:46,151 --> 00:18:48,389 And that was that. 312 00:18:48,455 --> 00:18:50,660 Inside, I'm going, 313 00:18:50,727 --> 00:18:56,171 "Uh, no. Uh, I earned that money. 314 00:18:56,238 --> 00:18:58,609 You said you would give it to me." 315 00:19:01,182 --> 00:19:04,320 And then in walks Dan's daughters. 316 00:19:06,191 --> 00:19:08,730 And they have on new clothes. 317 00:19:10,667 --> 00:19:17,615 And I just could not believe my eyes... 318 00:19:17,682 --> 00:19:21,421 that we were the ones who worked 319 00:19:21,488 --> 00:19:25,362 our asses off all summer long. 320 00:19:27,467 --> 00:19:32,143 This was the moment when there was a little bit 321 00:19:32,210 --> 00:19:33,846 of a shift inside of me. 322 00:19:37,555 --> 00:19:40,493 There was no amount of suppressing the emotion 323 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:43,065 and the... [groans] The anger. 324 00:19:43,132 --> 00:19:49,378 And this began to fester inside, 325 00:19:49,444 --> 00:19:53,719 and there was no making it go away. 326 00:20:01,234 --> 00:20:04,140 [pensive music] 327 00:20:04,207 --> 00:20:07,948 ♪♪ ♪♪ 328 00:20:08,015 --> 00:20:11,421 SCOTT: Ervil's still on the 10 Most Wanted list. 329 00:20:11,488 --> 00:20:13,159 They know he's probably spending most of his time 330 00:20:13,225 --> 00:20:14,227 down in Mexico. 331 00:20:14,294 --> 00:20:16,532 - Ervil was down in this small 332 00:20:16,599 --> 00:20:19,872 little rural town called Atlixco, Mexico. 333 00:20:19,939 --> 00:20:23,947 Law enforcement is hundreds of miles away. 334 00:20:24,013 --> 00:20:26,886 But locals know he's there. 335 00:20:26,953 --> 00:20:28,956 And so now this idea that this little cult 336 00:20:29,023 --> 00:20:31,061 has moved to this remote village 337 00:20:31,128 --> 00:20:32,898 starts to worry people. 338 00:20:35,369 --> 00:20:37,775 And you have to remember that just a year before, 339 00:20:37,841 --> 00:20:39,711 the Jonestown Massacre had happened. 340 00:20:41,616 --> 00:20:44,755 900 people from the People's Temple, 341 00:20:44,822 --> 00:20:49,297 this sort of religious group, commit mass suicide. 342 00:20:51,802 --> 00:20:54,007 Mexican law enforcement start thinking, 343 00:20:54,074 --> 00:20:56,979 "Is Ervil LeBaron's group gonna do the same thing?" 344 00:20:57,046 --> 00:20:59,985 They don't want another Jonestown on their hands. 345 00:21:00,052 --> 00:21:06,900 ♪♪ ♪♪ 346 00:21:06,966 --> 00:21:09,404 So they decide to do something about it. 347 00:21:09,471 --> 00:21:12,376 [suspenseful music] 348 00:21:12,443 --> 00:21:14,549 ♪♪ ♪♪ 349 00:21:14,615 --> 00:21:15,984 - Probably the Mexican authorities has just 350 00:21:16,051 --> 00:21:17,788 reached a point where they were fed up with him. 351 00:21:17,855 --> 00:21:21,963 He had--he'd probably made a lot of local enemies. 352 00:21:22,029 --> 00:21:26,505 They raid where Ervil was living, beat him up. 353 00:21:26,572 --> 00:21:33,452 ♪♪ ♪♪ 354 00:21:33,519 --> 00:21:34,722 Supposedly, he had resisted arrest 355 00:21:34,789 --> 00:21:36,792 when the Federales came in on him. 356 00:21:40,165 --> 00:21:47,046 And they send Ervil across, dumped him across the border, 357 00:21:47,112 --> 00:21:50,452 same bridge that Rena Chynoweth walked across at Laredo... 358 00:21:52,724 --> 00:21:54,995 And handed him over to American authorities. 359 00:22:00,373 --> 00:22:03,145 - Finally, after almost a decade 360 00:22:03,212 --> 00:22:06,451 of murder, death, and terror, 361 00:22:06,519 --> 00:22:08,823 Ervil LeBaron is arrested. 362 00:22:14,034 --> 00:22:16,137 REPORTER: Ervil LeBaron, polygamist, 363 00:22:16,204 --> 00:22:17,240 religious cult leader, 364 00:22:17,307 --> 00:22:19,010 self-proclaimed prophet of God. 365 00:22:19,077 --> 00:22:21,916 Finally, yesterday, he was arrested in Mexico City 366 00:22:21,983 --> 00:22:24,420 and today walked across the International Bridge at Laredo 367 00:22:24,487 --> 00:22:26,726 and turned over to American authorities. 368 00:22:26,792 --> 00:22:29,063 He's claimed he has the right to kill anyone he wishes 369 00:22:29,130 --> 00:22:30,667 upon orders from God. 370 00:22:30,734 --> 00:22:32,403 He's expected to be returned to Utah 371 00:22:32,470 --> 00:22:36,144 to stand trial for murder. 372 00:22:36,211 --> 00:22:38,048 - American law enforcement people are waiting for him. 373 00:22:38,114 --> 00:22:41,087 They wanna try to get Ervil to talk. 374 00:22:41,154 --> 00:22:44,160 And Ervil being Ervil, says, "Yeah, I'll talk to you." 375 00:22:44,227 --> 00:22:49,003 ♪♪ ♪♪ 376 00:22:49,070 --> 00:22:52,544 And Ervil LeBaron talks for the next five hours. 377 00:22:55,015 --> 00:22:57,854 Here's a guy who claims to be the prophet, 378 00:22:57,921 --> 00:23:00,392 all need to bow down to him. 379 00:23:02,096 --> 00:23:04,367 At one point, he claims he's the legitimate 380 00:23:04,434 --> 00:23:05,703 president of the United States. 381 00:23:07,975 --> 00:23:12,083 So in a lot of ways, it seems quite crazy. 382 00:23:12,150 --> 00:23:14,321 And yet when the police start to push 383 00:23:14,387 --> 00:23:18,596 towards the murder of Rulon Allred, 384 00:23:18,663 --> 00:23:22,070 he's smart enough to know to not touch it. 385 00:23:22,136 --> 00:23:24,608 Ervil will not say anything incriminating. 386 00:23:24,675 --> 00:23:31,822 ♪♪ ♪♪ 387 00:23:33,993 --> 00:23:36,866 FAYE: We were shocked when Ervil got arrested. 388 00:23:36,932 --> 00:23:40,005 Because we--we were like, what happened? 389 00:23:40,072 --> 00:23:43,779 Did--did God fall down on the job? 390 00:23:43,846 --> 00:23:46,184 It's like we never thought things like that would happen 391 00:23:46,250 --> 00:23:47,687 because we were so faithful. 392 00:23:52,129 --> 00:23:55,235 - We were not told what was going on. 393 00:23:55,302 --> 00:23:57,172 But sometimes we learn things through family prayers 394 00:23:57,239 --> 00:24:00,012 and church prayers and stuff like that. 395 00:24:00,079 --> 00:24:01,883 Sometimes in those prayers, you would-- 396 00:24:01,950 --> 00:24:04,755 there was a common theme of like, oh, 397 00:24:04,821 --> 00:24:07,794 help Ervil to get out of jail soon, and... 398 00:24:10,099 --> 00:24:11,702 So I was like, oh, I know he's in jail 399 00:24:11,769 --> 00:24:13,004 because I heard it in the prayers, 400 00:24:13,071 --> 00:24:14,841 we're asking for him to get out of jail. 401 00:24:16,679 --> 00:24:21,522 ANNA: I remember seeing a picture of him 402 00:24:21,588 --> 00:24:23,526 from his arrest in Ensenada, Mexico. 403 00:24:26,197 --> 00:24:28,302 His arms are behind his back in handcuffs, 404 00:24:28,368 --> 00:24:32,142 and he was being flown from one Mexican state to another. 405 00:24:35,349 --> 00:24:38,889 It was the only picture I ever had of my father. 406 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:49,978 [suspenseful music] 407 00:24:50,045 --> 00:24:53,152 - In 1980, the trial for Ervil LeBaron 408 00:24:53,218 --> 00:24:54,921 begins in Salt Lake City. 409 00:24:57,660 --> 00:24:59,731 Ervil ends up with a public defender. 410 00:24:59,798 --> 00:25:04,508 ♪♪ ♪♪ 411 00:25:04,574 --> 00:25:05,610 BRUCE: When I first realized 412 00:25:05,677 --> 00:25:07,680 I was going to see Ervil LeBaron, 413 00:25:07,747 --> 00:25:10,987 I was very, uh, uncertain about what he was like. 414 00:25:11,054 --> 00:25:14,460 I remember someone saying he had these deep-set eyes 415 00:25:14,528 --> 00:25:16,732 that looked evil. 416 00:25:16,799 --> 00:25:20,172 I said, well, Evil Ervil, that fits. 417 00:25:20,238 --> 00:25:23,044 Back in those days, we would meet person to person, 418 00:25:23,111 --> 00:25:28,288 uh, just across the table, uh, no guards in there. 419 00:25:28,355 --> 00:25:31,361 And when he came in, he had, uh, scriptures, 420 00:25:31,428 --> 00:25:35,570 and he had an armful of notebooks and pencils. 421 00:25:35,636 --> 00:25:38,241 And his hair was disheveled. 422 00:25:38,308 --> 00:25:39,745 - Here you have Ervil LeBaron 423 00:25:39,811 --> 00:25:42,416 being defended by a public defender. 424 00:25:42,483 --> 00:25:45,322 He's still confident in the midst of all of this. 425 00:25:45,389 --> 00:25:48,729 He really thought that he was the prophet of God 426 00:25:48,796 --> 00:25:50,666 and that God would protect him. 427 00:25:54,373 --> 00:25:57,514 - We knew going in that there was no indication 428 00:25:57,581 --> 00:26:00,285 that Mr. LeBaron was actually present 429 00:26:00,352 --> 00:26:02,290 at the death of Rulon Allred. 430 00:26:02,356 --> 00:26:05,362 And so we sort of felt the state would have 431 00:26:05,428 --> 00:26:09,971 a hard time convincing people that he put others up to it. 432 00:26:12,644 --> 00:26:14,849 - This time around, I had the man 433 00:26:14,915 --> 00:26:17,019 that everybody feared. 434 00:26:20,693 --> 00:26:22,162 JERRY: I was at the trial. 435 00:26:22,229 --> 00:26:25,469 And I remember Ervil picking up--me up 436 00:26:25,537 --> 00:26:27,541 in the audience with his eyes. 437 00:26:27,608 --> 00:26:28,877 - Oh. [chuckles] 438 00:26:28,943 --> 00:26:33,384 - And we stared at each other for two minutes. 439 00:26:35,022 --> 00:26:37,728 I just felt this kind of radiant-- 440 00:26:37,794 --> 00:26:39,229 GARY: Like a laser. 441 00:26:39,296 --> 00:26:43,305 JERRY: Radiant, crazy hate in that stare. 442 00:26:43,372 --> 00:26:45,342 BRUCE: They called him Mormon Manson 443 00:26:45,409 --> 00:26:47,847 'cause Manson was commonly perceived, of course, 444 00:26:47,914 --> 00:26:50,352 as a monster and a madman. 445 00:26:50,419 --> 00:26:54,995 So we tried to present, this isn't such a person. 446 00:26:55,062 --> 00:26:58,836 And we did that with just a very few witnesses. 447 00:26:58,903 --> 00:27:01,007 We tried to humanize him as best we could 448 00:27:01,074 --> 00:27:03,646 without him testifying in front of the jury. 449 00:27:05,115 --> 00:27:08,021 DAVID: I called 40-something witnesses, 450 00:27:08,088 --> 00:27:10,025 including one key witness, 451 00:27:10,091 --> 00:27:12,162 and that was Isaac LeBaron. 452 00:27:15,035 --> 00:27:18,041 - Isaac LeBaron, one of Ervil's children, 453 00:27:18,108 --> 00:27:20,947 the prosecution's star witness 454 00:27:21,014 --> 00:27:22,684 who had been in the planning sessions 455 00:27:22,750 --> 00:27:25,255 for the Allred murder and had been raised in the cult. 456 00:27:25,322 --> 00:27:30,165 He had come in to testify against his father. 457 00:27:30,232 --> 00:27:31,935 But he was scared. 458 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:36,712 - What he was afraid of is the fact 459 00:27:36,779 --> 00:27:38,716 that people that went against Ervil 460 00:27:38,783 --> 00:27:41,154 would be considered traitors. 461 00:27:41,220 --> 00:27:44,595 And the punishment for traitors was death. 462 00:27:44,661 --> 00:27:46,632 - There are real courageous heroes, 463 00:27:46,699 --> 00:27:48,703 like Isaac LeBaron, 464 00:27:48,770 --> 00:27:50,907 who stood against his own father. 465 00:27:50,974 --> 00:27:53,579 He spoke quietly and directly, 466 00:27:53,646 --> 00:27:57,688 and he would sometimes look at his dad and then look down. 467 00:27:57,754 --> 00:28:03,432 Even if you know your parent is evil, it's still your dad. 468 00:28:03,498 --> 00:28:05,803 His own father had abused him mentally, 469 00:28:05,870 --> 00:28:08,175 physically for years. 470 00:28:08,242 --> 00:28:11,280 I can't even believe what Isaac had to go through 471 00:28:11,347 --> 00:28:13,953 to be courageous and to speak the truth that day. 472 00:28:17,426 --> 00:28:20,634 - Isaac's testimony was-- was important for the state, 473 00:28:20,700 --> 00:28:24,774 and it was a surprise to Ervil that his son Isaac 474 00:28:24,841 --> 00:28:26,444 would testify against him. 475 00:28:29,383 --> 00:28:31,722 JERRY: This guy who killed my father 476 00:28:31,789 --> 00:28:34,394 needed to be found guilty. 477 00:28:34,460 --> 00:28:37,132 He should be held accountable, and he should be dealt with. 478 00:28:38,936 --> 00:28:40,506 - When the jury came back in three hours... 479 00:28:44,013 --> 00:28:46,719 I immediately felt, well, 480 00:28:46,786 --> 00:28:48,522 this may be one of those good cases. 481 00:28:52,462 --> 00:28:55,168 LINDSAY: After a decade of getting away with murder... 482 00:28:56,939 --> 00:29:01,013 Ervil LeBaron is found guilty 483 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:02,750 of first-degree murder 484 00:29:02,817 --> 00:29:07,392 and conspiracy to commit murder against Rulon Allred. 485 00:29:07,459 --> 00:29:11,167 - Good. That's what should happen. 486 00:29:11,234 --> 00:29:15,109 I felt relieved that Ervil had been found guilty 487 00:29:15,175 --> 00:29:17,947 and would face those consequences. 488 00:29:20,219 --> 00:29:24,460 How glad we all were that this chapter of our lives 489 00:29:24,528 --> 00:29:25,863 could be partly closed. 490 00:29:25,930 --> 00:29:28,636 - Ervil is sentenced to life in prison. 491 00:29:28,703 --> 00:29:31,575 [soft hopeful music] 492 00:29:31,642 --> 00:29:35,783 ♪♪ ♪♪ 493 00:29:35,850 --> 00:29:37,587 - We were told he went to trial, 494 00:29:37,654 --> 00:29:40,960 that everything would be fine because God would protect him. 495 00:29:41,027 --> 00:29:43,699 And so when he was found guilty, 496 00:29:43,766 --> 00:29:47,641 I thought it was just Satan basically trying us. 497 00:29:47,708 --> 00:29:50,646 [tense music] 498 00:29:50,713 --> 00:29:56,692 ♪♪ ♪♪ 499 00:29:56,759 --> 00:29:58,630 LINDSAY: When Ervil is put behind bars, 500 00:29:58,696 --> 00:30:01,535 there's a collective sigh of relief around the country. 501 00:30:01,602 --> 00:30:04,741 Finally, they got this guy who has scared everyone 502 00:30:04,808 --> 00:30:06,410 for almost a decade. 503 00:30:10,754 --> 00:30:12,991 But people don't realize that putting 504 00:30:13,058 --> 00:30:15,930 a man like this in prison doesn't stop his following. 505 00:30:20,507 --> 00:30:21,742 When he's in prison, 506 00:30:21,809 --> 00:30:25,181 his revelations take a new form. 507 00:30:25,248 --> 00:30:28,488 They get darker and more extreme and more deadly. 508 00:30:33,398 --> 00:30:34,701 BRUCE: Every time I saw him, almost, 509 00:30:34,768 --> 00:30:37,239 he would want yellow pads and pencils constantly. 510 00:30:37,306 --> 00:30:40,078 Just--just gross of pads and pencils. 511 00:30:40,145 --> 00:30:42,951 And he would have four or five of them 512 00:30:43,017 --> 00:30:45,189 completely full of writing. 513 00:30:45,255 --> 00:30:46,858 And he would say, well, this is what 514 00:30:46,925 --> 00:30:49,163 I've been working on since I saw you Tuesday. 515 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:57,345 The jailers would say, yeah, he'll stay up all night 516 00:30:57,412 --> 00:31:00,451 and just be bent over his table writing. 517 00:31:00,519 --> 00:31:03,424 The whole night, literally the whole night. 518 00:31:05,429 --> 00:31:07,199 - He's still being visited by some of his wives, 519 00:31:07,265 --> 00:31:09,203 some of his followers. 520 00:31:09,269 --> 00:31:10,606 Kind of among his followers, most notably, uh, 521 00:31:10,673 --> 00:31:13,912 Mark Chynoweth comes to see him often. 522 00:31:15,683 --> 00:31:18,287 And Mark Chynoweth and the wives 523 00:31:18,354 --> 00:31:22,095 are taking Ervil's writings, 524 00:31:22,162 --> 00:31:23,599 kind of sneaking them out of prison. 525 00:31:26,539 --> 00:31:29,110 - And when you read his writings, 526 00:31:29,177 --> 00:31:32,550 you would understand that these are not the writings 527 00:31:32,617 --> 00:31:37,359 of a man who is in his right mind. 528 00:31:37,426 --> 00:31:44,273 ♪♪ ♪♪ 529 00:31:44,340 --> 00:31:47,279 - We didn't know that our father was mentally ill 530 00:31:47,346 --> 00:31:48,682 for all his whole life. 531 00:31:48,749 --> 00:31:52,289 It wasn't until our father had been in prison 532 00:31:52,356 --> 00:31:55,328 and we began to notice-- or the adults began to notice 533 00:31:55,395 --> 00:31:57,567 that his revelations and his orders 534 00:31:57,634 --> 00:32:02,476 were becoming more and more bizarre. 535 00:32:05,983 --> 00:32:08,856 And more and more violent. 536 00:32:08,923 --> 00:32:13,197 ♪♪ ♪♪ 537 00:32:24,487 --> 00:32:28,528 - His writings, Ervil had ordered his followers 538 00:32:28,595 --> 00:32:34,006 to come bust him out of maximum security prison 539 00:32:34,073 --> 00:32:37,246 with guns a-blazing. 540 00:32:37,312 --> 00:32:40,151 And all of the adults who knew about this 541 00:32:40,218 --> 00:32:42,723 knew it was a suicide mission. 542 00:32:42,790 --> 00:32:45,362 - It's almost like the--the kind of spell 543 00:32:45,429 --> 00:32:48,234 has been broken for a lot of people in the cult. 544 00:32:48,301 --> 00:32:51,174 Sanity starts to kind of seep in. 545 00:32:51,241 --> 00:32:52,744 But what they didn't realize was, 546 00:32:52,810 --> 00:32:56,283 some of his followers weren't pulling away from the cult. 547 00:33:00,659 --> 00:33:03,498 - Our father's mental illness and all those-- 548 00:33:03,565 --> 00:33:05,569 all those revelations that he was writing 549 00:33:05,636 --> 00:33:06,672 in his prison cell, 550 00:33:06,738 --> 00:33:08,576 it fractured the whole organization, 551 00:33:08,643 --> 00:33:11,314 which was already terrible and violent, 552 00:33:11,381 --> 00:33:14,053 but it made it even more violent. 553 00:33:14,119 --> 00:33:16,123 - He lost complete control. CELIA: Yeah, that makes sense. 554 00:33:16,190 --> 00:33:19,230 - And then everyone else wouldn't come 555 00:33:19,296 --> 00:33:20,733 and bust him out of prison. 556 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:22,837 That's what he had ordered them to do, and they wouldn't. 557 00:33:22,904 --> 00:33:26,444 But the other difference, too, is that a lot of these adults 558 00:33:26,511 --> 00:33:29,885 had also gone to trial and been in court 559 00:33:29,951 --> 00:33:31,320 and gone to jail for stuff, 560 00:33:31,387 --> 00:33:32,790 and some of them were acquitted, of course. 561 00:33:32,857 --> 00:33:36,498 So I think that going to jail, having convictions, 562 00:33:36,565 --> 00:33:38,970 and people experiencing the consequences 563 00:33:39,036 --> 00:33:42,476 of what they were doing, like, was like, whoa, whoa, whoa. 564 00:33:42,544 --> 00:33:43,846 - That probably didn't hurt. - No. That did not. 565 00:33:43,913 --> 00:33:46,217 - No? You don't think? ANNA: You don't think? 566 00:33:46,284 --> 00:33:50,225 - Anna, it was the tone of the output. 567 00:33:50,291 --> 00:33:52,195 It was the tone of his revelations. 568 00:33:52,262 --> 00:33:53,599 It was the tone of his letters. 569 00:33:53,666 --> 00:33:57,406 It was the tone of his demands that they knew 570 00:33:57,472 --> 00:33:59,043 he was no longer in his right mind. 571 00:33:59,109 --> 00:34:01,581 That's when Dan and everybody said, 572 00:34:01,648 --> 00:34:04,453 ooh, we can't follow all of that. 573 00:34:04,521 --> 00:34:07,092 - Dan, the reason he wouldn't follow Ervil 574 00:34:07,159 --> 00:34:08,962 is 'cause he could tell by the letters 575 00:34:09,029 --> 00:34:12,871 that he was writing and stuff, that he was crazy. 576 00:34:12,937 --> 00:34:15,809 He had men--Mom--even Mom wouldn't follow him. 577 00:34:15,876 --> 00:34:17,680 - But here's the thing, these revelations that 578 00:34:17,747 --> 00:34:19,785 they're saying was crazy, when Ervil was having 579 00:34:19,851 --> 00:34:23,124 those revelations before, they didn't seem crazy to Dan. 580 00:34:23,191 --> 00:34:24,360 FAYE: Right. 581 00:34:24,427 --> 00:34:25,997 ANNA: They were actually carrying them out. 582 00:34:26,064 --> 00:34:27,733 - But that was a long time ago. 583 00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:30,405 - I'm just trying to establish that-- 584 00:34:30,472 --> 00:34:32,911 CELIA: That they became very much more incoherent. 585 00:34:32,978 --> 00:34:34,179 ANNA: I agree. 586 00:34:34,246 --> 00:34:36,952 - Most of the adults 587 00:34:37,018 --> 00:34:38,889 could sense the difference. 588 00:34:38,956 --> 00:34:41,595 So they continued to follow it. - You are absolutely right. 589 00:34:41,662 --> 00:34:44,133 You are right. 590 00:34:44,200 --> 00:34:46,070 Dan Jordan and Mark Chynoweth refused 591 00:34:46,137 --> 00:34:47,573 to carry out my father's orders. 592 00:34:47,640 --> 00:34:50,278 Ervil called down vengeance from on high 593 00:34:50,345 --> 00:34:53,686 on anyone who wouldn't obey his orders. 594 00:34:53,753 --> 00:34:57,827 And that caused him to see them as the ones 595 00:34:57,894 --> 00:35:01,401 that needed to be taken out, those ones that needed to be 596 00:35:01,467 --> 00:35:05,408 blood atoned because they were not following his orders. 597 00:35:11,988 --> 00:35:14,894 [unsettling music] 598 00:35:14,961 --> 00:35:17,801 ♪♪ ♪♪ 599 00:35:17,867 --> 00:35:19,504 ANNA: It was Sunday morning. 600 00:35:19,571 --> 00:35:22,308 I had gotten ready for church. 601 00:35:25,683 --> 00:35:29,891 I pick up the receiver, but before I can say hello... 602 00:35:32,931 --> 00:35:36,538 I realize that my mom had already answered the phone. 603 00:35:38,374 --> 00:35:42,082 And I hear Dan Jordan on the phone 604 00:35:42,149 --> 00:35:45,523 giving my mom the news 605 00:35:45,590 --> 00:35:48,260 that Ervil had been found dead... 606 00:35:50,231 --> 00:35:52,268 In his prison cell. 607 00:35:55,877 --> 00:35:58,114 I was shocked. 608 00:35:58,180 --> 00:36:00,786 I couldn't believe it. 609 00:36:00,853 --> 00:36:05,062 I could hear my mom could not believe 610 00:36:05,128 --> 00:36:06,931 that Ervil LeBaron was dead. 611 00:36:11,842 --> 00:36:14,881 She fully expected him to get out of prison, 612 00:36:14,948 --> 00:36:17,353 not die in prison. 613 00:36:17,419 --> 00:36:19,189 He was God's prophet. 614 00:36:19,256 --> 00:36:20,893 God's prophet wasn't gonna die. 615 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:26,938 ♪♪ ♪♪ 616 00:36:27,005 --> 00:36:29,711 CELIA: I just had memories of my dad when I was little 617 00:36:29,777 --> 00:36:34,754 of us running to him when he came to visit, 618 00:36:34,821 --> 00:36:40,398 jiggling us down his back like he's a big slide, 619 00:36:40,465 --> 00:36:43,471 and when he used to have that warm, 620 00:36:43,539 --> 00:36:45,843 comforting relationship with us. 621 00:36:47,914 --> 00:36:52,022 And I just thought to myself, that will never happen again. 622 00:36:52,088 --> 00:36:54,026 I think I always had that hope in my heart 623 00:36:54,093 --> 00:36:57,533 that I would have a relationship with my father. 624 00:37:00,639 --> 00:37:04,113 But looking back now, I realized I was more crying 625 00:37:04,179 --> 00:37:07,086 for the father I never had. 626 00:37:07,152 --> 00:37:08,955 REPORTER: This is the maximum security cell 627 00:37:09,022 --> 00:37:11,493 Ervil LeBaron lived and died in. 628 00:37:11,561 --> 00:37:14,768 There was no evidence of foul play or suicide. 629 00:37:14,834 --> 00:37:17,138 Everything seemed to point to natural causes. 630 00:37:17,205 --> 00:37:19,578 The daughter of the man he was convicted of killing 631 00:37:19,644 --> 00:37:22,449 said his death alone in a jail cell 632 00:37:22,516 --> 00:37:24,888 was a fitting end. 633 00:37:25,957 --> 00:37:29,396 - As if the story doesn't have enough wild twists and turns, 634 00:37:29,462 --> 00:37:32,302 how Ervil died is still a little disputed. 635 00:37:32,369 --> 00:37:35,910 The official cause of death by the coroner is heart attack. 636 00:37:35,977 --> 00:37:38,782 But there are some other things going around at the time. 637 00:37:56,618 --> 00:37:58,622 BRUCE: My immediate reaction was, 638 00:37:58,689 --> 00:38:01,427 there's foul play involved. Someone had this done. 639 00:38:01,493 --> 00:38:03,264 I didn't know who. I didn't know why. 640 00:38:03,331 --> 00:38:04,667 I didn't know how. 641 00:38:04,734 --> 00:38:07,305 I have no evidence that that's true. 642 00:38:07,372 --> 00:38:09,744 But he did not seem suicidal to me. 643 00:38:09,811 --> 00:38:12,783 He was what, 56 or something? He wasn't very old. 644 00:38:12,850 --> 00:38:17,492 That's unusual to have a heart attack at that age, I thought. 645 00:38:17,559 --> 00:38:20,599 SCOTT: With Ervil's death in 1981, 646 00:38:20,666 --> 00:38:23,572 Ervil has now passed from the scene. 647 00:38:23,639 --> 00:38:25,643 But what they're kind of forgetting, 648 00:38:25,709 --> 00:38:31,187 or maybe don't know, is that Ervil's writings, 649 00:38:31,254 --> 00:38:35,897 which Ervil wrote in prison, that's out there. 650 00:38:35,963 --> 00:38:38,234 - All these documents eventually did 651 00:38:38,301 --> 00:38:39,469 make their way out of the prison, 652 00:38:39,537 --> 00:38:42,208 and then they were compiled into a book 653 00:38:42,275 --> 00:38:45,549 that is referred to as The Book of the New Covenant. 654 00:38:56,436 --> 00:38:59,577 - A lot of insane-sounding rants, uh, 655 00:38:59,644 --> 00:39:01,714 with a lot of violence included in them 656 00:39:01,781 --> 00:39:04,085 and a lot of death threats. 657 00:39:04,152 --> 00:39:06,023 LINDSAY: Before his death in prison, 658 00:39:06,089 --> 00:39:08,696 Ervil wanted to get revenge against anyone 659 00:39:08,762 --> 00:39:09,898 who had turned against him. 660 00:39:09,965 --> 00:39:13,572 And so Ervil uses this to say, 661 00:39:13,639 --> 00:39:16,010 "These people should be destroyed." 662 00:39:16,077 --> 00:39:19,382 This list includes enemies of Ervil, 663 00:39:19,449 --> 00:39:24,426 followers of Ervil, friends and family of Ervil. 664 00:39:24,493 --> 00:39:29,436 And it becomes, essentially, a hit list for all his enemies. 665 00:39:29,503 --> 00:39:34,079 - Over 50 people, Ervil had marked for death. 666 00:39:36,050 --> 00:39:37,587 The open question was, was somebody gonna 667 00:39:37,654 --> 00:39:39,890 take that list and start acting on it? 668 00:39:41,895 --> 00:39:43,532 CELIA: The Book of the New Covenant 669 00:39:43,599 --> 00:39:46,003 was something that was only embraced 670 00:39:46,070 --> 00:39:51,815 and believed in by a handful of Ervil's followers. 671 00:39:51,882 --> 00:39:55,856 There were a group of Ervil's teenage children 672 00:39:55,923 --> 00:39:57,893 that had been born and raised to believe 673 00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:01,367 he was a prophet, who remained loyal to him, 674 00:40:01,433 --> 00:40:03,605 even while he was in prison. 675 00:40:03,672 --> 00:40:07,211 ANNA: They were isolated, alone in Mexico, 676 00:40:07,278 --> 00:40:08,848 and it got into their hands, 677 00:40:08,915 --> 00:40:12,456 and they continued to follow it. 678 00:40:12,523 --> 00:40:17,131 This group became known as the KOG, or the Kingdom of God. 679 00:40:18,835 --> 00:40:21,440 HYRUM: They'd been taught horrible things, 680 00:40:21,507 --> 00:40:25,649 abused and neglected and brainwashed 681 00:40:25,716 --> 00:40:27,853 their entire lives from birth. 682 00:40:29,991 --> 00:40:32,095 ANNA: They believed that what Ervil had written 683 00:40:32,161 --> 00:40:35,101 was exactly what they needed to follow 684 00:40:35,167 --> 00:40:39,844 in order to usher in the Kingdom of God here on Earth. 685 00:40:39,910 --> 00:40:43,752 This was an incredibly fearful time. 686 00:40:45,689 --> 00:40:47,660 CELIA: It became even more dangerous 687 00:40:47,726 --> 00:40:50,064 to belong to our cult. 688 00:40:51,701 --> 00:40:54,573 LINDSAY: These are teenagers with guns. 689 00:40:55,876 --> 00:40:59,449 This list is a ticking time bomb, 690 00:40:59,517 --> 00:41:02,055 ready to explode chaos and pain. 691 00:41:05,061 --> 00:41:07,365 It's almost as if Ervil's voice 692 00:41:07,432 --> 00:41:08,835 is coming from beyond the grave. 693 00:41:12,175 --> 00:41:14,748 - It's not a matter of if the killings are gonna go on, 694 00:41:14,814 --> 00:41:17,051 but just simply when. 695 00:41:17,118 --> 00:41:19,890 ♪♪ ♪♪ 696 00:41:27,974 --> 00:41:31,046 [unsettling string music] 697 00:41:31,113 --> 00:41:38,060 ♪♪ ♪♪