The Killer Prophet: Ervil LeBaron Pt. 1

If you walk through a small, dusty town in Chihuahua, Mexico, you'll hear one surname over and over again,

LeBaron.

The family's roots in Mexico date back more than 100 years.

A settlement called Colonia LeBaron was established in the 1950s as a utopia for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to live in peace and practice their faith.

But in the 1970s, the peace is shattered by one man,

Ervil LeBaron.

Ervil has drawn comparisons to Charles Manson.

Both were charismatic, messianic figures who preached violence and ordered their devout followers to kill their perceived enemies.

And Erville's enemy list was long.

It included everyone from Richard Nixon to the president of the LDS church.

He was the shot caller behind at least 33 murders.

But his first victims

were his own family.

Welcome to Serial Killers, a Spotify podcast.

Every Monday, we bring you the true crime stories that stand out.

I'm Madison McGee.

You may know me from my podcast, Ice Cold Case.

For years, I've been investigating the unsolved murder of my father.

But what you may not know is that I'm fascinated by killer cults.

So join me on the next two episodes of Serial Killers as we talk about Ervil LeBaron, the menacing leader of an LDS sect in Mexico who's been compared to Charles Manson.

We'd love to hear from you.

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If Ervil LeBaron were alive today, he might say his path to becoming the killer prophet was divine destiny.

He may have been calling the shots with his followers, but Ervil was simply following the orders of God.

It started with his father, Alma Dayer-LeBaron.

For much of his life, Alma received messages from God.

Sometimes they came in the form of dreams, sometimes as visions.

Most frequently, they came in the form of a voice deep from within his own chest, which he called Monitor.

Just as his son would later aspire to walk in his own shoes, Alma aspired to walk in the shoes of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In 1823, Smith had a vision of an angel who instructed him to dig up a set of golden plates.

The scripture on the tablets eventually became the Book of Mormon.

These divine revelations continued throughout his life.

In 1841, God instructed him to take a second wife.

While polygamy seemed to directly contradict the words Smith had published in the Book of Mormon, the prophet would not be deterred.

If God had called him to take on multiple wives, then it was his sacred duty and evidence of his own saintliness.

He took up to 40 wives and encouraged his male followers to do the same.

The United States government had other ideas and outlawed the practice in 1862.

The LDS Church eventually abolished plural marriages in 1890.

But in 1923, Monitor instructs Alma to fulfill Joseph Smith's command and take another wife.

He had never disobeyed the voice in his head before, but it would put Alma at a crossroads with his church.

Luckily for him,

he wouldn't be making the decision alone.

According to author Scott Anderson in his book, The Four O'Clock Murders, One night Alma is shaken awake by a firm hand and looks up to find his deceased grandfather sitting before him.

The elderly man is draped in a white robe with a gold scepter in his right hand and a crown on his head.

Alma's grandfather claims he is the rightful head of the Mormon church and the inheritor of Joseph Smith's mantle.

Now, he passes that title and responsibility on to Alma.

The only thing his grandson has to do is obey the original teachings of Joseph Smith.

Most importantly, he must resurrect the practice of plural marriage.

The next morning, Alma informs his family of the previous night's vision.

His wife Maud resists.

The punishment for polygamy is excommunication.

But after Maude herself receives a message from God, she selects Oni, their 18-year-old housekeeper and babysitter, to join the family.

Alma faces consequences for his decision.

He and his wives are excommunicated from the LDS church.

A short time later, he hears that some of his neighbors are planning to kill the LeBaron family.

Oni joins Alma, Maude, and their eight children as they head south to escape the threats.

Late in 1924, they cross the border into Mexico.

The LeBarons move to Colonia Juarez, a small Mormon settlement in the state of Chihuahua.

There, the clan will swell considerably.

19 LeBaron children.

13 from Maude and 6 from Oni.

Ervil is born in 1925.

Alma had lived in Colonial Juarez when he was a teen.

At the time, it was a settlement for members of the LDS to practice polygamy.

When he returns, he thinks he'll be among like-minded followers.

But the colonists ostracize the family for their practices.

The LeBaron children are bullied by their peers.

Alma blames the treatment for a series of tragedies that occurred to the LeBarons beginning in the early 1930s.

In 1932, Maude gives birth to twins, who die the same day.

Then Oni leaves the family and moves back to the United States, taking her children with her.

The remaining LeBaron children begin to act out of character.

First, it's fourth daughter, Lucinda, who starts to experience psychotic episodes in 1933 when she's 17.

Benjamin, the oldest boy, hears voices that tell him he is God.

He would not be the last.

At some point in their lives, nearly every one of the LeBaron children shows symptoms like paranoia, delusions of grandeur, or visions.

Six of the seven boys report hearing voices, like their father, hears monitor.

On one hand, the high number of LeBaron children who experience these symptoms seems indicative of mental illness.

Hallucinations and paranoia have been linked to a number of conditions, including schizophrenia, a disorder that prevents thoughts and reality from being in sync.

Benjamin would eventually be diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in adulthood.

That means genetics may have played a role.

Many mental health diagnoses, such as schizophrenia, can run in the family.

Though Alma and Maude, who both reported messages from God, were never diagnosed with schizophrenia or any other condition, their symptoms closely resemble what their children would later experience.

On the other hand, many psychiatrists argue that hearing voices is not always a sign of mental illness, and note that auditory hallucinations have been reported by people without diagnoses or any other symptoms.

And celestial messages aren't totally unheard of within the LDS church.

In the Mormon faith, anyone can talk to God, and God can talk to anyone.

For some, it's a reassuring connection.

For Ervil LeBaron,

it's deadly.

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By the late 1930s, the LeBarons still haven't found their footing in colonial Juarez.

The neighborhood children continue to ostracize the siblings, so they turn to each other for company.

This is particularly true for teenage Ervil and his brother Joel.

The two are inseparable.

Though Joel is two years older, Ervil overshadows him in nearly every way.

Joel is short, mild-mannered, and quiet.

Ervil is brash, tall, and classically handsome.

But most importantly, he knows how to talk.

Ervil seems to overflow with confidence and charisma.

He's well-versed on the Bible and the Book of Mormon and can speak on them for hours without stopping.

Ervil's chance to put his skills to use comes in 1940, when he's 15.

Joel is assigned to complete his mission, a two-year period in which young LDS men travel to spread the church's message.

Ervil is too young, but Joel refuses to go unless his brother is allowed to accompany him.

The church, in an attempt to bring the LeBarons back into the mainstream fold, agrees, and Ervil reportedly becomes one of the youngest missionaries in LDS history.

The brothers spend the next few years traveling across southern Mexico, professing their faith.

But in 1944, they receive a telegram from their brother Alma Jr.

Eldest brother Ben has opened his own church.

Alma Jr.

is his right-hand man and they need their brother's help.

So Ervil and Joel abandon their mission and head to Hidalgo.

Like his father, Ben hears messages from God.

According to these messages, Ben is what's known in the Mormon faith as the one mighty and strong prophet.

Back in 1832, Joseph Smith declared that one one day he would send one mighty and strong to set in order the house of God.

His prophecy is now canonized in LDS scripture.

According to some interpretations, Smith was predicting a fall of the LDS church, one that only the mighty and strong prophet can restore.

In 1935, Ben declares that he will fill that role.

He sends letters to LDS leadership, telling them that he will now be taking over.

By 1944, Alma Jr.

is spreading his brother's message.

He too has had a vision.

His oldest brother is in fact the one mighty and strong.

He tries to convince mainstream LDS members to join Ben's new sect.

That of course ruffles feathers in the Mormon hierarchy.

It's only made worse when Alma Jr.

begins proselytizing about polygamy.

He says that Though it's forbidden in the LDS faith, plural marriage is a rite of passage.

It's the only way to reach the strongest level of celestial power.

Alma Jr.

heads to Hidalgo to find a second wife.

That's the last straw for the LDS church, and they move to excommunicate him.

When Alma gets to Hidalgo, he sends that telegram to Joel and Ervil, and they come running.

When they arrive, Ben is there too.

Ervil is convinced that his brother is the one true prophet and joins his church.

By June, all four brothers are excommunicated.

Around the same time, Alma Sr.

goes fed up with how the community treats his family.

He receives a new message from Monitor.

Alma should fulfill his destiny as the rightful heir of Joseph Smith and the true head of the Mormon church.

To do so, he'll need to break away from colonial wars and establish his own Zion.

According to Mormon doctrine, Zion is a sort of utopia, a place where people can live out the LDS commandments in peace.

Alma Sr.

thinks he's found it, 50 miles southeast of Colonia Juarez.

So, in 1945, he once again sets off into the desert with his family in tow.

They establish a ranch, eventually naming it Colonia LeBaron.

Alma Sr.

would never get to see his Zion.

For the six years he spends in Colonia LeBaron, the settlement is little more than a handful of dilapidated sheds and a dusty, unkempt field.

He spends the last year of his life paralyzed due to lead poisoning, a result of his career as an itinerant house painter.

He dies in 1951 at the age of 64.

Almost immediately, the brothers squabble over which of them should inherit their father's mantle as the rightful leader of the LDS church.

Ben makes the first claim.

He's already established a church near Colonia LeBaron and is slowly collecting followers.

But his ambitions are soon overwhelmed by the mental illness that he's been experiencing for most of his adult life.

According to one story, on a trip to Salt Lake City, Ben attempts to complete 200 push-ups in the center of a busy intersection.

He's picked up for stopping traffic and committed to a psychiatric hospital, where he spends the majority of the next decade.

By this time, Erbil and Joel had already begun to distance themselves from Ben and his church, choosing instead to join a more established polygamous sect run by a man named Rulin Allred.

Here, they finally got to see what a real fundamentalist LDS sect could look like.

Unlike their father's ramshackle homestead, filled only with his own relatives, Rulin's church has hundreds of followers, led by a council of elders.

Joel and Erville take leadership roles in the church.

In 1955, the brothers are ready to put what they've learned to use.

Joel announces that he, not his older brothers, has inherited the mantle of the one mighty and strong prophet and will be starting his own church.

Joel travels to Salt Lake City and files paperwork to incorporate the church of the firstborn of the fullness of times.

He convinces several of his brothers, including Ervil and Alma Jr., that he is the true prophet.

The LeBaron Matriarch Maude also joins Joel's congregation.

Joel serves as the prophet and head of the firstborn church, while Ervil takes the title of patriarch, Joel's second in command.

Using what they've learned from Rulin's sect, the two brothers get to work doing something that their father had never bothered to attempt, seeking out non-family members to join their congregation.

At first, they focus their efforts on members of rival sects, even stealing from the ranks of Rulin's flock.

Before long, however, they include LDS followers from the United States.

They make frequent trips back and forth between Utah and their ranch in Mexico, spreading their beliefs in polygamy, strict adherence to the Ten Commandments, and the teachings of Joseph Smith.

In 1958, three years after founding the Church of the Firstborn, they convert a group of 12 missionaries who had recently been excommunicated from the mainstream LDS church.

These young men become some of their most devoted and outspoken apostles.

They spread the word in the United States, and Joel's fire and brimstone sermons attract followers.

The Church of the Firstborn's ranks slowly swell, and by the early 1960s, it has over 500 followers.

But it doesn't take long for Ervil to take advantage of his position of power as the patriarch.

He wears expensive shoes and drives new cars, while Joel still uses the same old pickup he's had for years.

The church is in debt and Ervil's wives live in poverty, but Ervil often gambles away money in Las Vegas.

Ervil also uses his position of power to get out of anything resembling hard work.

There's plenty of it to go around on the still developing ranch community, and Ervil is in charge of doling out jobs.

Unsurprisingly, he's too busy reading scripture to the workers to contribute to manual labor.

But the area where Ervil uses his status most is with women.

Ervil has always been considered handsome, but now he has power.

He tells Joel's female followers that it's his sacred duty to find a man for them to marry.

Usually, this man was himself.

Throughout the 1950s and 60s, Ervil is constantly in pursuit of a new wife.

His marriages include two pairs of sisters and several women who were already wed to members of the firstborn congregation.

Eventually, he'll have at least 13 wives and 50 children.

Some of Ervil's wives are underage girls.

He attempts to justify his pedophilia by invoking the Bible.

Ervil claims that the Virgin Mary Mary had been 14 when she gave birth to Jesus Christ, making this age the most ideal time for marriage.

Ervil's crimes go unchecked, but his penchant for stealing other men's wives is less well received.

In 1961, Ervil's childhood best friend returns to Colonial LeBaron from a trip to the United States.

and discovers that his wife has divorced him and married Erville in his absence.

The friend complains to Joel, who shortly thereafter has a new revelation from God.

From now on, women must wait six months after a divorce before remarrying.

Ervil is furious.

This is the first crack in a schism between the brothers that will end

in murder.

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Tensions between Ervil and Joel continue to escalate until in 1965, they put 600 miles between each other.

Joel purchases a property in Los Molinos, a town on the Baja California Peninsula.

He spends most of his time there working to establish a new branch of the Firstborn Firstborn Church.

Meanwhile, Ervil is left in charge back in Colonial LeBaron.

Finally operating without supervision, Ervil's beliefs take a more militant edge.

The Church of the Firstborn has always preached devout adherence to the Ten Commandments.

But Ervil wants to take things a step further.

He preaches about the gruesome punishments prescribed in the Old Testament for those who defy God's law.

Ervil says it's the responsibility of the Firstborners to take up arms against their enemies, who he defines as non-believers and anyone who refuses to acknowledge the ascendancy of the LeBaron order.

In addition to the militant language, Ervil's behavior becomes more erratic.

His sermons grew longer, sometimes lasting over 10 hours.

He goes several days at a time without sleeping and frequently goes into trances.

He starts experiencing paranoid delusions.

He carries a pistol at all times and warns followers that the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Church may send assassins to attack Colonial LeBaron at any moment.

Many of the Firstborners are frightened by Ervil's violent rhetoric.

Up until now, they'd consider themselves peaceful, law-abiding citizens who value family and devotion to scripture.

Now, their patriarch refers to them as an army.

By November of 1969, Joel has lost all patience for his brother.

He summons Ervil to a meeting at his house, along with their younger brother, Verlin.

He tells Ervil that his actions are threatening the ministry.

Some members are beginning to leave their congregation and move back to the United States.

There's only one solution.

He must strip Ervil of his position as patriarch.

The normally unshakable Ervil breaks down and sobs.

He thanks Joel for removing him from the position, which he now claims has become too overwhelming.

The next day, Joel stands before the firstborn community and announces that his younger brother is stepping down.

Ervil cries again while promising he would continue to work as a member of the church.

If Ervil feels any genuine contrition for his actions, it's short-lived.

While he accepts the demotion, he does not give up his radical beliefs.

He still feels it's the church's responsibility to punish God's enemies with violence and death.

In fact, the list of God's enemies has has just grown.

His brother Joel has taken the top spot.

For the next year and a half, Ervil distances himself from Colonia LeBaron.

As a regular member of the church, he's now expected to follow the rules, and he's lost his source of income.

Without his title of patriarch, he no longer has access to the church's money.

Instead, He and his right-hand man, Dan Jordan, travel through Mexico, swindling unsuspecting victims victims out of their cash.

Ervil's rift with Joel grows over the new development in Los Molinos.

While Joel is determined to use the land as a farm community for new converts, Ervil wants to turn it into a beachside resort.

When Joel attempts to force him off the project, Ervil reveals that he has an ace up his sleeve.

When Ervil filled out the paperwork to purchase the 8,500 acre property, he wrote his own name on the deed, not the church.

Los Molinos is his to do with as he pleases.

On May 8th, 1971, Joel sends a warning to his younger brother Ervil.

He's on the verge of excommunication.

The announcement is not particularly shocking.

In the two years following his demotion from Patriarch, Ervil has accused Joel of being a false prophet.

He's repeatedly advocated for mutiny against his older brother.

Two weeks later, Ervil responds to Joel's warning with a declaration.

Like his father and brothers before him, he has received a divine revelation from the Lord.

God has told him that Joel has betrayed the teachings of Joseph Smith and is now a fallen prophet.

Ervil has now inherited the mantle of the one mighty and strong.

According to Ervil's revelation, the church of the firstborn is now in a state of apostasy, in direct opposition with God's law.

The only recourse for followers is to renounce Joel's church and join Ervil's, the church of the firstborn of the Lamb of God.

Ervil hopes that his bold proclamation will send the majority of the firstborn followers running to his side, but he's sorely disappointed.

While a select few defect to join the Church of the Lamb, the vast majority remain with Joel.

Several families take the opportunity to abandon the LeBarons altogether and flee to the United States to escape the brewing war.

Ervil's threats force Joel's hand.

He publicly announces Ervil's excommunication from the Church of the Firstborn.

Meanwhile, Erville's violent sermons in the Church of the Lamb escalate.

He wants to introduce the concept of blood atonement into its doctrine.

The controversial topic was discussed in the 19th century by LDS leader Brigham Young.

Blood atonement refers to the killing of a member of the church to pay for certain sins, such as breaking one's covenant or murder.

Officially, it was never put into practice.

In 2010, the Church of Latter-day Saints issued a statement clarifying that blood atonement is not a part of its doctrine.

But according to scholars, some leaders of fundamentalist splinter groups have used the concept as a way to justify the murders of their enemies.

One of these leaders is Ervil LeBaron.

In his eyes, his brother is a false prophet who represents the forces of Satan.

The only only way for Joel to reach salvation is to shed his blood.

On August 20th, 1972, Joel drives the 600 miles between Los Molinos and Colonia LeBaron with two of his wives and several of his children.

They make a few stops along the way to visit with friends and church members.

One of these stops is in the town of Ensinada.

He'd left his Buick with a follower named Benjamin Zerate to be repaired and it was time to pick it up.

But unbeknownst to Joel, Zarate has switched sides to support Ervil.

Joel's family drops him and his stepson Ivan at Zarate's house to pick up the repaired car.

When Joel walks through the door, he finds two of Ervil's followers waiting for him.

Ivan is outside waiting in the car when he hears a window shatter.

He looks up to see the two men beating his father with a chair.

Before the teenager can react, he hears one of the men shout, kill him, followed by a pair of gunshots.

A moment later, the men emerge from the house.

Ivan sits frozen as they hurry down the street, climb into a station wagon, and flee the scene.

Ivan enters Zarate's house and finds his father on the floor, bleeding from his head.

Joel LeBaron, the prophet of the Church of the Firstborn, is dead.

One month after Joel's murder, Ervil sends a long-winded letter to the Firstborn congregation.

In it, he simultaneously denies taking any part in Joel's murder and blames his brother for being the one to start the violence.

The letter ends with an invitation and a threat.

The Firstborners who denounce Joel are welcome to join the Church of the Lamb of God as long as they are prepared to pay the tithe.

Those who do not comply, he said, are not fit to live on the earth.

Once again, he doesn't get the reaction he expects.

Instead of following Ervil, the Firstborners choose his brother Verlin to be their new prophet.

They start gathering evidence and testimony to build a case against Joel's killers.

Ervil spends the next few months hiding out in the United States.

And then, in December 1972, he walks into an Ensinada police station.

and turns himself in.

Ervil boldly announces who he is and demands that all charges against him be dropped.

He believes that he has found a loophole to protect him.

Mexican law at the time requires accusers to surrender evidence within 72 hours or drop their case.

But Verlin is ready, and the firstborn lawyers have no trouble bringing sufficient evidence in the required timeframe.

Ervil is charged with Joel's murder and held in jail to await trial.

Nearly one year later, he's found guilty and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Verlin and Joel's disciples rejoice.

Their prophet has been avenged and the man who had killed him is behind bars.

Or so they thought.

Just a few months after the sentencing, Ervil walks out of the Ensenata prison.

A higher court has overturned his verdict on a technicality.

The news that Ervil is free sends a tremor through the Church of the Firstborn.

After 14 months behind bars, his frustration over not being recognized as prophet has turned into a fresh determination.

In prison, God has given him a new revelation.

Verlin is yet another false prophet.

Before Ervil can claim his rightful place as the leader of God's kingdom on earth, Verlin

has to die.

Thanks for tuning in to Serial Killers, a Spotify podcast.

For more information, amongst the many sources we used, we found The Four O'Clock Murders, The True Story of a Mormon Family's Vengeance by Scott Anderson, and The Colony, Faith and Blood in a Promised Land by Sally Denton, extremely helpful to our research.

Stay safe out there.

This episode was written by Andrew Kelleher and Chelsea Wood, edited by Chelsea Wood, fact-checked by Lori Siegel, and sound designed by Alex Button.

I'm Madison McGee.