West

Survivors of polygamist cult reveal inner sanctum of murder, sweatshops, car theft rings

Published

2 years ago

January 8, 2024

Survivors of polygamist cult reveal inner sanctum of murder, sweatshops, car theft rings

Survivors who endured decades of abuse and violence detailed their experience in a fundamentalist Mormon cult, headed by a polygamist nicknamed “The Mormon Manson,” that is credited with dozens of assassinations.

The Church of the First Born Lamb of God, headed in Chihuahua, Mexico and lead by self-styled prophet Ervil LeBaron, is dissected in full bloody detail in the Hulu documentary series “Daughters of the Cult.”

“It blows my mind. I sit and think, ‘This is impossible,’” Celia LeBaron, one of the cult leader’s daughters, said in the new documentary. “If I hadn’t lived through it, I don’t know if I could believe it. Our family was killing people because of our father.”

Another of LeBaron’s children interviewed in the series, Hyrum, told producers that he was unsure exactly how many siblings he had from his father’s side – collectively, they estimated approximately 50.

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“It blows my mind,” Celia LeBaron, one of the cult leader’s daughters, said in the new docuseries. “I sit and think, ‘This is impossible.’ If I hadn’t lived through it, I don’t know if I could believe it. Our family was killing people because of our father.” (ABC News Studios)

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church and headquartered in Utah, abandoned polygamy in 1890.

In response, Alma Dayer LeBaron moved south of the border with his wives and children in 1924, NBC News reported. Ervil and his older brother broke free from their father’s community, attempting to join the Latter-day Saints.

But after they were excommunicated for practicing polygamy, the family started the Church of the First Born in response.

LeBaron, who would have 13 wives and at least 50 children, broke off to start his own church in the ’60s. Soon, he began targeting rival cult leaders, convincing his flock to do his bidding in exchange for admittance into heaven.

“We were taught to live in awe of him as God’s prophet, as the one true prophet on Earth,” Anna LeBaron, Ervil’s daughter, told BBC.

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Ervil LeBaron died of an apparent suicide in jail at 56 in 1981 – but his followers were implicated in more killings after his death. (Associated Press)

Blood atonement – an old Mormon doctrine that allowed sinners to be killed to cleanse them of evil – was used as reasoning for the killings, BBC reported. Leaders of the church refer to the practice as a “theoretical principle” that they do not implement in practice, according to the Deseret News.

LeBaron murdered his own brother for control of the group in 1972, according to the documentary – before he was sentenced to life in prison in 1980 in the death of rival sect leader Rulon Allred, he urged his followers to carry out numerous killings on his behalf.

Although LeBaron was arrested in Mexico for his brother’s killing two years later, his conviction was overturned as the result of a technicality – or, according to some interviewed in the five-part docuseries, a bribe.

His followers raided Los Molinos, an offshoot sect started by LeBaron’s younger brother, to kill the opposing cult leader – although they destroyed the town and killed two men, Verlan LeBaron was unscathed.

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Rulon Allred, a leader of competing Mormon sect the Apostolic United Bretheren, was killed by two of LeBaron’s followers in 1977. The two women broke into his Utah medical practice disguised in red wigs and shot him dead in an examination room. (Associated Press)

The cult would kill at least 25 people in Mexico, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Allred, a homeopath and chiropractor in Salt Lake City who had 48 wives, headed the Apostolic United Bretheren sect – on May 10, 1977, two women in disguises and red wigs broke into his practice and shot him dead on LeBaron’s orders, per reporting by Oxygen.com.

Police investigating the murder began to suspect that Allred’s religion was the motivation for his killing after pamphlets from the Church of the First Born Lamb of God telling readers to “repent or be destroyed” were distributed among Allred’s followers, Oxygen reported.

Two red wigs and a box containing a gun were found near the scene – investigators were able to trace that gun back to his youngest wife, Rena Chynoweth.

When LeBaron was arrested, his web of criminal activity – that spanned from the murders to sweatshops and car theft rings – began to unravel.

But even after his death at 56 years old of an apparent suicide 1981, his followers continued to kill in his name.

A group of LeBaron’s surviving children can be seen embracing in a still from the five-part docuseries. Although they are uncertain exactly how many siblings they have, LeBaron’s children estimated that there are about 50 to 55. (ABC News Studios)

Based on a screed written by the late LeBaron during his incarceration, his followers compiled a hit list of about 50 people, Oxygen reported.

Several members of the cult were arrested in the ‘80s and ’90s, according to VICE, and one was arrested in 2011 in connection to four Texas killings.

Nine members of LeBaron’s family in a convoy en route to a wedding were shot dead in 2019 by Mexican hitmen, VICE reported. The family had allegedly been speaking out against drug traffickers and advocating for looser gun controls to protect themselves against them.

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West

Las Vegas first responders conduct seven-hour rescue of injured climber stranded 600 feet up rock face

Published

2 hours ago

March 4, 2026

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Las Vegas first responders conduct seven-hour rescue of injured climber stranded 600 feet up rock face

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First responders in Nevada carried out a dramatic seven-hour rescue after a climber was seriously injured while stranded roughly 600 feet up a steep rock face near Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) said search and rescue teams were notified around noon Saturday about an injured climber on the “Dream Safari” route along Dark Shadows Wall in Pine Creek.

Authorities said the climber had fallen an estimated 40 to 50 feet, suffering severe head and back injuries.

The victim’s climbing partner and a guide from another climbing party reached the injured climber and controlled the bleeding while awaiting rescue crews.

Rescuers secured the climber in a titanium litter and lowered the patient in stages down the rock face. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)

Four search and rescue officers and a lead climb volunteer were inserted by the department’s AIR3 helicopter several hundred feet above the victim at the top of the route.

Rescuers then rappelled down the rock face, provided medical treatment while suspended mid-face, and secured the patient in a titanium litter.

Crews constructed a lowering system and brought the climber several hundred feet down to the ground through three separate lowering stations, with a rescuer attending to the patient during the descent.

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Las Vegas police search and rescue teams spent seven hours lowering an injured climber 600 feet to safety. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)

Once at the base, additional volunteers carried the litter to an extraction point where the helicopter returned to airlift the victim to a Bureau of Land Management helipad.

The climber was then transferred to a ground ambulance and taken to a local hospital.

NORWEGIAN CLIMBER LOOKING TO BECOME FASTEST PERSON TO CLIMB WORLD’S 14 HIGHEST MOUNTAINS

The climber’s helmet was destroyed in the fall but likely saved the person’s life, officials said. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)

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LVMPD wrote on Facebook that the entire operation lasted about seven hours from initial insertion to final extraction.

“Although the victim’s helmet was destroyed during the fall, it likely saved their life,” police said.

Ashley Carnahan is a writer at Fox News Digital.

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San Francisco, CA

Floats for San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade get finishing touches

Published

4 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Floats for San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade get finishing touches

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — ABC7 Eyewitness News got a sneak peak as crews put the finishing touches on the floats you’ll see at Saturday’s San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade.

Since it’s the year of the fire horse, you’ll see a lot of horses and fire symbolism on the floats, housed at Pier 19.

“So Year of the Horse, it’s energy, it’s passion, it’s momentum so a lot of things that we’re really hoping to embody in the new year,” said Stephanie Mufson, owner of San Francisco-based The Parade Guys, which designs and constructs the floats.

She said they’ve been building them for about three months, with the designs starting in November.

MORE: Bay Area artist brings Year of the Horse statue to life for Golden State Warriors

“We’re in the home stretch,” she said. “We’ve got a couple of days left and we’ve got a nice little team that’s cranking out all the finishing work that needs to go into it.”

Derrick Shavers was sanding some wood that will be painted and become cherry blossom trees on a float.

“It’s exciting,” Shavers said. “I look forward to coming every year and just creating and making things shine and sparkle.”

Bon was painting mountains for a float, making sure everything is perfect in time for the parade.

MORE: Meet the 2026 San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade mascot, Maverick

“It’s one of the few parades that actually happens at night still,” Bon said. “So we got to make sure all the lighting is in check, and people are safe on the float. It’s all in the details, just for it to walk by you for 10 seconds.”

Ten seconds that bring so much joy to those watching the parade.

Here’s how you can watch the parade on ABC7 Eyewitness News on Saturday, March 7.

Coverage starts at 5 p.m. wherever you stream ABC7.

SF Chinese New Year Parade 2026: How to watch ABC7 Eyewitness News live coverage

If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live

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Denver, CO

Grand Junction, Palisade reach Great Eight in Denver

Published

5 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Grand Junction, Palisade reach Great Eight in Denver

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — The Class 5A Sweet 16 has arrived, and both Grand Junction and Palisade are still standing with trips to the Great Eight in Denver on the line.

At The Jungle, the No. 2 seed Grand Junction Tigers set the tone early against No. 18 Golden. Defense carried the Tigers from the opening tip as they held the Demons to nine first quarter points while scoring 16 of their own.

Grand Junction added eight points in the second quarter while Golden managed six, sending the Tigers into halftime with a nine point lead.

Golden responded in the third quarter, outscoring Grand Junction 16 to 11 to cut the deficit to five entering the fourth. The Tigers answered in the final period, attacking the rim and converting key shots to win the quarter 19 to 10. Grand Junction secured a 54 to 41 victory to protect its home court and advance to the Great Eight in Denver.

Top seeded Palisade also defended its home floor with a trip to Denver at stake. The Bulldogs opened with nine straight points to energize a packed gym, but Frederick settled in and closed the first quarter on a run to tie the game at nine.

Frederick continued to respond in the second quarter and took an eight point lead into halftime.

Palisade shifted momentum after the break. The Bulldogs tightened defensively, holding Frederick to 21 points in the second half while scoring 39 of their own. Palisade completed the comeback to advance to the Great Eight.

Colorado Mesa University Women Deliver Historic RMAC Tournament Win

In collegiate action, the top seeded Colorado Mesa University women’s basketball team defeated Colorado School of Mines 96 to 51 in the RMAC Tournament, marking the largest margin of victory in the tournament this century.

Olivia Reed-Thyne led the Mavericks with 34 points on 11 of 15 shooting, her third 30 point performance this season. Mason Rowland added 22 points and Hallie Clark contributed 10 as Colorado Mesa matched a program record with its 31st win. The Mavericks will host the semifinals Friday with a berth in the championship game at stake.

Colorado Mesa University Men Survive Overtime Thriller

The Colorado Mesa University men’s basketball team faced New Mexico Highlands University for the third time this season. The Mavericks scored 36 first half points and led by four at the break.

New Mexico Highlands shot 50 percent in the second half, received 21 bench points and outscored Colorado Mesa 43 to 39 to force a late push. With the season in the balance, Ty Allred hit a game tying 3 pointer to make it 75 and send the game to overtime. Allred scored seven points in the extra period as Colorado Mesa earned a 91 to 90 victory to advance to the next round.

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