Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - The Killer Prophet: Ervil LeBaron Pt. 2

Episode Date: June 30, 2025

Ervil LeBaron, the prophet of a Fundamentalist LDS sect in Mexico, has grasped power after being released from prison for orchestrating his brother’s murder. Now, Ervil has a list of names of those who have turned their back against his leadership. By reinstating the religious doctrine of blood atonement, Ervil compels his followers to murder his opponents and family members in his name. This episode features guest host Madison McGhee of Ice Cold Case. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's February 14, 1974, and Erval LeBaron has emerged from prison just three months after he'd been found guilty of orchestrating the murder of his brother Joel. His conviction had been overturned due to insufficient evidence. His time in jail hasn't tempered his anger toward his youngest brother Verlin. After Joel's death, Ervil had expected to take over his church of the firstborn. Instead, the congregation chose Verlin as their new prophet. But Erville's been preparing. He'd started writing a lengthy essay while incarcerated, and in May of 1974, he completes the work titled Hour of Crisis, Day of Vengeance.

In it, Ervil reiterates that he is the one mighty and strong prophet. He tells followers of the LDS Church and Fundamentalist Sex, join his church and recognize him as the chosen leader, or die. Welcome to Serial Killers, a Spotify podcast. Every Monday, we bring you the true crime stories that stand out. I'm your guest host, Madison McGee, from Ice Cold Case. This is part two of the story of Erville LeBaron. As a young man, Erval served a second in command of the Church of the Firstborn,

which was headed by his older brother, Joel. In 1972, Erval orchestrated the murder of Joel and established the Church of the Lamb of God. Today, we'll investigate Erbil's Church and the doctrine of blood atonement that led him to commit a spree of murders across two countries. We'd love to hear from you. Follow us on Instagram at Serial Killers podcast and share your thoughts on this week's episode. Or, if you're listening on the Spotify app, swipe up and leave a comment. This episode includes discussions of murder, suicide, and statutory rape. Consider this when deciding how and when you'll listen.

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may help reduce the frequency of minor digestive discomfort, which includes gas, bloating, rumbling, and abdominal discomfort. In 1974, Erval LeBaron is determined to bring his brother Verlens Church to heal. He knows he's only been released from prison on a technicality. He's not going to wait around for the Mexican authorities to change their mind. He flees north to the United States, and for the next year, he's constantly on the move. He stays in dingy motel rooms and shabby houses rented by his followers, who set up bases across the American Southwest.

Ervil is worried the firstborners will retaliate for Joel's murder and warns his followers to expect an attack at any moment. To prepare, they spend hours each week learning to use explosives and high-powered rifles from Dean Vest, a Lamb of God follower who'd served in Vietnam. The threat of an attack and Erval's control soon consume every aspect of his followers' lives. They take false identities and avoid outsiders. children are pulled from school by fifth or sixth grade. By isolating his followers and demanding constant vigilance,

Erville creates an oppressive cloud of paranoia that makes rational thought merely impossible. When Erval decides Dean has successfully turned a team of the Church of the Lamb of God followers into an army, he decides it's time to take action. On December 26, 1974, four of Ervill's followers, Dwayne and Mark Chinnoweth, Don Sullivan, and Eddie Marston, Drive south across the border in a stolen pickup truck.

The group had been trained by Dean Vest, and their truck was loaded with Molotov cocktails and enough guns to arm a small militia. At 9.20 p.m., they sneak into Los Melinos and set fire to the largest home in the colony. While the firstborners rush out of their homes and work to put out the blaze, the lambs of God opened fire.

For the next 20 minutes, the attackers move from hut to hut, shooting their rifles and lobbing Molotov cocktails onto their roofs. As Los Melinos burns, the gunmen turn tail and flee, tossing boards of nails behind them to dissuade any would-be pursuers. Since the town doesn't have a working phone, neither the police nor the fire department are called.

The first-burners gather their wounded in their own pickup trucks and rush them to the nearest clinic. Several homes are burned to the ground in the raid. Fifteen first-burners are shot, two are killed. But as far as Ervil is concerned, the raid is a failure. Verlain wasn't at Los Melinos at all on December 26th. He was over 1,000 miles away in Nicaragua. Ervil is furious that his brother has escaped his grasp and is eager to try again.

For the moment, however, the prophet has other problems. By early 1975, Erval's congregation is in dire financial stress. He spent much of the last year asking for tithes from other fundamentalist churches, but he's come up empty. But then the answer to Erval's problem appears. Victor Chinoweth is a successful businessman in Ogden, Utah. Ervil is determined to bring him deeper into the fold of the Church of the Lamb of God and hopes that Victor's tithes will finally bring some financial security.

Erval offers Victor a strange trade of sorts. He'll allow his 15-year-old daughter Rebecca to become Victor's second wife. And in return, Erval will marry Victor's 17-year-old daughter. her Rina and appoint the businessman as his head of finances. Like many of Erville's followers, both Rina and Rebecca would eventually find themselves involved in their profits' murders, although in significantly different ways. According to Rina, the violence ramps up in January of 1975, roughly one month after the Los Melinos raid.

Ervil hears that Noemmy Zarate, the wife of one of his lieutenants, is threatening to go to the authorities with what she knows about the group's crimes. Rina says that Erville decides she must atone for turning her back against the true prophet. Ervil's wife, Vonda White, would later tell the following account to another member of the sect. One evening in late January, she and sister wife Yolanda Rios invite Noemi to join them for a drive through the San Pedro foothills. As dusk falls, Vonda steers the truck off the road into a narrow ravine and orders Noelle

to get out. Confused and frightened, Noemey obeys. A moment later, Vonda emerges from the front seat with a revolver in her hand. Vonda shoots and kills Noemi. Then she and Yolanda dig a shallow grave. They cover Noemmy's body and leave to rejoin their families in Ensenada. Noemmy's body has never been found, and no charges have ever been filed in her disappearance. Reportedly, when Erville receives word that Noemmy has been found,

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After Noemi's death, Erbil starts behaving less like a cult leader and more like a mafia boss. Between 1974 and 1975, he visits the leaders of various fundamentalist sex and demands they join the Church of the Lamb and pay tithes to him. But when none of the rival prophets pay up, Ervil considers them candidates for atonement. One of these rivals is Bob Simons, a polygamist who lives on a 65-acre ranch near Grantsville, Utah. Like Ervil, he claimed to have inherited the mantle of Joseph Smith. He also believes that God chose him to bring the LDS faith to Native American tribes. Ervil takes one look at Bob's land and decides it's the perfect spot for the new Church of the Lamb military headquarters. He starts visiting the rancher and trying to convert him.

Bob is happy to hear Ervil out, but refuses to be a little bit of the land of his own. to yield his claim on the title of profit. Ervil soon grows tired of leaving each meeting empty-handed and demands that Bob pay him tides. Bob's hospitality meets its limits when he catches Erville flirting with his second wife. He sends Erville a furious message. Consider this letter to be an open challenge

to your power and your authority. Do with it what you may. Months after their spat, one of Ervill's followers, Lloyd Sullivan, contacts Bob out of the blue. After a period of prayer and reflection, he has realized that Bob, not Ervil, is the Lord's one true prophet.

Lloyd asked Bob to join him on a spiritual retreat. Excited that the moment to fulfill his destiny has come at last, Bob agrees. As Lloyd would later tell police on April 23, 1975, he picks Bob up from his ranch and drives through the flat barren desert. After traveling for about three hours, Lloyd pulls off the road and parks next to a stack of boulders. He tells Bob he needs to relieve himself.

Bob gets out and stretches his legs, walking a few feet in front of the car. As he stares into the distance, two of Erville's followers allegedly creep out from behind the boulders. One of them points a shotgun at the back of Bob's skull and shoots. Lloyd later leads police to Bob's body. and names Eddie Marston, one of the attackers from the Los Melinos raid, as the shooter. But by the time Eddie is charged, Lloyd has passed away and can no longer testify. Eddie is acquitted of the murder of Bob Simons. The fact that Ervil is able to convince so many people to kill for him is remarkable,

considering the background of his followers. Most of them had no history of criminal behavior. The two traits Erville's followers did have in common before falling. into his grasp was a devout commitment to their faith and an inclination towards fundamentalism. Most of them were frustrated with the mainstream LDS Church and wanted a new start. The fundamental skill that makes Ervil a conniving cult leader is his ability to weaponize his followers' established beliefs. According to social psychologist Alexandra Stein, cult leaders indoctrinate and gain control over followers by creating total ideology,

in which a belief system is controlled entirely by the leader. Once Ervil's followers begin to accept his total ideology, he can rely on their faith to do part of the work for him. According to the LDS Church, Joseph Smith and the prophets who follow him are God's messengers on earth and essentially infallible. So now that Erval has convinced his followers he is the prophet, to even question him becomes a betrayal of their most deep,

held principles. And Erval leverages his followers' beliefs even further than that. His claim that he possesses the right to kill his enemies is founded on the doctrine of blood atonement. By invoking these words, Erval offers them the only justification they need to murder their own friends and family members. Simply put, it's for their own good. But soon, atonement comes for someone Erval didn't expect, his loyal field marshal, Dean Vez. In the summer of 1975, Erville learns that Dean is considering leaving the church. Dean had spent much of his time with training Erville's army, but now he's facing a crossroads. His wife had never been a fan of Ervill's views on women, and she'd been trying for years to get Dean to leave the church.

By early 1975, she'd had enough, and she left for Washington State with their two children. Dean is heartbroken. He starts shirking his training sessions, spending nearly all of his time repairing an old salvage barge that he had bought. He told his friends that once the boat was ready, he would sail up the coast and reunite with his family. Ervil is furious. As his military commander, Dean Vest knows more about the church's crimes than almost any of his other followers. Furthermore, Ervil had counted on him to sell the barge and give the money to the church. Ervil is not going to allow his military commander and $5,000 to walk.

walk away. He summons one of his wives, Vonda White, and tells her that he's had a revelation from God. Dean Vest must die. On June 16th, Dean receives word that his family has been in a car accident in Washington. On his way to the airport, he stops at Vonda's house to pick up a few boxes she was storing for him. Vonda is home making lunch for her six children when Dean arrives. When he says he's going to Washington to join Cheryl, Vonda knows that he'll never returned to the Church of the Lamb of God. She would not get another chance to perform the task her husband had given her. After the children finish eating, Vonda sends them upstairs with a warning to stay out of the

adult's way for the next hour. Then she asked Dean if he would take a look at her washing machine, which had been on the fritz. When he's done, Dean goes to the kitchen to wash his hands. As he stoops over the sink, Vonda pulls a revolver from the pocket of her frock. She shoots Dean three times. killing him. She then removes her rubber gloves and calls the police. When Lieutenant T. Wayne Fowler arrives at the house,

he's shocked by the amount of blood covering the kitchen floor. Vonda claims that she'd been upstairs with her children when she'd heard the gunshots. She insists that Dean was murdered by assassins from another religious group. Fowler is sure that Vonda is lying. He'd spotted blood on her shoes, but the lab is unable to match it to Dean Vest. After 72 hours, he doesn't have enough evidence to charge her.

He releases her on the condition that she will not leave town. By the next day, Vonda and her family have disappeared. The murder of Dean Vest marks the crest of an intense reign of terror perpetrated by Erville's followers. Starting with the raid on Los Melinos, they'd killed seven people within the span of six months. But now, it's time to lay low. Vonda is still wanted for questioning in connection with Dean's death. Meanwhile, the firstborners, led by Ervil's brother Verlin, are lobbying the Mexican and United States governments to take action against Erval.

On March 2, 1976, Ervil is driving through Chihuahua, Mexico, with one of the men who'd participated in Joel's murder. A firstborner who happened to be crossing the street spots the lambs of God and races to call the police. Before Erval knows what is happening, he's plighted. hold over and handcuffed. The firstborners rejoice. At long last,

Ervil is charged with orchestrating the raid on Los Melinos. During the trial, several firstborners take to the stand to recount the horrific attack that had left 13 wounded and two dead. But the most compelling testimony comes from someone not present at the raid. Erval's mother testifies against her son.

While the firstborners line up to testes against Ervil, his own followers fly to his aid. They pool together cash and smuggle it into Erville's prison cell. It's possible that money somehow finds its way into the pocket of Ervill's judge. On November 11th, all charges against the profit are dropped based on insufficient evidence. Ervill's second brush with the law only increases his sense of invulnerability. He has stood trial twice and twice. he's walked free. If anything, the near misses are evidence that God is protecting him,

but a problem is manifesting at the Church of the Lamb's new chapter in Dallas, Texas. This time, it involved one of the Prophet's own children. Now 17 years old, Rebecca LeBaron has spent the last two years being ignored by her husband, Chief Financial Officer Victor Chinoeth, and tormented by his first wife. They bully Rebecca and relegate her to the the role of a babysitter. The teenager responds to the harsh treatment with angry outbursts and belts of depression. She begins shoplifting. When she gives birth to a son, Victor's first wife claims the child for herself and has Rebecca sent away to work at one of the church's appliance repair shops in Dallas. Separated from her child, depression deepens. She continues to shoplift.

She lashes out at customers and coworkers and refuses to work. When challenged, she threatened to go to the police to tell them everything she knows about the Church of the Lamb. One day in April 1977, Erval tells Rebecca he's sending her to Mexico to visit with her baby.

Eddie Marston and Dwayne Chenoweth drive Rebecca to the airport, but suddenly pull off the road and leap into the backseat. Rebecca fights for her life, but the two men strangle her to death. They bury her in an Oklahoma park, then drive back to Dallas.

With Rebecca, Becca's death, Ervil has made it clear. No one is immune from the doctrine of blood atonement. By the spring of 1977, Erville's quest for financial success is finally coming to fruition. The Church of the Lamb's appliance repair stores are performing well and lining Ervill's pockets with money. The sudden boom in business is all thanks to the dedication of his followers. They work long hours, children are pulled from school and put to work, virtually all

all the proceeds go to the church, leaving little to nothing for the colonists themselves. The harder Erville's followers work, the easier they become to control. Meanwhile, Ervil just gets richer. But despite his newfound wealth, the prophet isn't satisfied. The false prophet Verlin is still alive. Transport your senses with Sol Dijanado's limited edition perfume mist collection. At Sephora, spritz on lush notes of rainforest orchid and crisp seabries with he fresco paraizzo. Embrace a floral and fruity scent inspired by Rio's nude beach with chiqui bikini or caps for sun-kissed bliss with limonada jolada, where zesty Brazilian lemonade accord meets coconut and golden brown sugar. Don't miss Sol de Janeiro's limited edition perfume mist collection, only at Sephora. Every outfit starts with a choice.

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Find yours at Target today. In April 1977, Erville brainstorms another attempt on his younger brother Verlin's life. He had thought up many over the years. In one, he had planned to have to have. have his followers disguised themselves as Mexican police. When they spotted Verlund's car, they would pull him over and shoot him. In another, Erville considered using homemade bombs of methane gas collected from cow manure to blow up a firstborn church with Verlin inside. But Ervil has never had the chance to employ these plans. Verlin is simply too mobile. He spent the

years since the Los Melinos raid hiding out in safe houses in Nicaragua, San Diego, and Mexico. Now, Ervil has a plan to draw Verlin out into the open. All he needs is a religious occasion significant enough that the firstborn leader has no choice but to attend. And there was one event Ervil was capable of creating all on his own. A funeral. It doesn't take long for Ervil to identify the perfect candidate. Rulin Allred is the leader of one of the largest polygamous groups in Salt Lake City. He'd already angered Ervil by refusing to be.

to pay ties to the Church of the Lamb of God. And Rulin and Verlin are friends. So Verlin would be certain to show up to the funeral. For this assassination, Ervil once again selects the killer from amongst his wives. This time, the task falls to 18-year-old Rina Chinoeth. According to Rina's account on May 10, 1977, she and a friend visit Ruland's homeopathic health clinic in Salt Lake City. Posing as customers, they wear wigs and fake glass.

glasses to hide their identity. When Rulin steps out of the back room, Rina raises the pistol Erbil had given her and fires at the rival profit. Rulin Allred's funeral is set for four days later. Around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, three of Ervill's hitmen pull up outside the high school auditorium where the service is being held.

Tuck beneath the blanket between the seats are two machine guns. The plan is simple. They'll enter the auditorium from opposite ends, brandishing their weapons, they'll make their way through the crowd until they find Verlin. Anyone who gets in their way will be gunned down on the spot. But as the gunmen stared out the car window at the crowds pouring into the auditorium, they realized they'd been sent on a suicide mission.

Over 2,600 mourners had arrived to say goodbye to Rulin. A line of police cars and news vans are parked along the side of the building. The thought of failing Erville terrifies the men, but so does the idea of being gunned down by police in the middle of the auditorium. So they start the car and drive away. Up until now, the Church of the Lamb has managed to fly below the radar of authorities. Most of their alleged victim's bodies had not yet been found.

And so far, only the death of Dean Vest has prompted an investigation. But the assassination of Rulin Allred, a beloved religious figure, changes everything. Erval knows it will only be a matter of time before he becomes a suspect in Rulin's death. He had, after all, publicly threatened the religious leader in the past.

So before Rulin is in the ground, Erval crosses the border into Mexico. It would prove to be a significant mistake. Many of Ervill's trusted lieutenants had been involved in the planning and carrying out of the assassination. And when Erval flees to Mexico, They scatter.

With the entirety of their leadership in the wind, several of Erville's cult cells break down. Dallas is the first to crumble, and the person most directly responsible is Delphina Salito, Erval's first wife. Delphina has become increasingly concerned with the disappearance of her daughter, Rebecca.

After Erval flees to Mexico, she begins asking if any church members know what happened to the girl. On June 8th, one of Delphina's daughters admits the horrible truth. Rebecca had been murdered on Erville's order. Delphina becomes worried for her own life. That night, she and her 10-year-old daughter flee the Colts Dallas home. A few days later, she sits down with police and reveals everything she knows. The FBI have been searching for Erville ever since Rulin's murder, but the investigation now goes into overdrive. Arrest warrants are

issued for 11 members of the Church of the Lamb of God. For the next two years, multiple law enforcement agencies worked tirelessly to hunt Erville's followers. The first three are arrested in September 1977. Then, more than a year later, Rina Cheneweth is arrested and tried for the murder of Ruland Alred. While the evidence against the culprits is strong, the jury found the prosecution's story of an underground war between religious sex, unbelievable, compared to the testimony

of Erville's 20-year-old pregnant wife. On March 20, 1979, the jury acquits Rina and her companions of all charges. Eleven years later, she publishes a tell-all memoir in which she admits to Rulin's killing. In 1992, she's found liable in a wrongful death suit filed by Rulins family. She's ordered to pay $52 million. Other members of Ervils' clan aren't able to get away. In May of 1979, Vonda White is tried for the murder of Dean Vest. She's found guilty and receives a life sentence.

The law finally catches up with Erville himself on June 1, 1979, when his ranch in the mountains south of Mexico City is raided. His trial for the murder of Rulin Allred begins nearly one year later. Many of Ervil's followers still defend him and try to argue that Ervil was not the cult's leader, but a mere layperson in the Church of the Lamb. But a line of Church of the Lamb defectors, including Erval's own son Isaac,

testify that their prophet had ordered the deaths of several people. On May 28, 1980, Erval LeBaron is convicted of orchestrating Ruland's murder and sentenced to life in prison. Locked in his tiny concrete cell in a Utah state prison, Erval no longer has access to most of the tactics he'd use to keep his followers in his thrall.

Without the ability to speak face to face, his grip on the remaining members of the Church of the Lamb is all but broken. But Erval can still write. For nearly a year after his sentencing, Erval spends every waking hour hard at work on a new manifesto. In May of 1981, he completes a 600-page manuscript titled,

The Book of New Covenants. In it, he details a line of succession for the Church of the Lamb's leadership, starting with his eldest son. In keeping with Erville's tireless thirst for vengeance, the manuscript lists 50 people who the prophet has selected for blood atonement. Among those listed are detectives,

prison guards, and followers who have abandoned the Church of the Lamb. The Book of New Covenants would be Erval's final commandment. In the early morning hours of August 16, 1981, a prison guard making his rounds checks Erville's cell. The prophet is doing push-ups on the floor beside his cot. When the guard passes by three hours later, he finds Erville lying motionless on the floor.

He dies of a heart attack at 56 years old. That very morning, Ervill's brother Verlin is in a head-on collision outside of Puebla, Mexico, and dies instantly. Ervill's faithful followers postulate that their prophets first act upon entering heaven, had been to take vengeance on his nemesis. Verland would not be the last of Erville's enemies to fall.

One by one, the people who Erval named for blood atonement in the book of New Covenants start to die. Ervil's son Isaac had earned a spot on the hit list for cooperating with the police. When he took the stand, Isaac told the prosecutors that he expected his father to retaliate by having him killed. He was right.

On June 18, 1983, Isaac is found dead of a gunshot wound. Because he had recently spent time in a psychiatric hospital, police determined that the death had been a suicide. But some theorists have doubts based on details uncovered in Scott Anderson's 1984 book, The 4 o'clock murders. First, multiple bullets were found in the wall behind Isaac. Second, his heart had stopped beating hours before police arrived. despite his sister's claim that she called immediately after hearing the gunshot.

Meanwhile, even more le barren blood is shed in Mexico. After Ervil's death, the remaining faithful lambs of God establish a new settlement at Rancho La Jolla. In the Book of New Covenants, Erville specified his line of inheritance for generations to come. Despite his careful planning, Rancho La Jolla descends into war. Between 1983 and 1984, a series of gun battles occur on the ranch that kill several people and wound two children. Erval's eldest son and two of his wives are murdered in separate incidents. Three of the men who had killed for Ervil, Mark and Duane Chinoeth and Eddie Marston, go into hiding in Texas. The assassins had received spots in the Book of New Covenants for attempting to leave the Church of the Lamb after Erval was found guilty.

At 4 o'clock p.m. on June 27, 1988, Eddie Marston responds to a request to pick up a washer and dryer set. When he arrives at the location and pulls into the driveway, a dark truck drives up behind him to pin him in. He makes it a few steps from his car before the truck's driver shoots and kills him. At the same moment, Dwayne Cheneweth responds to a similar call. Unfortunately, he takes his eight-year-old daughter,

with him. They're later found dead of gunshot wounds. The same day, Mark Chinoeth is found in the back office of his appliance store, also shot to death. The Chinovitz and Eddie had all been killed within minutes of 4 p.m., giving it the nickname the 4 o'clock murders. To those who knew Ervil LeBaron, it seemed that he had risen from the grave to give a final message. Even death could not prevent him from enacting vengeance on his enemies. Many of Ervil's remaining family and followers spend the next decade hiding,

terrified that the Prophet's loyal followers would one day come for them. But during the 1990s, the last active members of Ervils' church are hunted by the police. One by one, they are arrested and convicted. Ervil's son Heberle-Liberin admits to police he'd ordered multiple murders between 19-7, 72 and 1980. In 1997, another son Aaron receives a 45-year sentence for orchestrating the 4 o'clock murders.

Several other family members are arrested into the 2010s. And in 2024, two of Erville's daughters take control of their own narrative and legacy. Anna and Celia LeBaron tell their story in an ABC News Studios docu-series titled Daughters of the Colt. According to the sisters, they'd been taught that women should stay

silent. But now they have their voice. And despite the trauma, Anna says, I have overcome all the odds. And here I am. Thanks for tuning in to serial killers, a Spotify podcast. For more information amongst the

many sources we used, we found the 4 o'clock murders, the story of a Mormon family's vengeance by Scott Anderson and Blood Covenant by Rina Chinoeth, extremely helpful to our research. Stay safe out there. This episode was written by Andrew Kelleher and Chelsea Wood, edited by Chelsea Wood, fact check by Lori Siegel, and sound design by Alex Button. I'm Madison McGee.

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