It's February 14, 1974. An Ervil 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, Erville had expected to take over his church of the firstborn.

Instead, the congregation chose Verlin as their new prophet.

But Ervil'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 Ervil LeBaron.

As a young man, Ervil served a second in command of the Church of the Firstborn, which was headed by his older brother, Joel.

In 1972, Erbil orchestrated the murder of Joel

and established the Church of the Lamb of God.

Today, we'll investigate Ervil'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.

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This episode includes discussions of murder, suicide, and statutory rape.

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