Why Were Word of Faith Members Told God Would Kill Them If They Left Jane Whaley?
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
True Crime Today
3.3 • 907 Ratings
🗓️ 18 May 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A former math teacher from rural North Carolina allegedly built a church where she controlled which couples could reproduce, which members could attend college, and who was allowed to speak to their own families. Jane Whaley and her husband Sam reportedly converted a shuttered steakhouse into the Word of Faith Fellowship in 1979. It grew, at its peak, to approximately 750 members in North Carolina and nearly 2,000 followers in affiliated churches worldwide. According to the Associated Press, the fellowship operated under roughly 145 rules governing every aspect of daily life. Members could not watch television, read newspapers, or eat at restaurants serving alcohol. Men could not grow beards. College textbooks had to be cleared by leadership. Former members have said the control went far deeper than lifestyle restrictions. They described invasive interrogations about intimate behavior, confessions that were allegedly catalogued and held as leverage, and teachings that leaving the church would result in cancer, death, or eternal damnation. Once a member's housing, employment, and relationships all flowed through the institution, departure reportedly meant total loss. Tony Brueski opens a five-part Hidden Killers investigation into the Word of Faith Fellowship with the question that matters most: not what happened inside, but how anyone got trapped there in the first place.
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Transcript
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| 1:01.8 | Hi, it's Joe and Zoe here from Digget and we're currently sponsored by QVC. If you're thinking about giving your garden a bit of a refresh, This is very good timing. My garden scape at |
| 1:12.0 | QVC is basically like having a whole garden centre, but at the touch of a button. Everything's there. |
| 1:17.5 | Furniture, plants, tools, lighting, all in one place. I rather like the look of their Studio 70 |
| 1:23.7 | collection. It's got this very lovely retro feel to it. Yeah, if you sort of think bold |
| 1:28.1 | colours, striped sofas, loungers, it is giving proper 70s revival. And my garden escape is, |
| 1:35.2 | it's not just for big gardens either. It's for balconies, it's for windowsills, whatever |
| 1:38.9 | you've got. Plus, they've got advice from expert gardeners available through their online hub |
| 1:44.0 | and streaming platform, |
| 1:45.6 | so you're not just guessing what to do. |
... |
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