The daughter of polygamous cult leader Ervil LeBaron – nicknamed “Mormon Manson” for orchestrating more than two dozen murders inside and outside the cult – has revealed what her life was like growing up.
Celia LeBaron, now 57, was born into the Church of the Lamb of God – a fundamentalist Mormon breakaway group that continued to practice polygamy and even followed the “blood atonement” doctrine, which held that the blood of sinners must be shed for them to ascend to the sky.
Her father was eventually sentenced to life in prison, but continued to compile hit lists for his followers behind bars.
Ervil, who died in a Utah state prison in 1981, is estimated to have killed 25 people on his orders – including the death of his own pregnant daughter.
Celia, who is now a mother of three, appeared on an episode of the Cults to Consciousness podcast to reveal her childhood memories.
Celia LeBaron, now 57, appeared on an episode of the Cults to Consciousness podcast to unravel her childhood memories
Celia, who appeared alongside her sister in the recent Hulu documentary Daughter of the Cult, sat down with host Shelise Ann Sola to share unpublished details about her tumultuous experience.
She said she was born “extremely poor” in a commune in Chihuahua, Mexico, and was indoctrinated from a young age.
“I was completely indoctrinated and always knew that God was watching every moment and every thought.”
“I had this perfectionist tendency, so I always wanted to please God and I wanted to be as holy, pure and heavenly as I could be. This also meant always being cheerful and happy and never feeling sorry for myself…”
“This brainwashing was profound.” I was not allowed to have any negative feelings or thoughts. I couldn't have anger, I couldn't have disappointment, I couldn't have complaints.
Ervil LeBaron was ultimately sentenced to life in prison
“It just had to obey, be docile and just be happy with whatever was given to you.”
Celia said children are required to work full-time from a young age and are exposed to violent ideology as early as primary school.
“We were taught that we needed to be prepared if we were asked to take someone’s life if God commanded us to do so.
“From a young age, we were taught that God’s chosen men could get away with really bad behavior and have all the women they wanted and even take other men’s wives.”
“I didn’t know where I came from back then – my father took my mother away from her original husband and took her for himself.”
Celia's mother was Ervil's fourth wife, but in the end he had a total of 14 wives, all of whom had multiple children with the cult leader.
“Birth control was an absolute sin.” It is not possible to practice contraception and there are so many regulations in the area of sexuality in these organizations.
“Not everything is real freedom, they even try to control your sexual activity.” “I was definitely taught that women should bring as many children into the world as possible for the glory of God.”
When discussing the teachings within the LeBaron group, Celia said, “One of the teachings was the doctrine of blood atonement.”
'[It] taught that some sins are so monstrous that they cannot be covered by the blood of Christ and that a person must atone with his own blood.
Celia (left), who appeared alongside her sister in Hulu's recent documentary Daughter of the Cult, sat down with host Shelise Ann Sola (right) to share unpublished details about her tumultuous experience
Ervil wrote the 480-page commandment, called “The Book of the New Covenant,” to kill disobedient church members who were on a hit list carried out by some of his family members. Pictured: Ervil's son Heber Lebron, who was convicted of murder
“As a child, I learned that their blood must hit the ground so that they can cry out to God for atonement, so that they can be forgiven and not end up in eternal damnation.”
“In a very twisted way, you’ve helped people get to heaven who otherwise never would have.”
“That’s how they were able to get good, honest people to commit these terrible atrocities.”
Ervil began his killing spree by having Brother Joel killed in 1972 before targeting leaders of rival religious cults and cult members he considered a threat.
This included the murder of Rulon Allred, the leader of a rival polygamist sect, for which he was ultimately tried and convicted.
But in prison, Ervil wrote the 480-page commandment called “The Book of the New Covenant” to kill disobedient church members who were on a hit list.
Celia's father died in prison in 1981, but six family members apparently carried on his legacy after organizing the “Four O'clock” murders in Texas in 1988, in which an eight-year-old child and three former members were shot within minutes of each other.
Ervil, who is said to have staged 25 murders from his cell, even had his own pregnant daughter Rebecca killed.
“The first indication I got of foul play was on Rebecca,” Celia explained.
“Rebecca scared me a bit because she told us really strange things – she sat with us, got really serious and warned us about the color red and that it came from the devil…”
“The sad thing is that Rebecca was not doing well mentally and she was causing problems in the organization.”
“I remember her talking about these things that didn’t make sense and weren’t true, and how other people noticed other things.”
Rebecca was expecting her second child, but “because of her mental illness, she couldn't escape the way one should escape quietly.”
Ervil, who died in prison in 1981, is estimated to have killed 25 people under his prison orders
Celia continued: “She was demanding and threatening.” It wasn't her fault, but in our sect you can't get medical help because mental illness is equated with devil possession.
“Rebecca became problematic and a blood atonement was made on her.” They had to silence her.
“They couldn't get her help because she wanted to tell people what was actually happening in our organization.” They couldn't just let her go to the police.
“It would have ruined the whole organization and dad was in danger of getting caught, so they eliminated that problem. “It's just disgusting.”
Celia, who fled the organization when she was 19, said she was initially ashamed of her heritage.
“I didn’t want anyone to ever know I was part of the LeBaron group.”
“I spent my adult life hiding behind my ex-husband’s last name because I didn’t want to be associated with my father and all the atrocities he committed or caused.”
She said: “I now take the name LeBaron. We decided that Ervil LeBaron should not tarnish that name too much and should not be the defining factor of what it means to be a LeBaron.”
“We are proud of so much our family has accomplished since our father died and people were no longer brainwashed.”
Celia, who now works as a licensed banker, concluded: “There is so much goodness and kindness in the world – look for it, it is there for us.” Make your life as joyful and great as you want it to be wish.”