The daughter of polygamous cult leader Ervil LeBaron – who was dubbed the Mormon Manson for orchestrating more than two dozens murders both inside and outside of the sect – 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 which continued to practice polygamy and even followed the ‘Blood Atonement’ teaching that stated the blood of sinners needed to be shed for them to ascend to heaven.
Her father was ultimately sentenced to life in prison but continued to create hit lists from behind bars for his followers to carry out.
Ervil, who died in a Utah state prison in 1981, is estimated to have had 25 people killed as a result of his orders – with deaths including that of his own pregnant daughter.
Celia, who is now a mother of three, appeared on an episode of the Cults to Consciousness podcast to unravel her childhood memories.
Celia LeBaron, now 57, appeared on an episode of the Cults to Consciousness podcast to unravel her childhood memories
Celia, who featured on Hulu’s recent Daughters of the Cult documentary alongside her sister, sat down with host Shelise Ann Sola to dish unaired details about her turbulent experience.
She explained how she was born in a commune in Chihuahua, Mexico, in ‘super impoverished circumstances’ and was indoctrinated from a young age.
‘I was fully indoctrinated I always knew God was watching every moment, every thought.
‘I had this perfectionist tendency so I always wanted to please God and I wanted to just be as holy and pure and celestial as I could possibly be so that included always being cheerful and happy and never feeling sorry for myself…
‘That brainwashing was deep. I wasn’t allowed to have 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 be obey, be compliant and just be content with whatever you’re given.’
Celia said that children were put to work full-time from a young age and were exposed to violent ideology as early as primary school.
‘We were taught that if we were asked to take someone’s life, if God told us to do that, we needed to be prepared.
‘We were taught from an early age that it God’s chosen men could get away with really bad behaviors and have all these wives that they wanted and even take other men’s wives.
‘Little did I know at the time that’s where I came from – my father took my mom away from her original husband and took her for himself.’
Celia’s mother was wife number four to Ervil but he ended up having a total of 14 wives – all of whom had multiple children with the cult leader.
‘Birth control was an absolute sin. You could not practice birth control and there’s so much regulation in sexuality in these organizations.
‘Everything is not real freedom they even try to control your sexual activity. I was definitely taught that women were supposed to bring as many children into the world as possible for God’s glory.’
Discussing the teachings within the LeBaron group, Celia said: ‘One of the doctrines was the doctrine of Blood Atonement.
‘[It] taught that some sins are so egregious that they can’t be covered by the blood of Christ and somebody must atone with their own blood.
Celia (left), who featured on Hulu’s recent Daughters of the Cult documentary alongside her sister, sat down with host Shelise Ann Sola (right) to dish unaired details about her turbulent experience
Ervil wrote the 480-page commandment, titled The Book of the New Covenant, to kill disobedient church members who were included in a hit list which some his family members carried out. Pictured: Ervil’s son Heber Lebron who was covincted of murder
‘The way I learnt it as a child was their blood needed to hit the ground so that it could cry out to God for atonement so that they could be forgiven and not end up in eternal damnation.
‘In a very twisted way it was a way you were helping people get to heaven who otherwise never would.
‘That’s how they could get good sincere people to do these horrible atrocities.’
Ervil began his spree by having brother Joel killed in 1972 before targeting leaders of competing religious sects and cult members he believed were a threat.
This included the murder Rulon Allred, the leader of a rival polygamist sect, for which he was ultimately tried and convicted.
But, while in prison, Ervil wrote the 480-page commandment, titled The Book of the New Covenant, to kill disobedient church members who were included in a hit list.
Celia’s father died in prison in 1981 but six family members seemingly carried on his legacy after organizing ‘The Four O’clock’ murders which saw an eight-year-old child and three former members shot dead within minutes of each other in Texas in 1988.
Ervil, who is said to have orchestrated 25 murders from his cell, even had his own pregnant daughter Rebecca killed.
‘The first hint I got of foul play was about Rebecca,’ Celia explained.
‘Rebecca was a little bit scary to me because she would tell us really strange things – she would sit us down and get really serious and warn us about the color red and how it’s from the devil…
‘The sad thing is that Rebecca was not mentally well and she was creating problems in the organization.
‘I remember how she would talk about these things that didn’t really make sense and weren’t true and other people noticed other things.’
Rebecca had been expecting her second child but ‘because of her mental illness she couldn’t escape the way you should quietly get away.’
Ervil, who died in prison in 1981, is estimated to have had 25 people killed as a result of his prison cell orders
Celia continued: ‘She was demanding and threatening. It wasn’t her fault but in our cult you can’t go get medical help because mental illness is equated with devil possession.
‘Rebecca became problematic and a Blood Atonement was carried out on her. They had to silence her.
‘They couldn’t go get her help because she would tell people what the reality was that was happening in our organization. They couldn’t just let her go to the police.
‘It would have taken down the whole organization and dad was at risk of getting caught so that’s the way they eliminated that problem. It’s just sickening.’
Celia, who ran away from the organization at 19 years old, said that she was initially ashamed of her lineage.
‘I didn’t want anybody to know that I was part of the LeBaron group ever.
‘I lived my adult life just hiding behind my ex-husband’s last name because I didn’t want to be associated with my father and all the atrocities that he committed or caused to be committed.’
She said: ‘I am now embracing the name LeBaron we decided that Ervil LeBaron should not get to dirty that name and shouldn’t be the deciding factor on what it means to be a LeBaron.
‘We are proud of so much our family has accomplished since our dad passed away and people became unbrainwashed.’
Celia, who now works as a licensed banker, concluded: ‘There’s so much goodness and kindness in the world – seek it out, it’s there for us. Make your life as joyful and as great as you’d like it to be.’